This is an analysis of the poem Can We Shake Ourselves Awake that begins with:

Can we shake ourselves awake,
From an aborted ride into darkness ...

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: AbcXXccd Aefdae Afbdfcf AXd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,6,7,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1110101 0101010010 01 11110101 101010110010 01010010001010 01101101 111101001111 1110101 1101011011 110001010001 10010101 101110111 111 01110101 1110001010001 1001011110011 01110101 01111111101 0100011101010 100011011010 01110101 11110111 0101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 223
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; we, to are repeated.

    The author used the same words can, if 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 Can We Shake Ourselves Awake;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Lawrence S. Pertillar