This is an analysis of the poem When Baby's Sick that begins with:

The very birds sing soft and low,
And noiseless nod the lilac trees; ...

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: ababc dc X e fe fg dg d a ea eh dh d hhh h c d c X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,2,1,1,2,2,2,1,1,2,2,2,1,3,1,1,1,1,1,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01011111 110010111 001110101 11010101 01011001 11011101 10010111 1110101011 01110001 01110001 01110111 11010111 01010101 10011001 11011101 1101111011 11010111 01111101 11010101 11001111 11010101 010110101 11000101 110111011 01011111 01111101 01011111 01011111 11110111 11111101 11010101 1011111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 19
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 59
  • Average number of words per stanza: 11
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • 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; it's, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words the, and, it's are repeated.

    The author used the same words the, it's 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 When Baby's Sick;
  • 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 Kirkland Kernighan