There Was A Cherry-Tree by James Whitcomb Riley: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem There Was A Cherry-Tree that begins with:

There was a cherry-tree. Its bloomy snows
Cool even now the fevered sight that knows ... 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: aabb ccdd eeccXbbdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1101010101 1101010111 1101010011 111001 1101010111 0101011111 1111110101 111101 1101011111 0100011101 0001010111 110101 1101011111 1101011101 1101100101 111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 158
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; blue, there, of are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word there 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 There Was A Cherry-Tree;
  • 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

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