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

A dozen years since in this house what commotion,
What bustle, what stir, and what joyful ado;... 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 caca dada efef ghgh aXaX egeg eiei
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 010010011010 11011111001 10010010011010 10001111001 1011110111011 11011111011 01101110111 1001010011111 111011111010 01001101001 111010110010 11001101001 1011111011110 11101001001 1010010111010 1111111111 1110101010010 11001101101 11101110010010 11011101011 1010011111010 11101101101 010010111010 01111101000 0110111100010 111010110011 1110010101010 01111001111 11101101101 01111001101 01101101001 0011010001011
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 195
  • Average number of words per stanza: 37
  • Amount of lines: 39
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; what, and are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of My 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 Charles Lamb