The Great Oak Tree by William Schwenck Gilbert: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Great Oak Tree that begins with:

There grew a little flower
'Neath a great oak tree:... 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: ababaaabBXBB cbcbcccbBXBB ababaaaXBXBB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 12,12,12,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1101010 10111 10101010 10101 1111010 11101010 11100010 00111 11 100 10111 1010101010111 11111110 11111 11001010 11110 10100010 11100010 10101010 10111 11 100 10111 1010101010111 1111110 01111 10101110 11111 11111010 00101010 11101110 011110 11 100 10111 1010101010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 323
  • Average number of words per stanza: 62
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 26 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • 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; she is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word tree at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of The Great Oak Tree;
  • 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 Schwenck Gilbert

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