This is an analysis of the poem A Ninth Birthday that begins with:

Three times thrice hath winter's rough white wing
Crossed and curdled wells and streams with ice... 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 bab abaB X cbcB bXb cbcB X abaB babXabaB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,3,4,1,4,3,4,1,4,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111110111 111011101 101110111 111 1111101101 101010011 101011111 111011101 101111101 1011101001 111 1 11101110110 111110001 1110111110 111 111111101 1111101110 1110011101 111001110010 1110011111 1111110110 111 1 1110101110 111011101 1100111110 111 101011111 1111101010 111111101 1111111110 111111101 1111101010 111
  • Amount of stanzas: 11
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 123
  • Average number of words per stanza: 22
  • Amount of lines: 35
  • 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; of, to, nor, and, have are repeated.

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

  • summary of A Ninth Birthday;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Algernon Charles Swinburne