1.  Describe the form and structure of the poem.  What is the occasion of the poem?  What two reasons does the speaker give for refusing to promise a committed love?  What compromise does she suggest at the end?

The poem consists of three stanzas with eight lines in each of them.  It is in iambic tetrameter with every other line rhyming.  The occasion of the poem is the speaker is talking about marriage and commitment with someone.  She is against the commitment because she feel’s that they can never know each others past and she doesn’t know what is to come in the future.  The compromise she suggests at the end is instead of the commitment they can just be friends.

2.  Analyze the effect on meaning of such devices as syntax, repetition, parallelism, and paradox.

The syntax in the poem creates the tone the speaker is trying to give.  She doesn’t believe in committed relationships and thinks they are a waste of time.  The repetition of the word “promise” provides support to her claim.  She thinks promises are made to be broken like pie-crust.  The parallelism for example in the third stanza where it begins with starts off by saying, “If you promised” and then continues with “If I promised” shows that both people may regret the marriage commitments.  The paradox in line 22 saying “Nothing more and nothing less” show the strength and weakness of the friendship.  She doesn’t want to be committed to the person but rather just good friends. 

3.  Analyze the effect on meaning of the imagery and figurative language. 

The effect the imagery has is that it provides support to the speakers claim about marriage and promises.  She says, “Fades the image from the glass/ And the fortune is not told.”  The imagery used here describes the past of peoples lives being unknown and their future being untold.  The speaker doesn’t know what is to come in the future so she uses this as support to her claim of commitments being overrated.  The figurative language used such as in line five which says “the die uncast” refers to promises and marriages are all vulnerable under chance and fate.  No one knows if the marriage will work out and if promises will really be kept.