This is an analysis of the poem The Ravaged Face that begins with:

Outlandish as a circus, the ravaged face
Parades the marketplace, lurid and stricken...

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: abbXabbacdcdcd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 01010100101 01010110110 11100001 1001010101 1101010101 10010110101 11000111010 1111010100 1001100100 0110011101 0101000101 1010110100 0100100010101 1100111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 569
  • Average number of words per stanza: 93
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; better, of are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Ravaged Face;
  • 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