This is an analysis of the poem The Mother that begins with:

The long dark night crawled slowly on;
I waited patiently,... 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: aXab c dcd ef ef cfX f fgfg eheh b gbg bf Xbf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,1,3,2,2,3,1,4,4,1,3,2,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01111101 110100 10110101 111100 01011101 110101 110101101 110111 110111111 0101010 01110111 0101010 011110001 100101 01001100 0101101 010101001 100111 01110101 110101 01010011 110011 10110100 1011101 11101111 110111 11010111 01011 10111101 010100 11110111 110011
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 71
  • Average number of words per stanza: 13
  • Amount of lines: 38
  • Average number of symbols per line: 24 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

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

  • summary of The Mother;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Francis Joseph Sherman