Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The narrator (Richard Church) has a distinct voice and a curious view of the world. He alternates between beautiful descriptions praising the transcendent qualities of Life ("The Flood of Life," "The Month of March," "The Pond," "Wild Roses"), and warnings about its negative elements and their consequences ("Be Frugal," "Twentieth-Century Psalter," "Rondel of Regret," "Sonnet"). He spends much time dwelling upon the beauty of Nature, but unlike the Romantic poets, he rarely praises them for their own sake - they are beautiful because of the qualities that point beyond themselves to something greater.
Form and Meter
Form and meter vary by poem, though several take the form of sonnets using iambic pentameter ("Anniversary," "Sonnet," "The Pond").
Metaphors and Similes
Metaphors and similes pervade Church's poetry. As a notable example, in "The Pond," Church compares the soul of a man deserted by his friends to a frozen lake in winter.
Alliteration and Assonance
Assonance: "Found harbour from the storms of youth" ("Youth's Secret")
Irony
In "A Goodnight," the narrator is ostensibly wishing his beloved a good night, but at the same time he is wondering if their actions and intentions are right, making the "good night" somewhat ironic.
Genre
Poetry, mystical transcendentalism
Setting
Twentieth-century England
Tone
Reverent, lyrical, awe-inspired
Protagonist and Antagonist
There is neither a clearly defined protagonist nor an obvious antagonist in Church's poetry. Insofar as these may be considered as such, he praises the beauty of natural life while condemning the horrors of sin manifested in the world.
Major Conflict
Sin has made the world a broken place, and accordingly there is much strife. Church's main goal is to make his readers realize the beauty latent in the world and dwell upon the beautiful rather than the ugly.
Climax
In "The Flood of Life and Other Poems," the climax is the final poem, "Envoi," in which Church bids his "song" a good flight on its way to its readers, hopefully bringing the joy he intended.
Foreshadowing
The imagery Church brings up in "Winter" foreshadows the sudden, bursting growth of "Spring" in the next poem.
Understatement
"Fly out to the throng / Of mankind for a day." ("Envoi")
Allusions
"Twentieth Century Psalter" alludes to modern inventions and technological developments, such as the microphone.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"the late pale blooms of the ground" ("Song – The Late Love")
Personification
"April, the wilful girl, is fled" ("Song – The Late Love")
Hyperbole
"... and all my fear was slain / In time of pain." ("Rondel of Regret")
Onomatopoeia
"Shrieking in the wounded tree" ("Winter")
