What If I Say I Shall Not Wait! by Emily Dickinson: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem What If I Say I Shall Not Wait! that begins with:

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What if I say I shall not wait!... 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: X XXX XXX aaX XXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,3,3,3,3,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1 10111111 1011010100 11100001 1011010000 1101100100 110100 110110001 101100101 100000010 110000010100 11000010010 1110000
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 90
  • Average number of words per stanza: 14
  • Amount of lines: 13
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words what, or are repeated.

    The author used the same word what 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 What If I Say I Shall Not Wait!;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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