This is an analysis of the poem Old Black Joe that begins with:

1 Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
2 Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away, ... 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: aabX bX ccbX bX aabX bX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,2,4,2,4,2,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 111011111111 111110010101 110010010111 1111101010111 1100100101110101 1111101010111 11111111111111 111111111101 110111010101 1111101010111 1100100101110101 1111101010111 11111011110111 1010111110111 110011111101 1111101010111 1100100101110101 1111101010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 173
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 18
  • Average number of symbols per line: 57 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; gone, my, i, so are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word ' 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 Old Black Joe;
  • 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