This is an analysis of the poem The Unknowing that begins with:

If the bird knew how through the wintry weather
An empty nest would swing by day and night,...

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 Xbcb dede fcfc agag
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 00111101010 1101111111 01110111010 111101 100101100100 1100111101 01110101010 010101 00111101010 1011010100 101101010010 010111 01110101110 011111101 01101101010 1110001 01111111010 11110101101 11110111110 110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 170
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; its, and are repeated.

    The author used the same word if 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 The Unknowing;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Virna Sheard