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

Why should he not have been allowed
To thread with peaceful feet the crowd... 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: aabaacXb ddabbeXa dXbaaXfb ggheeXfh XXceeaac
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111001 01010101 111101 01001101 01010111 11010101 11001000 010101 11110101 11110001 11001 11111111 11010101 01111100 11011100 110101 11111101 01000101 001101 11110001 01110101 10010101 01110101 011111 110010111 10011101 110101 1100101001 01110101 01010100 11001101 110101 01010101 110101010 11111 01110001 11110101 11010100 01001101 110100
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 251
  • Average number of words per stanza: 46
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • 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; he, all are repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ambrose Bierce