This is an analysis of the poem How Jim Got Religion that begins with:

This preacher I speak uv his name wur Payne,
An he wur a hustler, you bet ; ...

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: a bc bd dX X e af ab ag a g da de aX a bf c fX dXX d ba ba dfX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,2,2,2,1,1,2,2,2,1,1,2,2,2,1,2,1,2,3,1,2,2,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0101110111 111010011 01111110 11101111 110101101 1100111 111101001001 001110011 11010101 010111 11111101 0101101 11110111 010101 11110101 110101 11011101 110111 11011111 010101 010110111 1110101 11111111 1110101 11111111 111111 11110111 010111 111111011 1111001 11111111 1101111 10110101 110101 11010111 110001 11010110 101110 11111101 1011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 23
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 56
  • Average number of words per stanza: 12
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (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; i, he, him are repeated.

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

    The author used the same words a, i, an 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 How Jim Got Religion;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Robert Kirkland Kernighan