This is an analysis of the poem The Chimney-Sweeper: When My Mother Died I Was Very Young that begins with:

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue... 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: aaXX bbXX ccdd eeff bbee ddgg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1110111101 1110111111 11011111 11101110111 1101111101 11101111111 11101011111 11101101111 11111011101 11101011101 11001011111 01001101001 11111011011 111001011011 11011101011 11001011001 11011111101 1101111001 101011010001 111101011011 11101111001 11011111001 101011111011 101111011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 195
  • Average number of words per stanza: 39
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • 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; i, weep, my, and, of are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word 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 The Chimney-Sweeper: When My Mother Died I Was Very Young;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by William Blake