This is an analysis of the poem How Salty Win Out that begins with:

I used to think that luck wuz luck and nuthin' else but luck--
It made no diff'rence how or when or where or why it struck;... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

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  • Rhyme scheme: aabbcC ddbbee ffcccc XeaacC gghhccXggcccC
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,13,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 11011111110111 01110111111101 11000111111101 11011101110101 01010100001111 10100111111 1010100001101 110011100001101 1100111001110001 10011101111111 11110111111111 010001101010101 111101001110111 01010111110111 11111111111111 11010111111101 11110101011101 111100110111 11010001110110 11110101011111 110010100010101 010101011100111 1101101111001 10100111111 11111111110101 01110100010110 110010101110001 11000101111001 1101110111101 11010110111 11110111110101 11110101111001 1111010111000101 11010001011111 11111101110101 10100111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 332
  • Average number of words per stanza: 66
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 55 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; or, luck, in, he, win, an', to, i are repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word ten at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of How Salty Win Out;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Eugene Field