This is an analysis of the poem A Christmas Carol that begins with:

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.... 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: XabX acXc adbd efgf g e ebebhh X ahahii X fafaff X jaJakk e hlhlee e fafaXb X bfbfee XXaJajff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,1,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01111101 011101 11010001 110110 01111101 011101 11110101 110111 01111101 0111010 11010001 1101010 01111101 011101 110101111 110111 1101010 1 01011101 11010101 1010101 11111101 1001110101 0101010101 1 110101001 10001001 01010101 11010101 1101000101 1001111111 1 11000101 11010111 11110101 01110001 1101010101 1111010101 1 11000101 11010101 11110101 11101101 11010101010 11110101110 1 10110101 01010101 010111001 11010111 1111110111 0101010101 1 10011101 01110101 11010111 110001101 10010101100 100110101 1 010011101 1101011001 01011001 11010111 1011010101 110001110001 1 11001101 11110101 0110101 01000101 1100110101 1111010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 21
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 114
  • Average number of words per stanza: 21
  • Amount of lines: 74
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; she, peace, of, all 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 the at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of A Christmas Carol;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Gilbert Keith Chesterton