This is an analysis of the poem I Knew A Woman that begins with:

I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; ...

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: aXbbccc bdbdccc eXeaaad XbXbaaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,7,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101010001 1111111110 1111111111 0101010101 0011010111 1101011111 11010010101 1101011111 1111110111 1111110011 11010001001 1101011101 1001010101 1101010101 1101010101 0111010101 1101110111 1111010101 01001110101 1111000101 1101011101 1101111001 0100010111 1101010100 1111011111 1111010001 1111010101 1101110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 311
  • Average number of words per stanza: 58
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; she, i, her are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of I Knew A Woman;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Theodore Roethke