This is an analysis of the poem San Francisco: April 18,1906 that begins with:

In olden days, a child, I trod thy Sands,
Thy sands unbuilded, rank with brush and briar... 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 acab adad ebeb fbfb Xece gbgb hchb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0101011111 11100101110 1101011111 11001111010 1111010101 1101010111 10111100101 1100111010 0101011111 0111001111 1001010101 1111010111 1110110101 10011100010 1101110111 11001111010 11110101001 110111110010 11010100101 00011111010 1101010010 0011011101 11110100111 1101001101 1101010001 01011101010 1111111101 11001111010 1101110101 1101110111 1001111101 11001111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 178
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • 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, and, my, of are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word desire 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 San Francisco: April 18,1906;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ina D. Coolbrith