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

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,...

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: XababcccdebebfXfgdgX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111101 000101 1110111010 010111 1111010 110001 111111101 110111 11011111 110111 1111101111 110111 1110100101 110111 1011111010 110111 1111111 1111001 11011101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 656
  • Average number of words per stanza: 136
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Smart;
  • 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