This is an analysis of the poem When You Thought Me Poor that begins with:

When you thought me poor,
my poverty was shaming....

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: Xabcb XXcXXXde ffda Xffdg feXchicXXgbceihi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,8,4,5,16,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111 1100110 1101010 1101 1111 110100 0110111 10111001 11110 11 110 1000010 1111 111 1 11111110 0101 1011010 01101 11 01100 0 101 11101 1010101 0101 1010 0101 111111 111 1101 101011010 0101 10001 01110101 01110010 011
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 121
  • Average number of words per stanza: 22
  • Amount of lines: 37
  • Average number of symbols per line: 19 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 4
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word when 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 When You Thought Me Poor;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Alice Walker