Analysis of To Tell a Lie
One can never lie
For if to lie is to tell an untruth
then the truth is that to lie
you can't be true to what you say
yet you say it all the same
so it must be true to you
'else what's the use in lying
save to tell a lie
making it all the more untrue
So, to never tell a lie
you mustn't tell the truth
for just as a lie is the truth to you
the truth will lie to all who hear
and it is you telling that lie
that is now untrue to all save you
so to make the truth nothing but true
you have to lie to only you
or surely you must be a liar
Scheme | ABAXXCXAC ABCXACCCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101 1111111101 1011111 11111111 1111101 1111111 1101010 11101 10110101 1110101 110101 1110110111 01111111 01111011 111011111 111011011 11111101 110111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 519 |
Words | 125 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 203 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"To Tell a Lie" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/104055/to-tell-a-lie>.
Discuss this Finn Millis poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In