This is an analysis of the poem Childhood. (From The Danish) that begins with:

There was a time when I was very small,
When my whole frame was but an ell in height;... 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: abab cdcd cece fefX cbcb gdgd ddXX ghgh bibi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101111101 1111111101 1011010111 1111010001 1100110101 1101111101 0101010101 1111110101 1101011101 1101011101 11010110101 1111111101 1101010101 1110111101 1111010101 1111001111 10011111101 1001010111 1101010101 11010100101 110101010010 1111110111 111101011010 110000110101 01010011101 0111010101 1101111110 1001101101 11111101110 1111011101 01111101010 1101110111 11001101110 1101010111 111111001010 11110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 176
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, and, how, for, my are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word and is repeated.

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

  • summary of Childhood. (From The Danish);
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow