You Say You Are Saved by Lawrence S. Pertillar: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem You Say You Are Saved that begins with:

Peppered and salted is your tongue.
And you say you are saved....

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: ABCDB DBEFB gghXhi DBEFBX ABCDBjiXbjj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,6,6,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10110011 111111 011111 001101100 111111 10011011 111111 100111 110100 111111 111110011100 111100010101 0100 10111 11111100 10111101 10011011 111111 100111 110100 111111 01111101010 10110011 111111 011111 001101100 111111 110 110011101 11111 1 01
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 154
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 28 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • 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; and, you are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word saved at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of You Say You Are Saved;
  • 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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