This is an analysis of the poem That I Did Not Say that begins with:

If you 'were' to select,
Someone to which your abilities were compared......

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: abac XdbX beXa bcX ef defX b efeX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,3,2,4,1,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0110001 110110100001 0001 1111 1 11 11100111101 1110011000 1011100100 1010011001001 101101 101001 111010 110110010 111110101010 11110010100 10110100 11011 10100101101 0100001010100 11110 111010010101 11 1000 11010111100 1101110100
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 102
  • Average number of words per stanza: 18
  • Amount of lines: 26
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (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.

  • 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 wouldn't is repeated.

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

  • summary of That I Did Not Say;
  • 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