Praying For Change And Upward Mobility by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Praying For Change And Upward Mobility that begins with:

The rich get richer.
And the poor stay on sore knees, ...

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: abcdeafXg XbegebehX beX cfgdXbbXhb XX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,9,3,10,2,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01110 1011111 0001010001 10111100100 0011110101 11001000010 010110101100 011101010100 001001101 1111 1101110 01001111 11110011 1111111101 0111001111 01010001 101101 1100010101 11111100110 11111 011100100 11011001 010101001010 1110101 01100100 00010001 11110010010111 1101100 11000101001000 0110011001 1001001 1 11010011011000
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 241
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 33
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • 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; and, to are repeated.

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

  • summary of Praying For Change And Upward Mobility;
  • 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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