Greater Than Most by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Greater Than Most that begins with:

Challenges are many.
And those balls some juggle, ...

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: ABC dXaXe cFFfc accX EDC ABCcFFXEDC
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,5,5,4,3,10,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 100110 111110 11011 01010110 11011 1001110 10100100 00101 1 100111 0110010 1001111 011101001 11010100010 111 100101001 001001001 01010001 101011010 1010111 100110 111110 11011 1 100111 0110010 01010001 101011010 1010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 117
  • Average number of words per stanza: 20
  • Amount of lines: 29
  • Average number of symbols per line: 27 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many three dots in the poem. Readers should think of the author's idea together with the pensive speaker.

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

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

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

  • summary of Greater Than Most;
  • 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

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