For
Students and Teachers
HOW TO
ANALYSE A POEM
15 STEPS
TO BE FOLLOWED WHEN ANALYZING A POEM
After teaching Poetry, I have realized that
poetry is the simplest literary work to analyze and write for yourself. It is
the shortest and the simplest work of art, so the students and the teachers
should take it as a starting point for analyzing and creating literary works.
I will be giving a lot of experiences in
analyzing and composing literature, but to begin with, here are the 15 steps on
analyzing literature:
1. About the author. Here the reader gives
the background information of the poet. This information helps the reader to
connect the life of the poet with his/her works of art.
2. Title. This leads to the discussion of
whether the title is direct or indirect. Most literary titles are indirect.
3. Brief Summary/Paraphrase of the poem.
This part deals with the short synopsis of the particular poem. It mostly
begins with ‘The poem is about…..’
4. Persona.
(Who is speaking in the poem). Here we tell the state or condition of the
speaker, not a poet, poet’s name. For example, the state or condition of the
speaker may be oppressed, tortured, or humiliated condition.
5.
Addressee. (Whom the speaker is
speaking to). Here we also tell the state or condition of the one who is being
spoken to, that is, the audience or the reader. For example, the state of an
addressee may be a speaker’s fellow who is oppressed, humiliated, and tortured
like the speaker.
6. Tone. Attitude, feeling or emotional
attachment of the poet towards the audience and the subject matter.
7. Mood. Mood of the poem is the attitude
or the feeling the poem creates to the readers.
8. Structure of the poem. The way the poem
is organized into how many stanzas or verses.
9. Kind of the poem. This is the
description of the type of the poem in concern.
10. Sound devices of the poem. The reader
should understand the sound and rhythm of the poem through various aspects like
alliteration, assonance, repetition, rhyming and refrain.
11. Language and imagery. This deals with
the poet’s application of language in his/her poem.
12. Themes found in the poem. This includes
the issues that are addressed by the poet.
13. Message of the poem. This is what is communicated
or conveyed in the poem or an underlying theme that can be drawn from the poem.
14. Lesson of the poem. This is something
learned or to be learned from the poem.
15. Relevance of the poem. This shows
whether the poem reflects the experiences of the contemporary societies.
Your feedback is a valuable thing I should
have and care about!
Thank you!
Tags
Poetry