This is an analysis of the poem May that begins with:

The golden discs of the rattlesnake-weed,
That spangle the woods and dance-... 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: AbaXaAb CbXbcCb DeXedDe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0101001011 1100111 110110101 0111100 1100110101 0101001011 1011100 01010011 1100101 110110111 0111100 1100110101 01010011 10100111 00100110111 0011001 111110101 1111101 110110111 00100110111 1010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 265
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 21
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (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; that, of, and are repeated.

    The author used the same word the 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 May;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Madison Julius Cawein