This is an analysis of the poem A Smuggler's Song that begins with:

If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet,
Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street.... full text

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: aabBCDEDbb febb ffgg ffee ddbb hhffCDEDbB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,4,4,4,4,10,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 011111110101 1110101110001 01111000101 1011101010011 111010 10101 101010 10101 10101010101 11011101010011 10101001101 1010111110101 1110111110111 1010101110111 011010110101 011010110101 011010110111 001011111111 011110110111 10100111110101 011110010111101 1111110111110 111110110101 111110110111 1011101111111 1110101010011 0111101100101 1010010110101 0010100010101 00100100011100 111010 10101 101010 10101 01111000101 1011101010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 286
  • Average number of words per stanza: 53
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 47 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you, and, if, no are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word if at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word by 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 A Smuggler's Song;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Rudyard Kipling