Anniversary Song by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Anniversary Song that begins with:

WHY pacest thou, my neighbour fair,
The garden all alone?...

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: a bc b c dd d d cX c b ee e X aX a X cc c d ae a b Xb X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11011101 010101 01111101 111101 11010101 110011 11100101 011101 11000101 011101 11011100 011101 11010101 010001 11011101 110001 10011101 1011001 10011101 111111 11010100 110101 01111101 111111 11011101 111111 01110101 110011 01010111 1000111 01010101 111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 24
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 39
  • Average number of words per stanza: 7
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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 poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word and is repeated.

    The author used the same word and 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 Anniversary Song;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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