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

Shall I love God for causing me to be?
I was mere utterance; shall these words love me?...

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: aa bb cc XX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,2,2,2,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111110100 11110011111 11110101110 11101101010 1111101001 1101011101 1101110111 11100110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 88
  • Average number of words per stanza: 18
  • Amount of lines: 8
  • 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; i is repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Richard Wilbur