Analysis of Living On The Surface
Living on the surface,
dinner’s always served at eight
Living on the surface,
pride forever casts your fate
Living on the surface,
things always seem just fine
Living on the surface,
plays an endless pantomime
Living on the surface,
the church contains your soul
Living on the surface,
your religion swallowed whole
Living on the surface,
things never change that much
Living on the surface,
you can only look, not touch
Living on the surface,
the wheel only spins one way
Living on the surface,
each spoke a mortgage pays
Living on the surface,
love professes in a vow
Living on the surface,
real commitment not allowed
Living on the surface,
new doors stay locked and shut
Living on the surface,
your re-entry self-destructs
Living on the surface,
your reflection flat and clean
While just below the surface,
—beats the heart of what things mean
(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2016)
| Scheme | Ab Ab Ax Ax Ac Ac Ad Ad Ax Ax Ax Ax Ax Ax Ae ae x |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 101010 101111 101010 1010111 101010 11111 101010 111010 101010 010111 101010 1010101 101010 110111 101010 1110111 101010 0110111 101010 110101 101010 1010001 101010 1010101 101010 111101 101010 1110101 101010 1010101 1101010 1011111 010010010 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 889 |
| Words | 149 |
| Sentences | 1 |
| Stanzas | 17 |
| Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1 |
| Lines Amount | 33 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 42 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 9 |
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"Living On The Surface" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/45198/living-on-the-surface>.
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