This is an analysis of the poem The Ghost that begins with:

I went back to the clanging city,
I went back where my old loves stayed,... 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: ABab acdc ebXb dfef ABab X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,1,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111001010 11111111 11111011110 110101101 111111110 11011101 11100101010 011101101 1101011110 0100111001 101101011 0110001111 111101010 11110101 1111101010 110110100 111001010 11111111 1111011110 111010001 010110
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 136
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 22
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (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; my, love, that are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word i 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 Ghost;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sara Teasdale