This is an analysis of the poem Courage that begins with:

Today I opened wide my eyes,
And stared with wonder and surprise,...

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: aaabcccb dddXeeeb ccXbfffb bbXfgggf hhhfiiiX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01110111 11010101 01010101 110101 01011111 01010111 01010101 0111 101111101 110100101 01011101 1101 01010101 11011111 01110101 1101 11010101 01010001 00011110 1111 11111111 01011101 11001101 1101 11111111 01010101 01110111 0101 11111111 01010001 01010101 0111 101110101 11010101 11010001 1101 11110111 11000111 10110101 0111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 239
  • Average number of words per stanza: 45
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • 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 words and, the are repeated.

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

  • summary of Courage;
  • 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