This is an analysis of the poem The Onlooker that begins with:

If I could make a pillow for your head,
Soft, pleasant, filled with every pretty thought;... 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: ababcc dbdXdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0111010111 11010100101 0111010111 01111100101 11111100011 11111111111 1111001101 1101111111 1101010111 1111010110 1111110011 1111111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 267
  • Average number of words per stanza: 51
  • Amount of lines: 12
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edith Nesbit