This is an analysis of the poem 1936 that begins with:

All night they marched, the infantrymen under pack,
But the hands gripping the rifles were naked bone... 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 dbdb XdX Xd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,3,2,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 111101000101 101100100101 1010100111011 10111 011110110101 010100100111 1110001100111 11101 101110111111 10011100101 10100111010101 1101 101111111110 11111111101 1110100110111 1001 11
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 148
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 17
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; ' is repeated.

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines ' is repeated).

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

  • summary of 1936;
  • 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 Vincent Benet