This is an analysis of the poem At The Banquet To The Grand Duke Alexis that begins with:

DECEMBER 9, 1871
ONE word to the guest we have gathered to greet!... 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: X aaaa bbcc dddd eeff gghh ffii jjXf ffgg jjhh aadd cckkXccjj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 01011 11001111001 01011011001 001001111001 101001011001 01011001101 101011011011 01011001011 101001001011 11101000101 111001101001 101001001001 0010010111001 110110010110 010011011010 111001011001 111101001001 01001011001 101111001001 101101000101 011110011001 01111001001 11101111001 101011011101 101001011101 11001011011 110110011001 0011010010100 001011101101 01101011001 01001011001 11011001001 001101001001 111111101001 11101101101 11101101101 11111011111 11001001001 111110011111 101001001101 11100011111011 010111001001 101101101011 101001101111 10100110010001 11011011111 101001101001 111011011001 111011101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 183
  • Average number of words per stanza: 35
  • Amount of lines: 49
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to, its, of, as, and, they 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 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 At The Banquet To The Grand Duke Alexis;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Oliver Wendell Holmes