This is an analysis of the poem 1954 that begins with:

Then dirt scared me, because of the dirt
he had put on her face. And her training bra...

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: abcbcaadXefdaXedfgfhhbieiXXadaaXXgg Xg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 35,2,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111101001 11110110101 1111010110 1100101 1001001010 01110000 01111010010 1110101 0010111101 100111011 01001011010 101110111010 11011010 01111011 1010111010 0110111001 011111010 01011111111 0110111110 011010111110 11111110100 11010101 101100100 111111110010 10101101010 1010000 00100100100 1101011 01010101 10101010 10010100110 01110100 0101000001 0010100110 01001111010 0100010
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 688
  • Average number of words per stanza: 132
  • Amount of lines: 37
  • 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; it, name, and, to are repeated.

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines it is repeated).

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

  • summary of 1954;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sharon Olds