This is an analysis of the poem Song: To M.L. that begins with:

TO M.L.
A lily thou wast when I saw thee first,... 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: X Aaaabccbb Addaaeea bccbfaaff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,9,8,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01 0101111111 01011101 11011111 1101101101 010101111 11101 10111 011011111 011101011 0101111111 01011111 11010101 1101101111 100101111 101010 1010010 11101101101 1111111001 01101101 11011001 01001101001 11111111001 10101 01011 11011111101 01101001001
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 253
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 27
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (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; and is repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of Song: To M.L.;
  • 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