This is an analysis of the poem At Christmas that begins with:

A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here;...

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: aaaabbccddeeccXXccffffee
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 24,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 010101001010001 101111101010101 111010101110101 101000100011101 101010101110101 101010111110001 101010101010001 101010101010101 101011101010101 101011100010001 111010101110101 111010111110100 011010100011111 111010101110101 111110101011101 101110101110101 111111101110101 111111101110101 101000101111001 111011010010000 111010111110101 101011101010101 111110101110101 111010111111100
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1479
  • Average number of words per stanza: 293
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 61 (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; of, he, and, to, his, he's, him, when are repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edgar Albert Guest