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

When Mother divorced you, we were glad. She took it and
took it in silence, all those years and then...

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: abcdbXaddefggehfdhfacXaaXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 26,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1100111011101 1001011011 11110010 1101101011 101011011 10101010101 110111010 0101101001 110101001 110011010 110110101111 11111 10010110101 100110111 1111010011110 01110011 010101011 10101101 10110101101 1001101 1001101010 1001111100 10111101101 10000100111 1001011110 110
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1054
  • Average number of words per stanza: 193
  • Amount of lines: 26
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (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, you, it, your are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Victims;
  • 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