This is an analysis of the poem How Mary Grew that begins with:

With wisdom far beyond her years,
And graver than her wondering peers,... 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: aabbcc ddeecc aaffcc ggeeXc bbhhddcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01010100 110101001 11110101 01011100 01010101 11011101 10010101 11010100 11010101 010101001 10011101 010100101 01110101 00010101 01110100 11011100 01010101 11011101 11111111 101110101 11010111 11110101 01011101 00111101 11010101 0101100 11010101 11100101 01011101 11010101 01010101 01011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 216
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (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; to, she, her are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word grew 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 How Mary Grew;
  • 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