This is an analysis of the poem The Barren Fig-Tree that begins with:

The church a garden is
In which believers stand,... 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: ababcc dedebb aaaaff ghghdd ieiebb cdcXee
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 010100 010101 110101 101111 01010111 110010101 110111 000101 111101 110101 11011101 11110001 010101 010111 110101 011101 11010011 01010111 110001 110101 010101 010101 01010101 11010101 101111 110111 110101 110101 11111111 01111101 010101 110101 000101 111110 11110101 11010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 180
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; his is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Barren Fig-Tree;
  • 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 Newton