This is an analysis of the poem When Early March Seems Middle May that begins with:

When country roads begin to thaw
In mottled spots of damp and dust,... 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: ababcC dedecC fefecC fgfgcC eeXecC dcdXXC
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11010101 01010111 11010101 010101 11010111 001010101 11010101 11011101 01010101 011111 11111111 001010101 11001111 11000101 11010101 011111 01011111 001010101 11011101 11010111 11011101 110111 11111101 001010101 11010101 111100101 11010101 0101001 11011101 001010101 11110111 11100101 11111101 010100 11011100 001010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 207
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • 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, when are repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word way at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of When Early March Seems Middle May;
  • 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