This is an analysis of the poem Sylvia's Mother that begins with:

Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's busy,
too busy to come to the phone . ...

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: abcbaX DEFGFh chchcX DEFGFh cbXXcXXDEFGFh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,13,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10010110010 11001001 10010110010 01011001 1001011010 111110100 1010101 1011101110 1101001110100 1101001 11010011010 11 10010110010 11001001 100101100100 01011001 10010111110 01011011 1010101 1011101110 1101001110100 1101001 11010011010 11 100101100100 110010001 10010101010 11001001 110010111110 111111011 1010101 1011101110 1101001110100 1101001 11010011010 11
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 212
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (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; sylvia's, to, her, and are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Sylvia's Mother;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Shel Silverstein