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
• Let’s start with an easy one
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.
Reading 1
• Just read the poem and absorb the
language. Enjoy the imagery and the
rhythm of the words.
Reading 2
• Now let’s look at the form of this poem
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.
Any
personification?
Any metaphors?
Similes?
What is the rhyme
scheme?
What does this rhyme
scheme tell you?
Reading 3
• What kind 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.
I don’t actually know this,
but it makes sense, 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 the descriptive
language.
• Picking particular adjectives and adverbs
make a huge difference in the meaning of
the poem
She Walks in Beauty
By: Lord George Gordon Byron
She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tells of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Reading 2
She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tells of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
•
What is the rhyme scheme?
•
Any figurative language?
•
Let’s look at the descriptive
language.
•
Look at all the highlighted
words, those words create
the mood and tone of the
poem.
•
Imagine if he had used
other adjectives, it would
have a completely
different feel.
Insert your own adjectives
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?
Reading 3
She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tells of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
•What is happening in the poem?
•What is the author describing?
•What happened?
•How does he feel?
•Are there any words you don’t
know?
•What is the mood?
•What is he trying to express?
•Is he successful?
Read Aloud
• Poetry is best when heard out loud. It’s an art
form that is easiest to understand when you hear
it.
• Each person will read a poem differently, so we
can see a little bit of their personality in the
poem, which affects how we understand it.
• The human soul is in the writing of poetry, but
the soul of the poem can’t be let out, unless a
person is there to do it.
Mother to Son
By: Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Analysis….
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
•What does the voice of the
narrator tell you?
•Who is she?
•What has her life been
like?
•Where is she from?
•Remember the narrator and the
author are not necesarrily the same
thing.
•Who is she talking to?
•Who ELSE is she talking to?
•Which words stick out to you
as important?
•Important words are
ones that tell you a lot
very simply
Read Aloud
• Each person in the class has the same poem as
someone else.
• Study it, get familiar with the language.
• Each set of people will read their poems
– This is not a competition, this is just to see how your
different personalities and interpretations change the
meaning of the poem.
• Put some effort in! You won’t be funny by
reading it robotically or monotone on purpose.
Read Aloud Continued
• Now that you have read your poems
aloud, you will work with your poem
partner to analyze your poem by writing
one well-developed paragraph.
• BUT
• How do you do that?
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.
Now let’s combine my ideas
into a cohesive paragraph!
I am going 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
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.
Note that I don’t say “I think” or “I feel,” I don’t even have to say
anything about the fact that it is my opinion. My interpretation of what
Shelly is saying shows my opinion. You just state your interpretation as
if it’s the only one there could be. If you were to read this, without
knowing I wrote it, you might think that this was TRUE, but really it’s just
my educated analysis. Everyone is capable of doing the same thing,
with a little practice of course.
Your turn!
• Now, working with your Read Aloud Poem
Partner you are going to analyze your
poem.
• Ask the kind of questions we practiced
about form, meaning, and imagery.
• Use your answers to these questions to
write an in-depth paragraph of analysis.