This is an analysis of the poem When The Old Cow Calves that begins with:

I 'm poor, mister ; my friends are gone,
And the people on yonder farm ...

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 babcccd e aea fffd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,7,1,3,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 101101111 10101101 111100101 11100111 1101011111 110111011 1101110011 10111 11100111111 111111 11110101 110101 10110011 0111000101 10011101 1011
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 110
  • Average number of words per stanza: 22
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you, i, and are repeated.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines you is repeated).

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase you connects the lines.

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

  • summary of When The Old Cow Calves;
  • 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