This is an analysis of the poem Preface To Ringing Ballads that begins with:

Beside St. Joseph's shallow stream,
Whose crystal waters wander,... 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: abab bcbc acac dbdb eeXe fbfb XXee ghgh ijij bkbk LXlX Xmdm LXlX fkfk eeXe cccc nbnb lXle
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01110101 1101010 01010111 0101110 000101110 1101010 110111010 0101010 11010101 0111110 11110111 1101010 11011101 0111010 011101101 1101010 01001101 1100110 01010101 0101010 11110101 01001110 111001001 1100010 100111100 1101110 11111101 0101010 11010111 1101010 01110101 1111010 11110101 1101010 11010111 1101010 100101110 1101010 110101010 1101010 01111101 1111110 11010101 0101010 11010111 1101010 11010101 1001010 01111101 0111110 11111101 1111010 011001101 1101010 01110101 10101010 11110101 1101010 11110111 1001010 01010101 0101110 11010101 10001010 11010111 1101110 11110101 1100110 11011101 1111110 11011101 0111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 18
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 133
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 72
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (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, it are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word and at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase her connects the lines.

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

  • summary of Preface To Ringing Ballads;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Rose Hartwick Thorpe