One's Self I Sing by Walt Whitman: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem One's Self I Sing that begins with:

ONE'S-SELF I sing--a simple, separate Person;
Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-masse.... full text

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: aX bXXb Xab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,4,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 111101010110 1100110100111 010100010111 1100001110101010111 010101001 01110000111 01010101110 10110101100101 010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 143
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 9
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (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; i is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word of at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word sing 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 One's Self I Sing;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Walt Whitman

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