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

He stood alone on Fame's high mountain top,
His hands at rest, his forehead bound with bay;...

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: abcB bdXd bece fbgb gbfB bhah cacX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11011101101 0111010101 1111010101 010101 0101000111 1101010101 10100010111 110001 1001011111 1101111101 1101110111 010101 1010010101 1101010111 0101110101 111101 1111001111 0101011111 1101110101 010101 11011110111 0101011101 1101110101 110101 1101110111 1101011111 1100011111 100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 162
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; and is 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 Climber;
  • 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