This is an analysis of the poem To My Beloved Friend Mr. James Woodyatt; A Christmas Lay that begins with:

For us who're snatched as brands from hell
Some portion of my time to tell... 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: AabA cdcd eded cbcb fbfb egeg fhfh eheh dbdb ijij cdcd acac ebeb kdkd dkdk lmlm bebe ididXdddd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 111011101 11001101 01011111 111011101 010111010 01011101 110101010 01110111 11110101 11110101 11001010 010011001 11001111 01111101 11010101 01111101 111100111 11011101 11111101 11010001 11011111 01011101 11110101 11010101 11110101 01110011 111100101 11010101 11110101 01110101 01001101 011001001 11011111 01011111 11010001 10011101 11111010 01010101 10011111 11010101 111101110 11111101 111101010 01010011 11110101 110111010 01111101 010011010 11011111 01101101 01010111 10011111 11110100 11110101 11111101 10010001 10010101 10010111 11111101 11110101 01010011 11011101 010011001 01011101 11110011 11111101 10011111 11000111 11110011 01011001 10111101 11010001 11111001 11111111 01010111 11010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 19
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 141
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 76
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (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; our, we, why, for are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of To My Beloved Friend Mr. James Woodyatt; A Christmas Lay;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Thomas Cowherd