This is an analysis of the poem A Lifted Finger that begins with:

What! _you_ whip rascals?-_you_, whose gutter blood
Bears, in its dark, dishonorable flood,... 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: aabbccccddeeff ffaaaagghhbbaaaa eeaaXciiddbbii jjffjXkkbbhhbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,16,14,14,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1111011101 1001010001 0101010101 0101010001 1111011101 1101110001 1001110111 0101000101 1101110111 10001111101 1101010101 1101011001 0101010001 1101011101 1010111111 1101010101 1011011111 1111000101 0101000111 1101010101 1011011101 0101011111 11111010101 1111010101 1001010101 11001010111 0101110101 10001110111 1001010101 1111001111 1111000101 1001110001 0111010011 1101010011 010100010010 0101010101 0011010101 1101110111 1101010101 0101001101 1001010001 1101111101 0111010111 1101010111 1001010001 1101011101 1111000101 0101000101 1011010101 1111011110 1001010111 1011000100 01010011101 0101010101 0101011101 01010010101 0101011101 0111010001
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 617
  • Average number of words per stanza: 113
  • Amount of lines: 58
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (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; you, blood, to, of are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Lifted Finger;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ambrose Bierce