Anaphora

Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines or clauses. In this poem, anaphora is used but twice. First, each of the first two lines begins with the word “quite.” In that the construction appears at the beginning of this short poem, it helps set a tone that is maintained throughout. The words “difficult” and “terrible” are given particular attention and stress, and wherever the poem wanders thence, the reader does not forget that everything being described can essentially be modified with those two words. Indeed, the second example of anaphora is connected to the first: line 3, line 6, and the second half of line 8 all begin with the word “that,” specifically because they are all describing things in which a certain “terrible” “faith” is held.

Rhythm and Rhyme

As Young's collection is subtitled “A Blues,” the reader would expect his poems...