This is an analysis of the poem A Good Play that begins with:

We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs, ... full text

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: aaaa aaXXbbXaabb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic tetrameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 11010101 11001111 11010110 010101010 110111001 110001001 111101101 1101010100 11011111 01010111 11011111 11010101 11111101 11111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 161
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • 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; and is repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of A Good Play;
  • 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 Louis Stevenson