Keeping It That Way by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Keeping It That Way that begins with:

Why do the people seem so angry?
'I've heard it said they feel deceived.'...

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: a X bc XX Xa bdbeccX bfc dX Xe cXXgX a Xfg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,1,2,2,2,7,3,2,2,5,1,3,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110101110 110111100 01 111101 10001 0101111101 11111 11100101100 11010 11 010010001 1010100010011 10100001010 110101101001 11001110101100 1 110111010001 10110100 110001010000010011 111001001101 11101001 110110110 11101 01000111000001 1010010101010010 1101000100001 001010110101000 100101100 1 1111 1110101111
  • Amount of stanzas: 12
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 93
  • Average number of words per stanza: 17
  • Amount of lines: 31
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

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

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

  • summary of Keeping It That Way;
  • 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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