This is an analysis of the poem The Calling Of The Birds that begins with:

Have you heard the seagull calling, the seagull out at sea?
And sorry is its voice, though its wings are wide and free!...

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: aaXa XaXa bbXb bbXb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11101110011111 1100011011111 10110011011101 1111110010101 0100011110100 01111101010101 011101010111010 10111111111101 11101010010101 11000110011101 10101111010101 1111110010101 010101010101 10101011010101 10101011011101 101110111010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 241
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 59 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words the, on are repeated.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines hill is repeated).

    The poet repeated the same words sea, hill at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of The Calling Of The Birds;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Cicely Fox Smith