This is an analysis of the poem To My Daughter Mary Ann, Asleep that begins with:

Sweetly asleep is Mary Ann,
In calmest infantile repose... 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 cdcd XeaX fbfb afaf gfgf eheh eheh hghg abaX bgbg hiXi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 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: 10010101 01010001 01011101 110011001 11111101 11011101 11110101 11010001 11010111 11010111 11110111 110101010 11111101 11110011 10110011 11010111 11110111 11010111 11111101 01011111 11110101 11010101 11011101 01010111 11110111 11010111 11000101 11110101 111111001 11010001 110101001 01100101 11111101 11010101 11011101 11010101 11110101 11010101 11010001 110101100 11010101 11010111 11110101 01011101 11110101 11111101 11010111 01010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 12
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 141
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • 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; thy, to are repeated.

    The author used the same words sleep, and 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 To My Daughter Mary Ann, Asleep;
  • 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