This is an analysis of the poem The Knife that begins with:

In my sleep:
Fell at his feet wanted to eat him right up ...

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: aabXc dd eee dXef dcca aagXff hXh ibig
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,2,3,4,4,6,3,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011 11011001111 111 1010 1101 01110 01111101 110101001 110101001001 0101010101 10111101 11110 1100010 1 11011 101110111 011111010101 1 11 11111111 010111001 10101111 1010100111011 11111 00011111 11011111111 0001011010 1101110101101 1000101110111 1100101010010101 0111100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 133
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 31
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; up, i, my, know are repeated.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines up is repeated).

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

  • summary of The Knife;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Jean Valentine