This is an analysis of the poem A Waif that begins with:

My soul is like a poor caged bird to-night,
Beating its wings against the prison bars, ... 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: ababccdaeXa efefghhgeebb aXadcXiccci
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 11,12,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101011101 1001010101 1001010101 11100010101 1101100111 1100110101 1111010101 1101110101 1101011101 1101011110 1110010101 1101110101 0101110001 0100110101 0101100001 1011000101 1101110111 11010100101 1101111101 0101010101 1111111101 11011100111 1101011101 1011010101 0101010 111 1101100101 1101011111 1101100110 00110010111 1001101111 1001111101 11011000101 1101110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 501
  • Average number of words per stanza: 85
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; and, never are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Waif;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox