This is an analysis of the poem Rich Poor Man that begins with:

We pitied him because
He lived alone;...

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: ababcccc dedXafaf cgcghihiXgegebdbd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,17,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111101 1101 010101 0101 010101 0101 110111 0101 010101 01011 010101 1111 010101 0101 110101 1101 111101 1101 01001 1111 010101 1101 110101 0101 011111 0111 011100 0101 111111 0111 111101 1111
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 167
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 20 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 4
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words his, with, he are repeated.

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

  • summary of Rich Poor Man;
  • 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