Was I That Man? by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Was I That Man? that begins with:

Each time you cry.
I feel you near me....

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: AABCD EFGD AHdda AABCD EFGD aXXgaAHa AABCD EFGDXd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,4,5,5,4,8,5,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111 11111 11110 11 1001 11101 011110 11011 011111 11101 0101 111101 110111 110100111 1111 11111 11110 11 1001 11101 011110 11011 011111 101101 1101001101 101111 1111 01100101 11101 0101 1111011111 1111 11111 11110 11 1001 11101 011110 11011 011111 1111
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 98
  • Average number of words per stanza: 20
  • Amount of lines: 41
  • Average number of symbols per line: 21 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 4

  • 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; you is repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of Was I That Man?;
  • 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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