This is an analysis of the poem A Little Prayer that begins with:

Let us be thankful, Lord, for little things -
The song of birds, the rapture of the rose;...

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: aaaaaa bcbcdd efefcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101011101 0101010001 11010101001 1101001101 1101010101 1101010111 110100101101 01110001001 1101001101 0101010001 1011000101 11011101001 1101011101 0101010111 0101010101 0001010101 1101010101 1101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 263
  • Average number of words per stanza: 48
  • Amount of lines: 18
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; of, to are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word let 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 A Little Prayer;
  • 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 William Service