Mother Doesn'T Want A Dog by Judith Viorst: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Mother Doesn'T Want A Dog that begins with:

Mother doesn't want a dog.
Mother says they smell,...

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: Abcbcded AfXfegcg Ahhh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1010101 10111 11011111 110111 11111111 110111 11011101 011101 1010101 10111 11110100 111101 11010111 111101 11011111 111101 1010101 110001 01110111 101101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 191
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 28 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words mother, and are repeated.

    The author used the same word mother at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of Mother Doesn'T Want A Dog;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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