This is an analysis of the poem Where The Sidewalk Ends that begins with:

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
and before the street begins,...

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: aabbbX XacccaXccca
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 100110111 1010101 11011111 11011101 110111001 01001011 1110110111 1011111 1011011101 111001101011 111011101 00110111 111001101011 1111011101 101011101011 0110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 229
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, there, where are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word ends at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of Where The Sidewalk Ends;
  • 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