Analysis of Mortal Guilt (A Sonnet)



And so I killed a man today unplanned,
Though I lay not a finger on his head,
I know his doom was caused by my own hand,
For as I spoke his name I spelled his death.

He drew no breath once nightfall came around,
While I drew more breath than I felt I should,
And while during his rest he made no sound,
I let myself lament loud as I could.

I knew the only way to save my life:
To say that fatal truth in court and thus,
My testimony cut him like a knife,
And to the gallows he went without fuss.

And though they say he's guilty of the crime,

In my own heart I know the guilt is mine.


Scheme AXAX BCBC DEDE X X
Poetic Form
Metre 0111010101 1111010111 1111111111 1111111111 111111101 1111111111 0110111111 111011111 1101011111 1111010101 110011101 0101011011 0111110101 0111110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 570
Words 124
Sentences 4
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 1, 1
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 89
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 22, 2017

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
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