This is an analysis of the poem But I Was Looking At The Permanent Stars that begins with:

Bugles sang, saddening the evening air,
And bugles answered, sorrowful to hear.... 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: aa bbc bX ccdXXdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,3,2,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1011000101 1101010001 1001010101 11000110111 0110010111 1001010001 1101100101 101 00101010101 01000111001 1011000010 01010011011 01000001011
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 102
  • Average number of words per stanza: 18
  • Amount of lines: 13
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word voices 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 But I Was Looking At The Permanent Stars;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Wilfred Owen