This is an analysis of the poem Her Dilemma that begins with:

THE two were silent in a sunless church,
Whose mildewed walls, uneven paving-stones,... 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: abaX cccc XcXc dbdb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0101000101 11001010101 1101010101 11010111000 1001010101 1111111101 1111011101 101111010101 11110010110010 1101110101 11110101010 1101000101 1011110101 11010011101 0101011111 1101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 202
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 51 (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, her are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Her Dilemma;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Thomas Hardy