This is an analysis of the poem Massa’s In De Cold Ground that begins with:

ROUND de meadows am a-ringing
De darkeys’ mournful song,... 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: aaaaabab c bbab ababaXac dbdbeXec
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,1,4,8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10111010 010101 10101110 1010111 10101010 10101 11101010 1000111 10 10011 11101 10101010 1000111 10101010 10101 1110111010 1111111 10101110 10101 10101110 101011110 10101011 11111 11101011 10111101 110101010 10111 110101110 101011110
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 167
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 31
  • Average number of symbols per line: 26 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase sleeping connects the lines.

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

  • summary of Massa’s In De Cold Ground;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Stephen C. Foster