Poetry
Analysis 101
Where do I start?
•To really understand a poem
you need to read it 3 times.
•1st to just read it through
•2nd to analyze structure
(rhyme scheme, meter,
figurative language, etc.)
•3rd to analyze meaning
Reading 1
•Just read the poem
and
absorb
the
language. Enjoy the
imagery and the
rhythm of the words.
“Music”
by Percy Bysshe Shelly
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odors, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art
gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
Reading 2
• Now let’s look at the form of this poem
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odors, when sweet violets
sicken,
Live within the sense they
quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is
dead,
Are heaped for the beloved's
bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou
art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
What is the rhyme scheme?
What does this rhyme
scheme tell you?
Any words you don’t
know?
Any figurative
language?
Reading 3
• What kinds of questions do I ask?
• Remember, everything in poetry is
done for a purpose, so you have
to be constantly asking “WHY?”
and “WHAT?”
• Why did he say this?
• What is this supposed to mean?
• What does this represent?
• What is the overall point?
Reading 3
When a song is
over, you still
remember it the
sound
When a rose dies the
petals can be used on
the bed(coffin). You
remember the love
that the rose
represents.
Think of how people
spread flower petals now
as a romantic thing, dead
petals are the opposite of
that.
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
A big part of
analyzing poetry is
realizing that there
isn’t a right or wrong,
it’s all about saying
your opinion and
telling why it’s right.
If you think it’s right,
then it can be!
When a smell is
gone, you can
still remember
the scent
And when you (my love) die,
and your thoughts are gone,
my love for you will live on,
and be a remembrance of
you
Descriptive Language
•One important thing to think
about when analyzing
poetry is descriptive
language.
•Picking particular adjectives
and adverbs make a huge
difference in the meaning of
the poem
Insert your own
adjectives/adverbs
Using this simple poetic stanza, put in whatever
descriptive words to have it make sense.
The sun rises and I have _________ thoughts.
My eyes ________ open, the ______ inside me
growing.
________, I step towards the day, knowing
I am _______, I am ________, that’s what this day has
brought.
See how important descriptive language can be?
Writing an Analysis
• Things to remember
• Poetry is subjective, meaning each person
brings their own thoughts, feelings, and
experiences to it
• There is NO right answer to analyzing poetry, if
you feel it, it can be right
• You do have to EXPLAIN your feelings and
connect them to the writing, it can’t just be
random stuff
• To write about poetry you have to have a
reaction and talk about it.
• Everyone can do it!
Sample Analysis
Music: by Percy Bysshe Shelly
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art
gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
Your goal is to discuss the
couplets, the sensory images and
the overall meaning.
The rhyming couplets connect each
set of lines together; they also
create focus of each idea.
The sensory images (sound,
smell, sight) create a flow to the
poem and then in the final couplet
where it goes to the mind, the
ideas have already circled that.
The overall meaning says that as
long as you remember someone in
your heart, they will be a part of your
life forever.
Now let’s combine ideas
into a cohesive
paragraph!
Final Paragraph
In his poem “Music” author Percy Bysshe Shelly
connects the sound of music to the loss of a great
love. Throughout the poem he uses rhyming couplets
to connect lines of ideas to finally come to his
conclusion that love, much like things felt by the other
senses, is a part of our memory and as long as we
keep it a part of us, it can’t fade away. He talks about
how we remember the sound of beautiful music, how
we remember the scent of flowers, and how the same
flowers can show us love and death together. Finally,
he concludes that just like the scent of the flower, the
feelings of love he has can never be lost as long as he
remembers them vividly in his heart.
Your turn!