This is an analysis of the poem The First Fan that begins with:

READ AT A MEETING OF THE BOSTON BRIC-A-BRAC
CLUB, FEBRUARY 21, 1877... 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: aX Xbcb dede efeX gXgX hghg didi XecX bjbj cXXX cccc dXdX didk aeae cfcf bibi eiei lele gmgm cncn kaka lXlX nfnf cncn dede eaeX Xldl oeoe nfnf kbkb eeee neXe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 110100010101 1101011 11011101 1101101010 01010111 1111000010 11111101 010101010 010101001 111111010 01010101 0100101010 010100101 111111010 110100101 111111011 11111101 1111111010 01110111 111101110 11000101 111111110 11010101 010101110 11000101 010101010 0101010100 010101110 110110111 010100100 11110101 010101110 11010111 110001010 10010101 010101010 11110110 111101110 11001101 010100010 01110101 010011010 01011111 111100010 11010111 011101100 11000101 11101010 11000101 101111010 11010001 110111010 11010101 110101010 11010101 111101010 11111101 110001010 11011101 111111110 01111101 010111110 01010101 111101110 01010101 011101010 01000101 010001010 11010101 110111110 11010101 110101010 11010101 110101010 11111111 111101010 11010111 110101010 11011101 110111011 11010101 110101011 11010101 010101011 01111111 1101110100 01011101 0101001010 01011111 110101010 11011101 010101010 01111101 110101010 11010111 1100101010 1100101001 110101010 11011101 010100010 01010101 010111000 110010100 010101010 0101001101 110001110 11010101 010001110 11010101 110011010 01010101 0100101010 11110101 0101001010 01011111 010111110 01011101 010101110 0100111001 1100111011 010101001 1100101010 110011101 010101010 11010010 010101110
  • Amount of stanzas: 32
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 142
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 126
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (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; and, of, her are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words the, she, and, one, in are repeated.

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

  • summary of The First Fan;
  • 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