Poetic Elements Analysis Outline PEAO

Title:
A narrow Fellow in the Grass.
Literal: Taking a walk and see where the snake was.

(How the title relates to the subject/content of the poem)

Author: Emily Dickinson

Tone: A mysterious/ happy tone

Mood/Atmosphere: happy

Speaker: (Who is speaking the poem? Is it the author or a character?)

Audience: (The person who is supposed to read the poem, or to whom the poem is
addressed) Dickinson or the general public.

Subject or Topic: (what is the topic of the poem?)

Be cautious when you are out in the world.

Type of Poem: (name formal poem style):

Lyrical ballet.

Rhyme Scheme:abcb

Rhythm: iambic

Meter: tetrameter and trimeter

Structure: Ballet quadrants stanzas.

 Enjambment or end stops. Most stanzas have endstops to show that there are
different ideas, but one idea starts half way in one stanza and doesn't end till
halfway in the next stanza, this is enjambment. She uses dashes to show a
pause in the train of thought, more than a stop. The train of thought doesnt end.
She uses enjambment to keep one thought going, but as it changes to the next
stanza its meaning differs.

Diction and syntax

The words that are randomly capitalized are symbolic words and mean much
more than their literal meaning. Most of the stanzas are complete thoughts, except for 3
and 4 which talk about the same idea.

Arrangement of verse and stanza

(mention anything that is unique and does not follow the rules of the poem)

Paraphrase:
(Explain what the poem SAYS in black and white on the page IN YOUR OWN
WORDS. You can paraphrase line by line, by each stanza, or holistically.
NOTE: it will take longer to paraphrase than it does for the poem to state its
point.)

1. There was a snake and he didnt notice it.

2. He is able to see where the snake is going and been, but you only see him for a
small instance
3. The snake liked boggs were crops cannot grow and he did something every noon
bare foot.
4. He passed what he thought was a whiplash, but when he went to pick it up it was
actually a snake.
5. He knows lots of the animals here and he likes them.
6. But whenever he sees a snake with somebody else or alone, without breathing
fast and being very scared.

Analysis:
(What is the poem REALLY about? Explain.)

1. Satan and sin hiding. Have you not seen him hiding in the grass. He suddenly
sees satan the snake.
2. Hes sees were sin and bad things have been and where they are going and he
sees satins sins for a brief moment.
 3. The snake likes dark sad places were good things can be. But the boy is not
careful and goes out when the sun is highest in noon.
4. He sees power and turns his back to the goodness of the sun. He reaches down
to grab it but it disappears like an illusion. He can never get that true power.
5. He knows several good things and loves them and they love him. He loves them
and does not want to fall to the sin of the snake.
6. Whenever he committed a sine, with someone else, or by himself he is always
nervous and very scared.
Sound Devices. These b words are important because they are all capitalized and they
foreshadow his fear at the end. B alliteration comes in the last stanza too were the fear
is shown.
(Internal rhyme, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, alliteration)
In the 4th stanza there is a lot of b alliteration. B alliteration means hesitation
because of fear. The onomatopoeias are whiplash and wrinkled. Assonance, bone and
zero. Consonance cool, and noon. Cool and Noon are also Internal rhyme.

Similes, Metaphors, Allusions & Symbols: (quote or paraphrase and explain)

Imagery: (quote or paraphrase image and state sense[s] referred to) Theme:
(universal lesson, point, or moral)

The Grass divides as with a Comb, A spotted Shaft is seen. This is a

simile that compares how the grass divides like a comb when you are combing hair.
Have passed I thought a Whip Lash Unbraiding in the Sun When stooping to secure it It
wrinkled And was gone -. This one is a metaphor that compares a snake to a whiplash,
or power. She uses lots of allusion as well. She makes a lot of allusions from the the
bible, like the whiplash and the snake.

Symbols: Fellow in the Grass= a sneaky sinful person. Grass-=were good is but evil
hides.
Grass divides as with a Comb= Path of destruction by sine. Closes at your Feet= you
dont see it till it's right there. Whiplash= power Sun= good. Nature= all that is good

Imagery: He likes a Boggy Acre - A Floor too cool for Corn - This quote makes an
image in your mind of the horrible place that the snake likes.

Theme- You should be able to identify sin and stay away from them.