This is an analysis of the poem The Southern Press that begins with:

When a Negro comes in question you may watch the Southern press,
See how bias its opinions, how his ills are given stress,... full text

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: aabb ccdd aacX eeaa aaff ggaa ddXX XXhh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101010101110101 111000101011101 100010111011001 101010100010101 001110101110101 101000100010101 101010101010101 101011101010101 001010101011101 001010101010001 101001100011111 0010101010111100 101011111110101 101110101110001 101010100011101 101110101110001 111010101010101 101010101010101 101010101010101 101000101010101 100011100011011 011010101001001 101010100011001 101011101010101 101010100011101 101000100011101 111011101011110 101111101010101 1000001010000100 001010101010001 100000101010101 111010101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 243
  • Average number of words per stanza: 45
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 60 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; in, may, and are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Southern Press;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer