This is an analysis of the poem Philosophy that begins with:

I been t'inkin' 'bout de preachah; whut he said de othah night,
'Bout hit bein' people's dooty, fu' to keep dey faces bright;...

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 XXcc bbdd Xdaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101010101110101 111010101011101 111011101110101 101000111110101 1111110101011111 1111101010100001 1111101011110110 1011110101010101 101110101011101 1111110111111111 101011100010111 111101101010111 1111110101110101 011010101010101 101010101010101 111010101110001
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 246
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 61 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; dat, 's, we are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Philosophy;
  • 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