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

Try we life-long, we can never
Straighten out life's tangled skein,... 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: ababcXbbbc dbdbeefffe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,10,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111110 1011101 11101010 1111101 1010101 1010110 100111010 10100010 10101010 1110101 10101010 1110111 10111010 1100101 1011101 1110111 11101010 10111010 10101010 1110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 310
  • Average number of words per stanza: 56
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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; we, guess, it are repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by William Schwenck Gilbert