What do I feel if this is not love? by Francesco Petrarch: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem What do I feel if this is not love? that begins with:

‘S'amor non è, che dunque è quel ch'io sento?
What do I feel if this is not love?...

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 XXabcXabXbXdcd X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,14,1,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101111110 111100011 1000111100 0010011010 011101001001 010100110111 011010101010 1101101010 1110011011101 10101111010100 0101010011 111110110101 11010110010 1111111111 11001101010 0101011
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 224
  • Average number of words per stanza: 45
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8

  • 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; this, if, i, in are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of What do I feel if this is not love?;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Francesco Petrarch

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