Les Cierges by Emile Verhaeren: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Les Cierges that begins with:

Ongles de feu, cierges ! - Ils s'allument, les soirs,
Doigts mystiques dressés sur des chandeliers d'or, ...

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: XaXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,6,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 100110110011 11001111011 01011010111 100110101011 11001010111 1001111011 1111011100101 11010110010 11111111110 11101111111 1111011111 110010101101 1011101100110 111011100011 111011111001 110010011010 111100111110 111010111110 111010111010 111011111010 11001010111 1001111011 1111011101011 101100110110 1011111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 172
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 25
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (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; de, et, s, les, tr, leur, ni are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words les, ni are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of Les Cierges;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Emile Verhaeren

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