This is an analysis of the poem Why, My Heart, Do We Love Her So? that begins with:

Why, my heart, do we love her so?
(Geraldine, Geraldine!)... 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: aBabBaba cBcbBdbd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111101 001001 11011111 110111 001001 111101 10010111 1111 11111101 001001 10110101 1100101 001001 110100 10111110 1111
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 223
  • Average number of words per stanza: 41
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 27 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; why is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word why 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 Why, My Heart, Do We Love Her So?;
  • 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 Ernest Henley