Convicts Love Canaries by Robert William Service: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Convicts Love Canaries that begins with:

Dick's dead! It was the Polack guard
Put powdered glass into his cage...

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: ababcc dedeff ghghcc cgcgXXhh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11010101 11010001 11110101 11111011 11101111 11010001 11111111 01010101 11111111 11011101 11110111 11111001 11111111 10010111 11110001 110101011 11110101 11011111 11111001 01110111 11011101 11010111 10011101 01010110 10010101 11111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 236
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 26
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7

  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words i, i'd are repeated.

    The author used the same word dick's 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 Convicts Love Canaries;
  • 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 William Service

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