Is It Or Is It 'Not' About The Work? by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Is It Or Is It 'Not' About The Work? that begins with:

I have often heard it said...
'THIS is 'not' about YOU! ...

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: abcX XdebeXfXXa XXbcbfdfc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,10,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1110101 101011 000101 110110000 111101 1000 110 1111 010101001010 10111 001001010 1101 1101001100 010001010 111111000101 1111 01111010101 1 0110100111010 10101010 01011010100001010 0010010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 165
  • Average number of words per stanza: 29
  • Amount of lines: 22
  • 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 speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

    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; it is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Is It Or Is It 'Not' About The Work?;
  • 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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