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

As if he had been poured
in tar, he lies...

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: abcX cdef Xegg Xfaa dhgg aaed dgib XiXd chgi biXb bifX agXg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101101 0111 101001 1101 0110001 01001 0111 01001 10011 01011 11011 10111 01101 110010 0111010 1001001 011 010010 10101 0011 111110 011 1010001 10001 1011 00101 10110 000101 10101 01010 1010 1110101 00101 01110 1001 1101010 1111 01001100 10011 001 1001 01010100 00101 110100 101 001001 011010 111
  • Amount of stanzas: 12
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 83
  • Average number of words per stanza: 17
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • 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; of is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Grauballe 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 Seamus Heaney