This is an analysis of the poem Men that begins with:

When I was young, I used to
Watch behind the curtains...

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: abcdbXcXbefgbc eaceXfeebhdibcjgX cdXjihXXh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,17,9,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111110 101010 1111110110111 111110 101111 1011 1111101 0111010 101101110 110110 10011 1011010 101 1 1111100 101110101 001110011 110110100 1101011 100110000010 10101110 111010110 1101 1110101010 1010010110 0011 111111011 10110101 111001001 110111010 1101 10101101 111101 0101011 1010 1011 1011010 111 10
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 292
  • Average number of words per stanza: 53
  • Amount of lines: 39
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

  • summary of Men;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Maya Angelou