This is an analysis of the poem The First Snowfall that begins with:

THE snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night ... 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: abXb Xcdc Xefe gdXd fhXh cXie cdgd Xeae hciXXieie
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011100010 1100101 10101111 0010111 100111111 11011111 101011011 111101 01110110 1100101 011010011 1110101 11111010 01001001 101010011 111101 110010110 1010111 101010010 101001001 11111010 10101101 111000110 1111101 01111010 1100101 111011110 1111111 1010010010 1101111 11110110 0101111 101001110 111101 10010010 0111011 101111110 11101111 1111100010 101101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 140
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • 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 author used the same word i 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 The First Snowfall;
  • 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