This is an analysis of the poem Outward Bound that begins with:

Dear Earth, near Earth, the clay that made us men,
The land we sowed,... full text

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: abbcac dXXcdc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111011111 0111 0111 1101111101 11011111101 0101110101 110110100111 0101 0101 1101111111 1111010101 01011100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 224
  • Average number of words per stanza: 42
  • Amount of lines: 12
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (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; on is repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word sea 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 Outward Bound;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sir Henry Newbolt