Reading the Poem
(Source: Perine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry, 10th edition, pp. 22-23)
1. Read a poem more than once. A good poem will never give its full meaning on a single reading. One does
not listen to a good piece of music once and forget it, or look at a good painting once and throw it away. A
poem is to be hung on the wall of one’s mind.
2. Keep a dictionary by you and use it! It is impossible to try to understand poetry without troubling to learn
the meanings of the words of which it is composed. You wouldn’t attempt to play tennis without a ball
would you?
3. Read so as to hear the sounds of the words in your mind. Poetry is written to be heard: its meanings are
conveyed through sound as well as through print. Every word is important. Read the poem aloud. When
you cannot read a poem aloud, lip-read it. Form the words with your tongue and mouth even though you do
not utter sounds.
4. Always pay careful attention to what the poem is saying; to what it means. On the very first reading you
should determine the subjects of the verbs, the antecedents of the pronouns, and other normal grammatical
facts.
5. Practice reading the poem aloud. Read it affectionately. The emotion is already in the poem and will
express itself if the poem is read naturally and sensitively. Read slowly enough that each word is clear and
distinct and that the meaning has time to sink in. Read the poem so that the rhythmical pattern is felt but not
exaggerated. Remember that poetry, with few exceptions, is written in sentences, and that punctuation is a
signal as to how it should be read. Give all grammatical pauses their full due.
Reading the Poem
(Source: Perine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry, 10th edition, pp. 22-23)
1. Read a poem more than once. A good poem will never give its full meaning on a single reading. One does
not listen to a good piece of music once and forget it, or look at a good painting once and throw it away. A
poem is to be hung on the wall of one’s mind.
2. Keep a dictionary by you and use it! It is impossible to try to understand poetry without troubling to learn
the meanings of the words of which it is composed. You wouldn’t attempt to play tennis without a ball
would you?
3. Read so as to hear the sounds of the words in your mind. Poetry is written to be heard: its meanings are
conveyed through sound as well as through print. Every word is important. Read the poem aloud. When
you cannot read a poem aloud, lip-read it. Form the words with your tongue and mouth even though you do
not utter sounds.
4. Always pay careful attention to what the poem is saying; to what it means. On the very first reading you
should determine the subjects of the verbs, the antecedents of the pronouns, and other normal grammatical
facts.
5. Practice reading the poem aloud. Read it affectionately. The emotion is already in the poem and will
express itself if the poem is read naturally and sensitively. Read slowly enough that each word is clear and
distinct and that the meaning has time to sink in. Read the poem so that the rhythmical pattern is felt but not
exaggerated. Remember that poetry, with few exceptions, is written in sentences, and that punctuation is a
signal as to how it should be read. Give all grammatical pauses their full due.