Apollo

“Apollo” is written in seven stanzas, each four lines long, with a final concluding line set off in its own stanza alone. The lines are short and deeply enjambed. Enjambment, talked about in detail below, is when a line spills over into the next line with no end punctuation. Alexander uses short, clipped lines, sometimes only three syllables long, to achieve a somewhat staccato or abrupt tone. By writing in brief, short lines, Alexander stacks small details one after the other, revealing them quickly to the reader. This is evident in the first stanza where each line contains a new piece of scenic information, establishing the place of the poem: “We pull off / to a road shack / in Massachusetts” (Lines 1-3). First, the speaker and family “pull off” (Line 1), then Alexander tells you where (“a road shack” [Line 2]), and then she specifies the state. Each line varies from three to five syllables long, and each line gives a clear, essential detail.

The poem is written in free verse. No set meter or rhyme scheme is apparent. However, as mentioned above, Alexander does favor lines of short syllables.