Poetry Pointers
Poems are meant to be experienced; they are meant to be heard. Therefore, read the assigned poem out loud several times. During
the first read, become familiar with just the surface details. Then, re-read paying closer attention to feelings that surface. Notice
ideas or memories, as well, that come to mind as the poem is read. These personal responses are subjective information. Subjective
information is often useful in generating initial connections between your knowledge about an aspect of human experience and
what the poet is expressing in his poem.
Discipline yourself to objectively examine how and why the specific details of the poem are working to express the poet’s idea or
theme. Objective information is verifiable – if you can see it, then another person can too, as opposed to subjective thoughts and
feelings which can’t be proven. Objective information notes what the poem is – what it is constructed of – how and why the
component parts develop an idea. Next, consider how both the subjective and objective facts integrate to inform the reader of the
poem’s deeper meaning as a whole.
Consider that words are the primary tool of the poet. The words of a poem are purposely and precisely chosen by the poet to
express a particular idea. Reflect on the role of every word. What does a specific word mean? Use a high quality English dictionary
to reference the word’s etymology. Etymology provides insightful information about the word’s language of origin, its history and
its roots which may be important to understanding the poem. Do words repeat? Is there a pattern of words that have similar
meanings? How and why might these words be accomplishing the expression of the poet’s idea?
What is the poem’s mood? Is the poem full of aliveness, melancholy, dread, or joy? How are color words or symbols used to indicate
mood? Do the words of the poem seem to go fast or slow? Does punctuation contribute to the poem’s pace? Does the pace help to
establish a certain mood? Is there a rhythm or beat that can be heard in the poem? Why might that sound be important? Does the
rhythm remind you of anything? Do many of the words begin with the same letter of the alphabet? Why? What does that
accomplish?
Note that the poet is not the speaker of the poem. Therefore, when writing about poetry do not write…The poet says he is sorry in
line 2. Rather, write: The use of the word “sorry” in line 2 expresses regret and indecision. Just as authors create characters for
their novels and short stories, poets create characters that experience the events in the poem or they create a narrator who is the
observer and reporter of the events. What does a particular perspective accomplish in the poem?
Always write about the poem in the present tense. Even if the poem was written a hundred years ago, it is experienced anew in the
present each time it is read. Consequently, the reader’s response and analysis is also happening in the present.
To get started – make a poem worksheet. Use the worksheet to note any observations that you can regarding the use of the poet’s
devices such as diction, punctuation, similes, metaphors, alliteration, rhyme schemes, imagery, onomatopoeia, mood, and irony, etc.
Annotating individual observations throughout the poem often leads to a better understanding of the poem’s underlying meaning
or theme.
Copy and paste the poem into a new Word document.
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Click, drag, and highlight the poem. Increase line spacing to 2.5 to allow for annotations.
Number each line of the poem 1 through…….99 etc. for citation purposes.
Number each stanza: first, second, third, fourth, etc. “
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Is the poem’s title significant? How does it relate to the poem’s other elements? Does it contain a clue to the poem’s
meaning?
Circle any unfamiliar vocabulary words. Look them up in a good dictionary. Write the dictionary meaning on the
worksheet adjacent to the word. There may be multiple meanings or connotations. Sometimes, the most obsolete meaning
may hold an important key to unlocking the theme or central idea of the poem. Words that are unfamiliar to you now, may
have been used commonly at the time that the poet lived.
Consider the relevance of the word’s meanings in relation to the other words being used to construct the poem.
Determine the rhyme scheme. A, B, A, B or AA, BB, AB, BA, etc. Is there a pattern? Is the pattern significant? Why?
How does the poem look visually on the page? Is the shape significant? Why?
BCCC 12/21/2011
Use the vocabulary of poetry when developing assignments. The construction of a poem can be very technical; however, most students can
understand and identify these commonly used devices to analyze and discuss poetry.
Alliteration – words begin with the same letter.
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The wiggly wobbly wagon wheel
Allusion – reference to something else outside of the subject of the poem
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The open window alludes to the woman’s longing for freedom from her current situation.
Couplet – a pair of consecutive lines that have the same end rhyme
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Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me (Robert Louis Stephenson)
Diction – the poet’s precise choice of words
Imagery – descriptive, sensory words that create a mental picture
Metaphor – comparison between two unlike things without using like or as.
Mood – the emotional feel or atmosphere of the poem
Onomatopoeia – words that create or imitate a sound effect
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The boy whispered.
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Sizzling bacon.
Personification – attributing human qualities to animals or inanimate objects
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The weeping willow
Repetition – a recurrence of elements to create unity
Rhyme – same syllable or word sounds, often occurring at the end of lines of poetry
Rhythm – repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables which create a certain sound and pace
Simile – comparison between two objects using like, as, or than
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I wandered lonely as a cloud (Walt Whitman)
Stanza – lines of poetry that are grouped as a unit and offset from other lines with a space
Symbolism – using one object to suggest another meaning
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A window might symbolize freedom, release, or opportunity
Theme – the dominant unifying idea in a poem
Citation Requirements for Poetry
Cite the line numbers at the end of the sentence, not page numbers.
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The opening line, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” introduces the theme of choice (1).
When quoting 1 – 3 lines use quotation marks, but use a slash/ to indicate the line breaks.
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The repeated use of the conjunction “and” in the lines “And sorry I could not travel both /and be one traveler, long I stood /And looked
down one as far as I could” implies a grammatical compound which additionally supports the idea of choosing between two paths (2-4).
When quoting 4 or more lines use block format. Indent 10 spaces or 1 inch from the left. Quotation marks are not necessary. However, maintain all
of the poet’s original formatting and punctuation.
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Robert Frost concludes the examination of looking back upon life’s choices by using singular syllable ending words. These single syllable
words suggest and support the idea that making a choice is a solitary action. In the last line the poet switches to a three syllable word
filled with a variety of sound indicating that the choice once made brought a fuller and richer experience:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
If words are omitted from a line of poetry, use ellipses.
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The color word used in “Two roads (…) in a yellow wood” suggests that the season is fall (1).