This is an analysis of the poem Birthday Ode For 31st December, 1787 that begins with:

AFAR 1 the illustrious Exile roams,
Whom kingdoms on this day should hail;... 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: abccbadcdeed fdfdfd caacaagggfhfhijibjbff kkibbieeiccdhfficjcj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 12,6,21,20,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01100100111 11010111 111001001 11010101 10110100101 1001011101 11110100101 110101110101 01010101 110011101 11010101 110101 1100101 1101110101 11000100011 0111011111 1101001001 010101 110101 11010001001 11110101 01011101001 11010001 11010111 0110000101 110101011011 010101010101 110001111 010101010 11100101 0111101010 100101001 01010101 0100111001 110101010001 1100110001 10100101 11010111 110111011101 10010101 11010101 010101 110100101 11010101 011001 11010111 11011101 0101010101 11011101 11010101 1101010011 010010101010 11010101 01110101 1101010110001 11010101 110101 011000011 110011
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 550
  • Average number of words per stanza: 93
  • Amount of lines: 62
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (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; and, of, on, they are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word full is repeated.

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

  • summary of Birthday Ode For 31st December, 1787;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Robert Burns