This is an analysis of the poem The Wreck Of The Barque Wm. Paterson Of Liverpool that begins with:

Ye landsmen all attend my verse, and I'll tell to ye a tale
Concerning the barque "Wm. Paterson" that was lost in a tempestuous gale;... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

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  • Rhyme scheme: aabb ccdd eebb fXdgggg gggg hhdd eegg ccbb XfgX ccXX iibb jjbb ggkk bbccXeegg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,7,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 110101111110101 01001110001110011001 1110100010010011011 101100101010110 110101101001001011 111110110010111101 101011011101 10111011110101 1010110010111110 10110100101110 1111011101101 01110101100101 111010111 10100100101 110010110010 001001101000101110101000101100101 101101100101 110111100011001 10111101001101 1001010101011001001 1010010010011110111 101001101010010101 10101010111011001 01101001010010111 10001100110110001 0110101010101001 11110101101 100100101 10111110110101 111001011111 1110010010110001 11000101101010001 1001110101 1100110100101011 11101110010010111 1110011111110 011111110010 1101001100101101 1101011011110 11010101101 1100010100101 1110010001111001010 1011110100110001011 111110010101010001 11100110011011 111111011001 1110111010011 11010100011 11110101 110010001011 1111001011001101 1010010100101 101010100010101 01010100100011011 1100010001011110101 111111111 01011101 11001010001 110011011001 11011010010111 1010101101 1101101100111011 1011001100100110001001
  • Amount of stanzas: 15
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 255
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 63
  • Average number of symbols per line: 60 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, to, day, of, they, them are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, but are repeated.

    The author used the same word and 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 The Wreck Of The Barque Wm. Paterson Of Liverpool;
  • 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 Topaz McGonagall