This is an analysis of the poem The Last Reader that begins with:

I sometimes sit beneath a tree
And read my own sweet songs;... 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: ababaa cdcdee fgfgaa gbgbhh ebebgg iaiadd gdgdjj kdkdii
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 10110101 111111 11110100 110101 01111101 11110101 11010111 1111110 101011011 1111010 11010111 110100101 11011111 1101111 110101001 010001 010100001 11010101 11110101 011101 11000101 100111 11110101 01011101 11111111 110101 111100101 1100101 11110111 01111101 01011101 101101 11010101 011101 11010001 110001101 11111101 111101 11110101 010101 11000101 110101001 11110101 110001 11000101 011101 11011101 10110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 194
  • Average number of words per stanza: 37
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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; that, my 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 i 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 The Last Reader;
  • 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