This is an analysis of the poem The Courage Of Shutting-Up that begins with:

The courage of the shut mouth, in spite of artillery!
The line pink and quiet, a worm, basking....

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: XaXbX XXcdX dXXXb eabfa XefbX ddXed ddcXd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 01000110100100 0111100110 111101001011 101100101100 010111001 1011100101 11000101100 010100001 101011110 01101010 01010110011100 0101001 111111010 0100101111 111111011100 101001011010010 1101011001 1010001010011 011100100 1010100110110 10111011 110011000010001 10110101010110 00010010 01011001 1101010101 101111111001 010101111101 011100100010011 11100101 110111111110 1111011 001011010 110010000 01001010
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 219
  • Average number of words per stanza: 41
  • Amount of lines: 35
  • 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; of, it, heads, eyes are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Courage Of Shutting-Up;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sylvia Plath