This is an analysis of the poem To Build A Quiet City In His Mind that begins with:

To build a quiet city in his mind:
A single overwhelming wish; to build, ...

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: aaaabb bccbXbb Xaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,7,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: rondeau
  • Metre: 0101010001 0101010101 1100110111 1101010001 0101110101 0101010001 0101011101 1011110100 01001111101 1100010101 110 1010111 1101010101 0101000111 1101010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 191
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 17
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to is repeated.

    The author used the same word a at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of To Build A Quiet City In His Mind;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Weldon Kees