This is an analysis of the poem Self-Study that begins with:

A presence both by night and day,
That made my life seem just begun,... 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 acac gggg XcXc hghg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01011111 11111110 11010101 01010001 11110101 110101001 01011001 11110101 11010101 11110101 01111101 01010111 11011101 10110101 011000110 11011101 110010111 11110011 01110111 11010101 110101100 10111111 11110101 11110111 11111111 01010111 10010001 11010001
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 140
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Self-Study;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by James Russell Lowell