This is an analysis of the poem The Laws of Motion that begins with:

The laws of science teach us a pound of gold weighs as
much as a pound of flour though if dropped from any ...

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: abcd eebff ggehi dijh iXaXb jXXcX jXXe dkgXckk
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,5,5,4,5,5,4,7,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0101011010111 1101010101010 1010101100111 110111101 10101110110011000 0111101000101000 1011010100010100 1001001000100100100 1010000110101011 110111010101 10111010101 1000111100101001 10010111010100 01 0100101111111 111110101111 1011010001010010 01010 011101111101001 0111010001010 11100101001000100 111100101001010 0001110000101010 0101110011011 01101101010001001 10100100010110 100111001010011 1000010010 01110111010 011110101111 10110111011111 1 11100101110111 110010001011010 10 111011101100 10101011111111 101010101000001
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 210
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 38
  • Average number of symbols per line: 49 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of, we, feel, and, you, to, my are repeated.

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

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines to, our are repeated).

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase apathy connects the lines.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Nikki Giovanni