Tips for Analyzing Poetry
Tips for Analyzing Poetry
1. Describe the speaker. What is his tone or her attitude?
Identify specific lines that give the reader insight into the speaker's mind or attitude, but don't confuse the speaker with the poet. Sometimes the speaker and the poet are one and the same, but plenty of times the poet has deliberately separated himself or herself from the speaker's persona. Can you identify the speaker's overall mood or dominant effect? Can you comment on the speakers values or experience?
2. Identify any significant figurative or poetic language.
What words in the poem enable the reader to paint a mental picture? This is a sure sign of imagery. Are there any seemingly minor details that actually stand for a larger idea or concept. This, of course, is symbolism. Does the poet exaggerate (hyperbole)? Does the poet apply human characteristics to nonhuman entities (personification)?
3. Look for a subtle shift in structure or in tone.
Can you separate the poem into sections based on its content? Many times a stanzaic break will signify a change in the speaker's tone or message. Does the speaker a new idea? Can you explain this change or shift?
4. Look for patterns of sound.
Look at the rhyme scheme, and look at sound devices, such as alliteration and onomatopoeia. Does the poet repeat certain lines? I wonder why. Is it safe to argue that if a poet repeats a line, then that line must be important to the overall meaning of the poem?
5. Look at the stanzaic pattern.
Is the poem made up of couplets, triplets, or quatrains? Are the stanzas uniform, or do the number of lines vary per stanza? Does the poet have a motive for beginning a new stanza? Is this a specific poetic form, such as a sonnet?
6. Discuss the theme of the poem.
What is the poet's comment on human nature? As always, cite the theme as a generalization, and cite it as a complete sentence. Can you quote a line or two that illustrates the theme (because it is explicitly stated), or must you summarize the poet's message (because the theme is implied)?
posted by Brady Kelso @ 1:40 PM
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