This is an analysis of the poem When I Heard At The Close Of The Day that begins with:

WHEN I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv'd
with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night... 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: abacdXeXbafgdbceadfXXXbagd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 26,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111010011111001 0100010010110101 11110 1111100111100101 11110 101111110010011 0110010011010 11101100111110100 101 111001100111001 100011011011 111111111101101 10111110 1111101011111110 1110100111 1011010110011101 11 111111111010110 01000101 110101000101110100 11000010111 101111110111001100 011 001000101101101 011 10111001111111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1448
  • Average number of words per stanza: 244
  • Amount of lines: 26
  • Average number of symbols per line: 55 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; when, i, and, me, in are repeated.

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

  • summary of When I Heard At The Close Of The Day;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Walt Whitman