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

Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe....

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: aa bb cc dd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,2,2,2,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1001111001 1001001101 10011101001 1101001011 1001111001 1010101001 1001111111 1011101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 81
  • Average number of words per stanza: 16
  • Amount of lines: 8
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (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; i, and are repeated.

    The author used the same words four, three 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 Inventory;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Dorothy Parker