This is an analysis of the poem To A Nurse that begins with:

As dropping moisture on December flowers,
As sunlight breaking o'er the August plain,... 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: ababcXccdedeff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 11010101010 11110100101 11010101110 1011010101 11010010111 110010101010 11110011101 1111110001 1111110111 1101010101 1101010111 1101011101 1011010001 1111011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 609
  • Average number of words per stanza: 114
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; as, and are repeated.

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

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of To A Nurse;
  • 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 Gay