Poetry is the most challenging kind of literary writing. In your first reading you may well not understand what the poem is about. Don't jump too swiftly to any conclusions about the poem's meaning.
Read the poem many times, including out loud. After the second or third reading, write down any features you find interesting or unusual.
What is the poem's tone of voice? What is the poem's mood?
Does the poem have an argument? Is it descriptive?
Is the poet writing in his or her own voice? Perhaps they are putting on a persona or a mask?
Is there anything special about the kind of language the poet has chosen? Which words stand out? Why?
What elements are repeated? Consider alliteration, assonance, rhyme, rhythm, metaphor and ideas.
What might the poems images suggest or symbolise?
What might be significant about the way the poem is arranged in lines? Does the grammar coincide with the ending of the lines or does it 'run over'? What is the effect of this?
Do not consider the poem in isolation. Can you compare and contrast the poem with any other work by the same poet with any other poem that deals with the same theme?
What do you think the poem is about?
Every argument you make about the poem must be backed up with details and quotations that explore it's language and organisation?
Always express your ideas in your own words.
Read the poem many times, including out loud. After the second or third reading, write down any features you find interesting or unusual.
What is the poem's tone of voice? What is the poem's mood?
Does the poem have an argument? Is it descriptive?
Is the poet writing in his or her own voice? Perhaps they are putting on a persona or a mask?
Is there anything special about the kind of language the poet has chosen? Which words stand out? Why?
What elements are repeated? Consider alliteration, assonance, rhyme, rhythm, metaphor and ideas.
What might the poems images suggest or symbolise?
What might be significant about the way the poem is arranged in lines? Does the grammar coincide with the ending of the lines or does it 'run over'? What is the effect of this?
Do not consider the poem in isolation. Can you compare and contrast the poem with any other work by the same poet with any other poem that deals with the same theme?
What do you think the poem is about?
Every argument you make about the poem must be backed up with details and quotations that explore it's language and organisation?
Always express your ideas in your own words.
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