SWIFTT: A Poem Analysis
Strategy

In poetry analysis, SIFTT stands for…
who or what is the poem about

Speaker
• The character who is narrating the poem
• In poetry, we don’t always get the speaker’s name.
• Hint: try finishing this sentence to figure it out who the speaker is: “ The speaker is a person who...”

Who or What
• Poems can be confusing. You may have to read between the lines to figure out what’s going on.
• Ask yourself:
– Who are the main characters in the poem?
– What is the main event or action in the poem?

Imagery
• Words that appeal to the five senses.
– Sight Smell Taste Touch Sound
• When a poem shows you something instead of just telling you.

Figurative Language Review
• Metaphor: Comparison between two things
– Our vacation was heaven.
• Simile: Comparison using like or as
– “She grew up slow, like American honey.”
– The tree is as strong as an Army tank.
Hyperbole: Extreme exaggeration
– I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
• Personification: Un-human things take on human traits
– The walls listened to our conversation.

Tone
• What is the author’s attitude toward the subject of the poem?
• Imagine the way the author’s voice would sound as they read the poem’s words.
• Tone must be inferred from the author’s word choice.
Mood
• What does the poem make you feel?
• Tone is them (the author)
• Mood is me
• Mood/Tone Video

Theme
• What is the deeper meaning behind the words of the poem?
• What is the poem trying to teach you?
Examples:
I learned that loyalty is an important part of friendship.
I learned that families can take on many shapes and forms.

Highlight Imagery
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Reminder:
Images and sensory details: sight, sound, taste, touch (texture), smell (odor)
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Imagery
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Reminder:
Images and sensory details: sight, sound, taste, touch (texture), smell (odor)
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Box Figurative Language!
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Reminder:
Identify and analyze the use of non standard language.
•Metaphor
•Simile
•Repetition
•Omission
•Unusual word order
•Slang

Figurative Language
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Reminder:
Identify and analyze the use of non standard language.
•Metaphor
•Simile
•Repetition
•Omission
•Unusual word order
•Slang

Tone: What is the subject of the poem?
What is the author’s attitude toward the subject?
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Reminder:
ToneThe author’s attitude toward the subject.
Theme- The lesson about life or deeper meaning behind the words.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Tone: What is the subject of the poem?
What is the author’s attitude toward the subject?
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Reminder:
ToneThe author’s attitude toward the subject.
Theme- The lesson about life or deeper meaning behind the words.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Mood: How does the poem make you feel?
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Mood
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Theme: Choose a thematic idea.
What do we learn about that idea?
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Reminder:
Theme- The lesson about life or deeper meaning behind the words.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.