The Child Asleep. (From The French) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Child Asleep. (From The French) that begins with:

Sweet babe! true portrait of thy father's face,
Sleep on the bosom that thy lips have pressed!... 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 efef XXbX ghgh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111001101 1101011111 1101110101 1101111101 0111011101 1111110101 1101110101 1101110111 0111110101 0101111101 1101010101 1111111111 0111110010 0111010110 1111110101 10101011101 1101111101 11010100101 1111111101 0111011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 178
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • 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:

    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; thy, thee, to, his are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Child Asleep. (From The French);
  • 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

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