To S. M. A Young African Painter, On Seeing His Works by Phillis Wheatley: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem To S. M. A Young African Painter, On Seeing His Works that begins with:

TO show the lab'ring bosom's deep intent,
And thought in living characters to paint,...

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: aabbaaccddeeffgghhhhaaggbbccffiiaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 34,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0101010101 1101010001 1111001101 1101010101 1011011101 0101010111 1101110101 1101011101 11010101010 01110111010 1101011001 1011100101 1001010001 0111111101 1101010001 1101010101 11111100101 01010101001 1101110101 1101011101 1001010101 1101011101 1111011101 1101010101 1110010111 1101100101 1111010101 1111010011 1101010101 11010001001 1101010101 110101101001 1101010101 1101010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1477
  • Average number of words per stanza: 252
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 7

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

  • summary of To S. M. A Young African Painter, On Seeing His Works;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Phillis Wheatley

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