This is an analysis of the poem The Maiden's Sorrow that begins with:

Seven long years has the desert rain
Dropped on the clods that hide thy face;... 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 efef dgdg haha ijijXbaba
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 101010101 11011111 101001011 111011001 101100101 10011111 11101111 10011001 11111101 10001001110 10010101 101110010 10100111 10010101 11010111 10110101 11111101 11101101 1110111 10010111 00101101 10110111 11111001 11111011 0111111 0110101 10101101 11101101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 143
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (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; there, my are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word there 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 Maiden's Sorrow;
  • 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 Cullen Bryant