This is an analysis of the poem Before The Dawn that begins with:

In that one darkest hour, before the dawn is here,
Each soul of us goes sailing, close to the coast of Fear....

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: aa bb cX cc aa dd eeff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,2,2,2,2,2,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0111010010101 1101110100101 1001010010101 0111010110111 1101010110111 1011010011100 11011101110111 0101010110001 1111011111101 11010101111101 11001111110101 11110101010111 11000101110101 1100011111111 11010100111010 01011110111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 113
  • Average number of words per stanza: 22
  • Amount of lines: 17
  • Average number of symbols per line: 52 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

  • summary of Before The Dawn;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Virna Sheard