This is an analysis of the poem The City Of Damn-His Soul that begins with:

He was nursed and cursed : he lied and died,
In the City of Damn-His-Soul ; ...

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: a ba Bc ac aX bd b d Bd ba ea ef bf B gb g b he de dX haXh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,2,2,2,2,2,1,1,2,2,2,2,2,1,2,1,1,2,2,2,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 111111111 00100101 1110011000101 00100101 110110101 1101011 11101110101 11100101 1111110110 11011101 1111110101 00100101 10101101101 00100101 1111010101 00100101 10101110111 11110011 00110101101 101001001 11111001011 101001011 11101001101 00100101 11101011001 00100101 11001101001 00100101 11110111110 1 11110111 1100100111 1111011 0111111001 10100101 001010100101 110111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 22
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 65
  • Average number of words per stanza: 13
  • Amount of lines: 38
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; he, and, of, for, taught, him, they, to are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word and is repeated.

    The author used the same word they at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word soul at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The City Of Damn-His Soul;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Robert Kirkland Kernighan