Alternatives by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Alternatives that begins with:

Wouldn't it be nice,
If others did what we liked....

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: ABACD dbdaa Xbadd cdaab ABACDXX ABXdXd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,7,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10001 0100111 0010001 01101 11101 11110010 110111111 111101001 0110 010101 10100111 110010 101001 010101 1101011010 111011010100 10101 0111110 10100100 11101100101101 10001 0100111 0010001 01101 11101 0010111 11101001110 10001 0100111 1000100 0111001 01100010 10010101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 161
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 33
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word wouldn't 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 Alternatives;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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