This is an analysis of the poem A Ritual To Read To Each Other that begins with:

If you don't know the kind of person I am
and I don't know the kind of person you are...

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: Xaba bcbc XcdX dcXc cede
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 01110101011 11110101011 0101101101001 1100011111111 1101001010001 0111010101 1001010010011 1010110101 11100011011001 101100101101 110101100101100 011011110101 11101001010100 001010100111 111111011010 100101100111001 10001010110001 1010110100101 01011111110 10101001101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 196
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (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; or is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Ritual To Read To Each Other;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by William Stafford