This is an analysis of the poem Birchbrook Mill that begins with:

A NOTELESS stream, the Birchbrook runs
Beneath its leaning trees;... 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: aaba bcdc eeee fafa gbfb afXf faha afaf fbeb fehe dfbf bihi ffaf gXbX dgXgXeeee
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 010010101 010101 11110001 111001 01010101 0101101 11110101 011001 11010101 010100 11110101 111101 01001111 1101010 01110111 010001 110011101 110001 11011101 110101 11011101 110111 1101001001 110101 01010001 010101 00111101 011101 10010111 011101 01011001 110101 11110101 0100111 01000101 111101 11010101 0101001 01001011 110101 110001001 110101 010011101 010101 110111010 010001 11010101 011101 01001101 111101 01000101 011101 11010001 111000 11010101 01010110 110101001 010101 01000101 101101 11010101 110001 11010101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 16
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 123
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 64
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (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; of is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Birchbrook Mill;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by John Greenleaf Whittier