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

Sick 'I cannot go to school today,'
Said little Peggy Ann McKay....

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: XabbaabbccddeeccXfggeeXhhhiifaXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 32,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111010110 11010101 11010101 01011101 11011101 01010111 11011111 11001101 11111101 11111111 11011111 01010001 11111111 01111101 11111111 11010100 11011101 11011101 11011111 11010011 11011101 11010111 11010111 11110101 11011111 110000111 11011101 10010111 110101110 1111111 11010100 1010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1102
  • Average number of words per stanza: 221
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (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, and, i are repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Shel Silverstein