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

To all to whom this little book may come--
Health for yourselves and those you hold most dear!... 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: ababcdcX efeffdfd fefeeded cdcX dcdccdcd cdcX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,4,8,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0101010111 1110111111 1001110011 1111001101 100110111110 11001010100 11010100110 11011100110 1111001101 110010101011 1000111101 0101010000 11011110101 1101010101 10011010111 0101011101 1111011111 1011110101 1001010101 1001011101 1011010101 1011011111 1111011101 0101010101 110111111110 1111110100 000111001010 010101110010 0101110101 01110111010 01001110111 01010101010 11011101010 111100001 100111101001 0101110101 110110111110 11001111101 11111101010 01011101010
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 300
  • Average number of words per stanza: 56
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, fit, be, no, that are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word fit at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Rudyard Kipling