This is an analysis of the poem Alf’s Ninth Bit that begins with:

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
The midnight activities of Whats-his Name,...

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: Abba ccXX cddc effX gccg Xfff hAha ieie
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 101101111 01101000001 1001001101 1110110111 1101010101 01000100111 0011001101 1001010100 0101000101 10010100100 11010011001 1111111111 1111010101 1101010101 1101111101 1101010001 1101010111 1101011101 1111010101 0101011001 01011101000 1101010011 1001010101 0101010111 0101010101 101101111 0111010101 1101110111 1001100111 110101011001 11101101111 111111001
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 168
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to, sell, and, you, all, again, it are repeated.

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

  • summary of Alf’s Ninth Bit;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ezra Pound