This is an analysis of the poem Is This... A Metaphor? that begins with:

Street hustlers,
Living a life to sniff a quick buick......

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: ABABAC DEXFFgh iAGJ ahIACKG ABABAC DEXFF ahIAGJ ahIXFF ahICKG ahIGchXahIGGch
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,7,4,7,6,5,6,6,6,14,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1100 1001010110 000110010010 101001001 1110100101 10000100100101 11101100010001 1010 001000101 111001001 010010110101 111100111 00100011100101 100100 01111100 1010010100011 00101000111 0 0 0100 01111100 0010001 110101101 001101111111 1100 1001010110 000110010010 101001001 1110100101 10000100100101 11101100010001 1010 001000101 111001001 010010110101 0 0 0100 01111100 1010010100011 00101000111 0 0 0100 001000101 111001001 010010110101 0 0 0100 0010001 110101101 001101111111 0 0 0100 00 1 1010100 0 0 0100 00 00 1 110010
  • Amount of stanzas: 11
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 168
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 66
  • 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:

    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; to is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word is at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines it is repeated).

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

  • summary of Is This... A Metaphor?;
  • 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