Willing Victims by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Willing Victims that begins with:

When one is accustomed to starting fires...
They should expect to get burned....

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: abc aXXaXbdX X XaaaabbdcXaaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,8,1,13,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11001001010 1101011 01000 01000101110 100110100 10111010010 0010100 0010 101100010 1 1010100010101 1011101 101 1111001 11010101 111 11101010 01101110 010111 1100 1110100100 0101 111010101010 10101001010
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 143
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

    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; to, those are repeated.

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

  • summary of Willing Victims;
  • 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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