This is an analysis of the poem I Go Back To May 1937 that begins with:

I see them standing at the formal gates of their colleges,
I see my father strolling out...

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: abXbcdeefXfgdhaihXibcgcgcXXicb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 30,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110101010101100 11110101 100101110 111011 10101011 111000111101 10101010101 011011100100 11010011 1101010011010110 111111111011 100111011000 1101100111 11010110 10111110011 11001011101 11100111010 11100100111110 111001011101 1001001111110 0101011001 01001000110 01001011001 01001000110 1111011011 101101111 101110010 1011101100 110011 111110011101010
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1309
  • Average number of words per stanza: 258
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; they, to, you, going, i are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words i, they, you, her, his are repeated.

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

  • summary of I Go Back To May 1937;
  • 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