This is an analysis of the poem The Mystery Of Life that begins with:

Life's mystery - deep, restless as the ocean -
Hath surged and wailed for ages to and fro;... 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: ababcC daeacC efgfXc ggggcc gdXXcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11001101010 1111110011 11010101010 1011010101 10011011011 1111011101 11001100010 11010100101 1101111101 1101100101 1101111111 1111011101 0101000111 11010101010 1111110111 11110111010 1101110100 1111011101 0101010101 0111110101 0111010101 1101011111 0111000101 1111110101 1111001001 11111101010 1101010101 1101110111 1101010001 0101111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 268
  • Average number of words per stanza: 48
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, thy are repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word thee 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 The Mystery Of Life;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Harriet Beecher Stowe