how to analyze a poem

• how to analyze a poem

  1. read the poem
  2. then read it again
• • get a feel for the tone of the piece (the diction and imagery will show this)
• • look for a speaker (who is it? what’s their perspective?) (why this choice?)
• • look for a shift (in tone, in narrative, in theme) (does it lead to juxtaposition?)
• • look for format/structure (stanzas, rhyme scheme, punctuation, anything that stands out ) - is more of the poem dedicated to one idea/tone/theme than another idea/tone/theme?
• • look for a repeated image/theme/motif (like nature for example) and words
• • look for other literary devices and what they are meant to emphasis
• • look for sounds and what tone they are meant to create
• • look for caesura ( pauses in the line) (emphasizing something before or after)
• • look at some of those to make a generalization about the poet's style - why was this particular style chosen?what does it add/ contribute?
• • look for archetypes - you know human year is in there
• • look for allusions and what they contribute to the theme/tone/character
• • Are there some symbols present? Is there a commonality to the symbols? or are there intentional opposites? ( juxtaposition?)
• • are there 2 things/people/images that are meant to be compared or juxtaposed (character foils?)
• • Is there a person, symbol or image that you are meant to see differently by the end of the poem? (does it/ do they undergo a change?) (a shift?)