This is an analysis of the poem A Love Song that begins with:

Ah, love, my love is like a cry in the night,
A long, loud cry to the empty sky,...

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: abaX bXXa cbbbbbcX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11110101001 011100101 01001010010 011000101 1101101 11011 01011011 111111101 10111110 11011 100101101101 100101101101 110100101101101 101101111111101 101010 101111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 202
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; cry, me, of, thee, i, and are repeated.

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines thee is repeated).

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

  • summary of A Love Song;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar