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

It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~
Would sweep the Channel clean,... 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: Xabca adeed Xfaaf cgddg bhaXX ighhg jhjXX XiXXi feggX XjaaX XfhhX hfeXX Xdkkd aXhhX Xaffa ddffd Xdiid Xehhe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01111100 110101 100110101 101010101 010101 1111100101 1011101 111101001 11111101 00100111 01111100 1000101 110010101 1011110001 00100111 1101011010 11110101 1111011110 10111101010 110101 100011101 011101 1101111011 110101100 111010010 110100101 11110101 101111111 00100100101 1011101 100010101 011101 1110100101 1110101010 111010110 01111100 110011 110101010 1011100101 11110101 100011101 110111 100111101 0100101111 0111010 1111111 110101 11111111 111100101 11001010 01111100 1101101 11011111 1110100101 00100100 100111111 011111 11100100101 1101111110 111010010 01111100 110101 01111111 10110100111 1110101 100110101 1111110 1110100111 11110111101 1100110 01111100 111101 1010101001 1110011101 1101111 11010101 0101001 111110101 101001101001 10100101 01010100 110101 110010101 0011011101 101000101 010100100 110101 1010101101 1010010101 110110
  • Amount of stanzas: 18
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 188
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 90
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, they, to are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words they, and, you, we are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Ballad Of The "Clampherdown";
  • 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