This is an analysis of the poem The Only Child that begins with:

Lest he miss other children, lo!
His angel is his playfellow. ...

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: XXaa bbcc ddee ffgh hXbb iijjXgggg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11110101 01000100 010010101 01011101 1101001010 111001010 10110011 10010101 11010101 1101100101 110010011 11110000 11011111 01010101 10110001 11110101 11011101 110011100 010111010 110101010 11011111 01010101 11010101 0010011111 010100111 11010101 11010111 01010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 144
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; and, from, his are repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Katharine Tynan