WEEK 7 POETRY ANNOTATION
Reading and Annotation: Welcome back to poetry!
A couple of weeks ago you were assigned the Experiment of identifying a book that you
wanted to read, presumably a book of poetry. By now, you’ve gotten the book, read the
book…
Choose either one long poem (two pages or so) or two or three short poems that seem
closely connected (perhaps they are part of the same section of the book) to focus on.
Alternatively, you may choose a section of 2-4 pages from a really long poem (such as
Howl, Leaves of Grass, Canterbury Tales) to focus on.
Re-read the poem(s) out loud.
Mark up especially interesting or revealing lines.
Choose about 3-5 lines to focus on in your annotation.
Your task is to unpack these lines poem in as much detail as you can. I’m looking for a
detailed, word-by-word exploration of the meanings, sounds, and strategies used by the
poet. Try the following questions:
o What does the line actually say – what’s the direct, plain meaning of it?
o How is its meaning affected by where in the poem it occurs?
o What are the key words? (Consider especially nouns, verbs, repetitions,
unusual word choices.)
o What are the denotations or suggestions of those key words? (consider
dictionary meaning, historical situations, slang terms, implied beliefs, etc.)
o Is this an image, a statement, some of both?
o If an image, is it a metaphor, simile, analogy, symbol, or plain description?
o If this is a statement, do you detect overstatement, understatement, irony?
o What emotions are evoked or implied or stated by the line?
o What sounds predominate? Is there assonance or alliteration? What feelings
are evoked by the sounds themselves.
o Anything else you notice, especially about the line in relation to the lines
before and after it.
o Why do you think the poet wrote this line in just THIS way?
Your annotation of the poem should be two to three full pages. If you can’t get to two
pages, then say more about the lines you’ve chosen – or if the lines are short and don’t
seem to have that many layers, use more lines.