This is an analysis of the poem If One Might Live that begins with:

If one might live ten years among the leaves,
Ten–only ten–of all a life's long day,...

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: ababcacadbdbefefghghcici
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 24,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0111100101 1001010111 1111011101 1100110111 0011010101 1011010101 11001010101 0101110101 0101111101 01011011101 01010101001 0101011111 10001010101 11010101001 010101101 1101010101 1101000101 0101010101 10110001101 1111011101 1101010101 11010100100 1111010111 0101010100
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1054
  • Average number of words per stanza: 196
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; ten, to are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of If One Might Live;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ethelwyn Wetherald