How to Judge a Poem: Criteria
Quality Criteria
Does the poem have:
Techniques
Perspective (point of view;
how effective is the writer’s
voice?)
★ A distinctive voice, persona, or speaker
★ A clear and intentional focus on an idea, feeling
or experience?
★ Evidence of the poet’s individual voice
★ Meaningful insights into the significance of their
focus? (i.e. why is the idea/feeling/experience
important?)
★ A specific attitude towards the choice of subject
matter
● Shifts in tense (past,
present, future)
● 1st, 2nd, 3rd person point
of view
● Rhetorical questions
● Tone
● Modality (Low / High)
Complexity of the Poem:
Is it interesting in the use of
words and ideas?
★
★
★
★
★
An engaging challenge, or paradox
Effective ambiguity or multiple meanings
Suggestion of connotations beyond the literal
Use of balance / contrast of ideas
An intense poetic experience by compressing
words/ideas/feelings (saying a lot in very little;
i.e. no unnecessary words)
★ Surprise by challenging our perspectives or
providing a new way of looking at things
● Paradox (seemingly
absurd/contradictory
statement or idea)
● Oxymoron
● Connotations
● Contrast
● Juxtaposition
Vocabulary, Sound &
Syntax: Does the poem
experiment with sound, and
do the effects of sound
represent the ideas?
★ Fresh and distinctive vocabulary
★ Unconventional syntax
★ A sense of rhythm that enhances the mood of
the poem
● Specific nouns
● Syntax (rhythm,
alliteration, assonance,
onomatopoeia, repetition,
refrain and rhyme)
● Listing
● Rule of three
Imagery & Figurative
★ A range of figurative language and various
● Similes
Language: Abstract ideas
sensory imagery
★ Images which represent abstract feelings, ideas
★ Uncommon connections between images and
figurative/implied meanings
★ ‘Metaphoric thought’ through implied analogies
● Metaphors
● Personification
● Imagery (visual, auditory,
tactile, olfactory,
gustatory)
● Analogies
Visual Design: Does the
poem use visual layout that
assists the reader in
accessing the meaning of
the poem?
★ An intentional arrangement of words, phrases,
lines and white space
★ Choices of spacing
★ Patterns in stanza use
● Enjambment
● Punctuation / Lack of
punctuation
● Caesura
● Indentation
● Upper/lower case letters
● Stanzas
Definitions: