This is an analysis of the poem Arlo Will that begins with:

Did you ever see an alligator
Come up to the air from the mud,...

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: aXbcbdefdfeafcaXeXfX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0110111010 11001001 10101001101 1110101011 101111010010 11101010 11011110011 11101001001010 01001 111001011 1011011 1101001011010 1001101 0110101 1101010 101110101010 11101 011111101 11100010 00101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 731
  • Average number of words per stanza: 137
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you, of, many are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Arlo Will;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edgar Lee Masters