This is an analysis of the poem The Birthday Wreath that begins with:

Blossom and greenness, making all
The winter birthday tropical,... 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: aabaab XXbbbb ccdddd Xedddd ffgeeg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 10110101 01011100 10110101 11010111 11011111 11010001 11010100 11111100 01010101 10010101 10111111 01010101 11010101 010011101 11010101 10110101 11011101 11010111 11100100 01110111 10010111 01001101 01010111 01000101 100100101 01011101 00100111 01110101 11010011 01010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 208
  • Average number of words per stanza: 37
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • 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, of are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word the 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 The Birthday Wreath;
  • 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