This is an analysis of the poem Life Returning that begins with:

After War-time.
O LIFE, dear life, with sunbeam finger touching ... 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: X abXacc deedee daadff ageff hgghbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,6,6,6,5,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1011 11110111010 0111110101 1101011100 010101001010 100101 11011111001 11111111010 1101110101 0101110101 01110001010 110101 1101010111 11111101010 1101101001 1011011101 10111111010 111001 1101111101 111110110100 1101110101 110100111010 100101 1101010001 110101010100 01111101101 01001010011 111110110100 011111 0101100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 204
  • Average number of words per stanza: 36
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (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 is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word not is repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik