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

'The priests distributed various coloured silken threads to weave for the veil of the sanctuary; and it fell to Mary's lot to weave purple.'
—The... 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:
  • Stanza lengths (in strings):
  • Closest metre:
  • Сlosest rhyme:
  • Сlosest stanza type:
  • Guessed form:
  • Metre:
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1386
  • Average number of words per stanza: 254
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to, of, as are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Purple Thread;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Katharine Lee Bates