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

Voice of the Holy Spirit, making known
Man to himself, a witness swift and sure,... 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: abbacddcdeedaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 1001010101 1001010111 1001011111 1011011001 1101000101 0101000111 01110000100 1101110100 1101010011 1001010001 0101010100 1001110101 1101010001 0001010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 572
  • Average number of words per stanza: 100
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • 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.

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

  • summary of The Word;
  • 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