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

Because life's passing show
Is little to his mind,...

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: ababccccddddeaea fgfgbbbb fhfhidid
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011101 010001 100111 100101 010111 111111 011111 1101 110111 111111 111111 110110 111101 010111 111101 1101 110011 010001 011101 110011 010101 010001 011001 0110 111001 011001 110101 111101 111101 010111 011011 1101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 300
  • Average number of words per stanza: 55
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 27 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of Portrait;
  • 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