This is an analysis of the poem For The Burns Centennial Celebration that begins with:

JANUARY 25, 1859
His birthday.--Nay, we need not speak... 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 abab cdcd deXe fgfg hhhi jXjb ihih bebe dddd hehe kckc dede dbXb lmlm
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 101011 01111111 0111010 110011101 0111010 110111001 1101010 11010101 1001010 111101001 11011010 01010111 01110010 010010101 0101001 11011101 1101110 11010101 0100110 111101001 0101010 11010101 0101010 110101001 0111010 11010101 11101101 11010101 0101010 11111101 1101110 11110001 0101010 11111101 0111010 011101001 1101110 11111110 01001110 11111111 1101010 11110101 1101010 110101101 0111010 110111101 0101010 01010111 1101010 11110101 0111010 11010101 0101010 01010101 1101010 010010101 0101010
  • Amount of stanzas: 15
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 126
  • Average number of words per stanza: 21
  • Amount of lines: 57
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word we 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 For The Burns Centennial Celebration;
  • 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