Before Marching and After by Thomas Hardy: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Before Marching and After that begins with:

Orion swung southward aslant
Where the starved Egdon pine-trees had thinned,... 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: XaXabcc Xadabec dfdfbec
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,7,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01011010 101101111 01001101 001011001 1111010001111 011110111110 110011111010 01111001 11101111 11011000 1110001100 1111010011101 1111110100111 011011111010 1011010110 101011001 111010110 11011011 11111011101 111011011011 0101001011010
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 336
  • Average number of words per stanza: 58
  • Amount of lines: 21
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (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; he is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word morrow 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 Before Marching and After;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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