POEM ANALYSIS
Title- Based on the title, what do you think that the poem will be up? Complete this step without
referencing the body of the poem.
Paraphrase- Go through each line and state what is happening in literal terms.
Figurative Language- Identify and explain use figurative language including metaphor, simile, imagery,
personification, hyperbole, alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, etc.
Tone- You have already created a tone map for this poem, but normally that step would go here.
Theme- Identify what you think the author is trying to tell us about life and re-cap pieces of key
evidence that support this interpretation.
POETRY ANALYSIS EXAMPLE:
Soliloquy from ”Macbeth” by Shakespeare
1 To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
2 Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
3 To the last syllable of recorded time;
4 And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
5 The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
6 Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
7 That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
8 And then is heard no more. It is a tale
9 Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
10 Signifying nothing.
TITLE: A soliloquy is a speech that involves the character talking to him/her self.
PARAPHRASE
Line 1- The future
Line 2 – creeps into the present
Line 3 – and that will always be the case.
Line 4- Fools look at our past
Line 5- for the way to do things and die. Blow out candle.
Line 6- Life is a poor background player.
Line 7 – that walks across the stage
Line 8- and then goes away. It is a tory
Line 9- told by an idiot, very dramatic
Line 10- but with very little meaning
Figurative Language
Line 1: Repetition of tomorrow, shows that the future seems endless
Line 2: Personification- Yesterday lighting way, gives life to the past
Line 5: Imagery/Metaphor- Out! Out brief candle!- Fragile candle flame compared to life.
Line 6-8: Metaphor- Life is compared to a walking shadow and to an actor performing on a stage.
Implying that our actions are fake, performed for others, shallow.
Line 8-10: Metaphor- Life to a story told by an idiot. Life follows a pattern that the author can’t
determine.
TONE MAP:
Soliloquy from ”Macbeth” by Shakespeare
TONE
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
fatigued and overwhelmed by sorrow
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
suddenly realizing the futility of
humanity’s accomplishments
Out, out, brief candle!
Angry at the source of life.
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
Mocking
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Anger and Despair
THEME: Our lives our full of drama, but have very little meaning when all is said and done.
Evidence 1: “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”- Our lives have highs and lows, but in the end it
doesn’t really mean anything.
Evidence 2: “all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death”- We place a high value on
learning from the past, but Shakespeare is saying that those who study the past still march toward
death.
Evidence 3: “Life is a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no
more”- This shows that life is brief and then forgotten.