This is an analysis of the poem The School At War that begins with:

All night before the brink of death
In fitful sleep the army lay,... 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: abab cdcd efef gggg hehe dXdX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11010101 01010101 11011111 11010101 11011111 01000111 11010111 10110101 11010101 01000111 11110101 11010101 110100101 11000111 11010101 11011101 11010101 11010111 11011111 11111011 11010011 11011111 01011101 010111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 142
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (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 is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word we at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The School At War;
  • 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