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Tips On Poetry Analysis

The document provides guidance on how to analyze poetry by discussing key elements to consider like theme, language, structure and context. It recommends reading the title, poem, analyzing unfamiliar words and making inferences about the poet before examining the setting, genre, figurative language and structure in more depth.

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11 views7 pages

Tips On Poetry Analysis

The document provides guidance on how to analyze poetry by discussing key elements to consider like theme, language, structure and context. It recommends reading the title, poem, analyzing unfamiliar words and making inferences about the poet before examining the setting, genre, figurative language and structure in more depth.

Uploaded by

Rori nolo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Analysis of Poetry

5 Things to Consider When Analyzing


Poetry
• Theme: poetry often conveys a message through figurative language. The
central idea and the subject matter can reveal the underlying theme of a poem.
• Language: from word choice to imagery, language creates the mood and tone
of a poem. The way language is arranged also impacts the rhythm of a poem.
• Sound and rhythm: the syllabic patterns and stresses create the metrical
pattern of a poem.
• Structure: the framework of a poem’s structure affects how it is meant to be
read. A poet sculpts their story around stanzas, line breaks, rhyme patterns,
punctuation, and pauses.
• Context: the who, what, where, when, and why of a poem can help explain its
purpose. Look at these elements to discover the context of a poem.
How to approach a poem
• Read the title – answer the following questions in note form next to the title
or on a separate piece of paper with the title written down:
a) What’s your first impression of the title?
b) What do you think the poem will be about?
c) How does the poem sound to you, from the title – boring, interesting,
worrying, no thoughts at all?
• Read the poem through once – read it slowly, preferably out loud, and in a
normal speaking voice, not a sing-song voice.
Answer the following questions in note form under the heading First
Impressions:
a) What are your first impressions?
b) What is the poem about, what is the gist of the poem?
c) Can you see any themes in the poem?
• Underline unfamiliar words or phrases – look them up in a dictionary and
jot the meanings down. If you have trouble understanding a line, write it in
your own words,next to the line of the poem. Better still, rewrite the whole
poem in your own words (you can also use the poet’s words if you
understand them, and they sound better in context). Don’t miss out the
poet’s words when you paraphrase him/her, or you might change the whole
meaning of the line or poem.
• Make inferences about the poet –background notes about the poet, read
them now. Jot down your answers to the following:
a) Who is the speaker in the poem? (remember that the poet might not be the
speaker)
b) To whom is the speaker talking?
c) What do you think is happening/has happened?
d) How do you think the speaker feels?
e) What do you think is the poet’s attitude toward the subject matter of the
poem?
Now look at structure and language
• What is the setting of the poem? To answer this, work out from reading
the poem or find out from research, when the poem was set, i.e. the time and
place that the poem refers to and/or was written. Jot this information down.
Concrete- it describes the real-world; abstract - it could be symbolic or
representative of something else.
• What is the genre? Answer this question by considering the poem’s form,
such as haiku, sonnet, or free verse, for example.
• What is the structure? This becomes technical, and you can think of it as
deconstructing the poem. Look at the structure of the poem and describe it in
the following terms:

5
Rhyme Scheme – Metre – Pattern of
Pattern of rhyming syllable sound in a line
line. ABAB.. (nr of syllables,
duration & stressed or
unstressed

Stanza – Group of Transitions –


lines in a poem. changes in the
(verse) poem, new stanzas,
What is the structure?
transition words,
change in diction,
Thematic Structure
differ in speaker and
(plot) – presenting inner
punctuation.
conflict, argument. First
2 stanzas present a Sounds – Alliteration,
problem and then a assonance, consonance,
resolution repetition, rhyme and
rhythm.
What figurative language is used?
Figurative language is used to describe in a non-literal way. Figurative words compare
in a more abstract and imaginative way than literal words (these are without
embellishment or deeper interpretation).
The most common forms of figurative language (figures of speech) are:
Simile – this is comparing two things, using the words ‘like’, ‘as’, ‘seems’, or
‘similar’.
Metaphor – this compares two dissimilar things, but does not use ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Personification – the technique of giving human attributes and qualities to abstract or
inanimate objects.
Hyperbole – exaggeration, used for comic or serious effect.
Apostrophe – generally capitalized, this is a direct address to an absent or imaginary
person, thing or abstraction.
Onomatopoeia – a word that sounds like the word it describes.
Oxymoron – a statement with two contradictory terms. 7

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