This is an analysis of the poem You Smile Upon Your Friend To-Day that begins with:

You smile upon your friend to-day,
To-day his ills are over; ... 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: abab cbcb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11011101 0101110 11000101 1100010 11010101 1101110 11110101 0111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 122
  • Average number of words per stanza: 24
  • Amount of lines: 8
  • 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; to, late are repeated.

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

  • summary of You Smile Upon Your Friend To-Day;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Alfred Edward Housman