This is an analysis of the poem Still that begins with:

In sealed box cars travel
names across the land,...

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: abcdc aXed bdfb XbaX XdXf beXd dXef
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 011110 10101 11110101 1011011 11111111 011011011 01100101 0110111101 011011001 111010110 10111001 10011110 11001001 11110101 11111101 11110010 11111001 11101011001 111010111 110110110 101001011 01101011001 011101111 0110010110 11100110 111110110010 11111010011010 111101000111 11111010110
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 161
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 29
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (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; name, jump, cor, rect, forest are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, the, for, don't, a, cor are repeated.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines forest is repeated).

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

  • summary of Still;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Wislawa Szymborska