This is an analysis of the poem Sos (Save Our Sons) that begins with:

We Black men of England
Too proud to cry for shame,...

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: AXbXcdeffe AgbbgdchhcXAdeedaghhg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,21,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111010 110111 1101 1100 011101 1101010 011101 011 1011 0111101 111010 111101 111 111 110100 10101010 1011111 1101 111 010001 111010 011001 1110 01110 1011101 1111010 1010001 11101 1111 111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 220
  • Average number of words per stanza: 45
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 21 (very short strings)
  • 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; cry is repeated.

    The author used the same word we at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines people is repeated).

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

  • summary of Sos (Save Our Sons);
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Benjamin Zephaniah