This is an analysis of the poem My Mate that begins with:

I've been sittin' starin', starin' at 'is muddy pair of boots,
And tryin' to convince meself it's 'im....

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: aXabXccc dedefcfc XXXbXcXX geXegcgc ececXccX hXhfbcXc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 101010101110101 1100011001 11111101010111 10100110111 111100111110111 0111010101 111111101110111 11101011101 101000100011101 1101110111 10101101101011 1101111001 1111101011101 1111111101 111101011101111 1101110001 1101111110110010 101100101101 11010101111101 1111110011 11000101010001 111110111011 11011101111101 11101011101 11110101010111 1101101111 01010111110101 1111010111 111011101110101 11101010011 111010111111001 11101011101 11111010111101 1101111101 01010111010001 1111110001 11111101110011 10111011101 01011111111111 10100110011 11111101111111 1111111101 1110111011100101 11101011111 101011101010111 1001111101 1111101010101 0100010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 437
  • Average number of words per stanza: 85
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • Average number of symbols per line: 54 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; 'is, as, and, i, 'im, 'e, for, fights, to are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of My Mate;
  • 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