This is an analysis of the poem To H. W. Longfellow that begins with:

BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE, MAY 27, 1868
OUR Poet, who has taught the Western breeze... 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 aabbb ccddd eeaaa aafff ddfff aaggXXccfff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,5,5,5,5,5,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 010010110111 1101110101 01010111001 010100001001 1101010101 100101110101 1101010100 11011101001 1111011101 1011010111 1011010110101 11001110101 1111011101 10010101001 1111110101 1101011101001 0101011111 0101111101 1111010111 11110010111 1100111110101 1101110101 0101010101 1111010101 10011100101 110111011011 1111010101 1110101001 10010011101 1111010101 1111111101010 1101010110 0111011101 1111010111 1111010111 010101110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 216
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 47 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of To H. W. Longfellow;
  • 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