This is an analysis of the poem How To Name Your Familiar that begins with:

When the devil brings him,
like a Christmas puppy,...

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: XXabX accXXccddbXe XXeXbX Xbcccccc Xdfddf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,12,6,8,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101011 101010 01001011 011101 010 010101 1101111 110 0100 1101111 11010 11101 11001010 11111 011111 0110101 10 01011 111 010110 10100 010110 10100 0101 010100 0100101 11 01100101 0101 11 10101 100100 101110 00101 1000101 0101010 001
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 161
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 37
  • Average number of symbols per line: 21 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 4
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of How To Name Your Familiar;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Erica Jong