Who Are My Foes? by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Who Are My Foes? that begins with:

I keep my battle cries.
But who are my foes? ...

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: aAbAXAaa CACAAACdd eaeaXXXbXCACAAACdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,9,18,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111101 11111 011101 11111 111101 11111 1111110 111111 111111 11111 110111 11111 1011101 01101101 111100 1 1010101 11010101 01111 110111 11110 111101110 01101 111101 11111 111111 11111 110111 11111 1011101 01101101 111100 1 10101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 206
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 23 (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; my, i are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word i 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 Who Are My Foes?;
  • 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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