This is an analysis of the poem By False Pretenses that begins with:

John S. Hittell, whose sovereign genius wields
The quill his tributary body yields;... 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: aaaabbccddaaeebbffffXdgg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 24,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1110110101 0101010101 010011010 1101011000 0101110001 10010100101 0011000101 0101010101 11010100001 1111010111 100101101 100101000101 1111001100 1101101011 1001011101 0101010111 1101000101 0100011011 0101010011 0100010101 1101010101 0101011111 1111010101 1011010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 999
  • Average number of words per stanza: 182
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; of is 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 By False Pretenses;
  • 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