This is an analysis of the poem The Ballad Of The Brand that begins with:

'Twas up in a land long famed for gold, where women were far and rare,
Tellus, the smith, had taken to wife a maiden amazingly fair;...

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:
  • Stanza lengths (in strings):
  • Closest metre:
  • Сlosest rhyme:
  • Сlosest stanza type:
  • Guessed form:
  • Metre:
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 574
  • Average number of words per stanza: 109
  • Amount of lines: 112
  • Average number of symbols per line: 66 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 13
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, her, his, in, of, he, she, such, day, morrow, no, man, it, that are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words tellus, and, high, to, he, was, once are repeated.

    The author used the same words now, then at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word brand at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of The Ballad Of The Brand;
  • 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