This is an analysis of the poem The Ballade Of The Mistletoe Bough that begins with:

I am standing under the mistletoe,
And I smile, but no answering smile replies... 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: XabaacaC babXacaC babaacaC XXacac
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1110100101 11111100101 1010111101 111100111 010010101 010011110001 110111101 1111111101 111101111 1110100101 111111111 1111010100 111011101 1111111101 1010110101 1111111101 1111111111 0101010101 1111111101 010010101 1110101101 001110111 1111100101 1111111101 10 1100101101 1101110101 10100111101 1111111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 235
  • Average number of words per stanza: 46
  • Amount of lines: 29
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

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

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

    The author used the same word i at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word smile 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 Ballade Of The Mistletoe Bough;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ellis Parker Butler