This is an analysis of the poem Woodly Old Man that begins with:

The old man sits at his boiling pot,
Eating boiled wood--even scalding hot....

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: aabb ccXd cdXX ccXX aaXX dXaa X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,1,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 011110101 101110101 11011101 0010111111 1101111101 0110111101 0111011110 1101111110 110100101 1101111011 111010111011 11101010111110 11001010101 111011110101 111101110 1101011101 110101011 111001011111 110111011 11101010100 11111111 1101011101 111100101 111111111101 0100110010010110010
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 166
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 26
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (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; his, and, i, wood, which are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Woodly Old Man;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sukumar Ray