This is an analysis of the poem Mary Smith that begins with:

Away down East where I was reared amongst my Yankee kith,
There used to live a pretty girl whose name was Mary Smith;... 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: XXaabbcc ddbbbbcc aaeeffcc ggddddcc hhddiicc iiiijjcc bbjjjjccXffjjffcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,17,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 01111111011101 11010101111101 11010011111101 11110101110111 11011101010101 110010101110101 10111111100001 11010111111101 11010101110101 01011011111101 110100010110101 111100011011101 01010101010101 110101001100111 11111111111111 11010101111101 11111101011101 11110100110101 01010101110101 01010101111001 0111010011111 01010101111101 11110111111101 11011111111101 1111010011101 1101110011101 11011111110111 10001010110101 11010101110101 11010101011111 11010101010001 1111010111101 11011111010101 01010111011101 01010101010101 110101001011101 01011101010011 01010100101001 11011101110101 01011111111101 11011011011111 101001101111111 01011001100111 01100101010001 11110111010101 11010100110101 11011011100111 1011010111101 11011101111101 11110111101101 11111101111101 010011101111101 11110111110111 11000101111110 10110101011101 11111111111101 1101110110101 01110101101101 10110101111101 11011001011101 11111111010101 11011101111101 11111101110101 01001101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 465
  • Average number of words per stanza: 90
  • Amount of lines: 64
  • Average number of symbols per line: 57 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, i, to, sometimes, he, that, as, of, song are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, i, sometimes, the, god are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word beau 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 Mary Smith;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Eugene Field