This is an analysis of the poem When I Was A Boy that begins with:

Up in the attic where I slept
When I was a boy, a little boy,... 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: aBaaccddB cBccXbeeB fBffbbggB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,9,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10010111 111010101 010100111 10010111 10011101 10010101 11111111 001010111 111010101 11010111 111010101 101110101 10110111 01010100 1011100100 110100101 111010101 111010101 110111101 111010101 1010100111 10010101 0101100001 00110101101 111111101 011110111 111010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 337
  • Average number of words per stanza: 68
  • Amount of lines: 27
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (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; boy, i, to are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word boy 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 When I Was A Boy;
  • 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