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

PHYLLIS, ah, Phyllis, my life is a gray day,
Few are my years, but my griefs are not few,...

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: ababAacXcA adadA
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,5,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: rondeau
  • Metre: 10110110011 1110111111 10011110011 1111111001 10110110011 11011111011 1001101011 11111110011 1111001011 10110110011 11111111111 1101111001 10110111111 1101011101 10110110011
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 331
  • Average number of words per stanza: 66
  • Amount of lines: 15
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; my, day, or are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word day 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 Phyllis;
  • 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