This is an analysis of the poem Thanksgiving that begins with:

Let us be thankful--not only because
Since last our universal thanks were told... 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 aXaX abab bcbc adad aeae
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101011001 1111010101 1111000101 1101010101 1101111111 0101010100 0101110101 0101010100 1101010101 1101001101 1111011101 1111010111 1101010101 1111010011 1111011101 0101011101 1101010101 1111001111 1001100101 1101111101 1111010101 0101110101 1101110100 1111011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 173
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; us, love are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word let 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 Thanksgiving;
  • 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 Whitcomb Riley