Analyzing Poetry

Introduction
Introduction-Analyzing Poetry
We are affected by literature -- we love it, hate it, or are
indifferent. This is the total effect. "Meaning" is the total
effect -- the sum of all of the parts is what it "means" to
you.The "meaning" of a work may change as you
understand more about it or experience some of what
the author has written about. Therefore, "meaning" is
how the poem acts on you -- what it is that you feel. As
you understand more about a work, its meaning will
change -- it will have more effect, or there is also the
possibility that you will realize that the work did not
mean what you thought it did (you feel differently).
FOR EXAMPLE:
The movie Friday the 13th, Part 23 may be an
inspiration for the beginning film maker, a triumph
of wise investment for the producer, a boring waste
of time for the person who has seen the previous
22, and a terrifying experience for the poor
spectator who has seen none of the others. For
each of them, the experience, the interpretation,
and ultimately, the meaning, will be different.
Therefore when you analyze or look at a work of
art, you are trying to decipher how it achieves its
effect or how did it produce meaning.
 Analyzing Poetry
1. Be open to liking or disliking a poem.
Try to stay away from indifferent.
Formulate an opinion and substantiate it
for each poem. Be thoughtful, critical and
reflective.

2. Some questions for discussion will be

opinion and some will have correct
answers. Take both seriously.
 Analyzing Poetry
3. Read a poem once, without reading the
question beside or under it. Don’t worry
about anything but the poem on that first
read. Focus only on reading the poem and
thinking about its meaning.

4. On the second read, evaluate the poem

with what’s being asked. ALWAYS HAVE THIS
SECOND READ!
A Hippo is Bounding Around
on My Head
A hippo is bounding around on my head. Gorillas
are banging on drums. A rhino is charging me
full speed ahead while a crocodile's eyeing my
thumbs. A rattlesnake's winding his way up my
side. A tiger is sniffing my clothes. A grizzly
just grabbed me, his mouth open wide. A
tarantula's perched on my nose. I'm drowning,
surrounded by man-eating sharks. An elephant
sits on my chest. Yes, that's how it feels when
the teacher remarks, "Grab your pencils. It's
time for the test.“
--Kenn Nesbitt
 Follow the Steps Defined Below
To Understand Poetry
 Step 1: Paraphrasing  Step 3: Discover the
speaker (Who is the
 Step 2: Discover the speaker?)
subject (What is the
poem about?)  Step 4: Main Idea or
theme

 Step 5: Literary
techniques
Step 1
Paraphrasing
What Are They Talking About?

Explain the poem in your own words

Step 2
Discover the Subject
What is the poem about?

Find out what the poem

means
Step 3
Discover the Speaker
Who is the speaker?

Look for the speaker’s interests, idea,

and feelings
Step 4
Main Idea or Theme
The main idea or message of literary
work

Find out what the poem is about

Step 5
Literary Techniques

A.) Make a List of Literary Techniques Used by

the Author.

B.) Explain How do the Poem’s Techniques

Support the Poem’s Theme?
 Alliteration- The  Consonance- The
repetition of initial repetition of consonant
consonant sounds. sounds in a line of poetry.
 Assonance- The repetition  Connotation- It is
of vowel sounds in a line of created when you mean
poetry. something else, something
 Allusion- A reference to a that might initially be
well-known historical hidden. It is based in
person, place, event, literary implication or a shared
work or work of art. emotional response.
 Analogy- A comparison of  Denotation- It is when
similar objects. An analogy you mean what you say,
suggests that since the literally.
objects are alike in some
ways; they will probably be
alike in other ways.
 End Rhyme- The rhyming of words at the ends of lines of poetry.
 Figure of Speech- It is an expression or word used imaginatively,
not literally.
 Hyperbole- It is an exaggeration to emphasize the truth for
effect.
 Imagery- These are the mental pictures that are created by the
poet. The poet makes use of the five senses (see, touch, taste, smell
and hear). Used to create sense impressions of actual experiences.
 Internal Rhyme- Rhyme within lines of poetry.
 Metaphor- A comparison of two unlike things.
 Meter- The rhyme in the lines of a poem. It is created by the
regular alteration of stressed and unstressed syllable.
 Mood-The atmosphere of feeling that an author creates in a
work.
 Onomatopoeia- The use of a word whose sound makes you
think of its meaning, as in buzz, swish, zing or zip.
 Paradox- Occurs in a statement that at first strikes us as self-
contradictory but that on some reflection makes sense.
 Personification- this is used by an author to give an object
or idea human characteristics or attitudes.
 Point of View- The way in which the reader is given the
information.
 Repetition- The repeating of a word or phrase to add
rhythm or to focus an idea, as in the following lines from Poe’s
“The Raven.”
 Rhetorical Question- A question asked for dramatic
reasons and not intended to evoke a response
 Rhythm- The repetition of stresses and pauses.
Rhythms affect the poems meaning, and ultimately,
affects the reader.
 Simile- it is a comparison using like or as.
 Stanza- The group of lines in a poem. It could be
compared to a paragraph in an essay.
 Symbol- An object, person, a place or an experience
that represents something else, usually abstract.
 Theme- The central thought of the poem.
 Tone- A reflection of the author’s attitude toward a
subject of a poem.
Summary of “The Poison Tree”

This meditation on the nature of

wrath offers two ways of dealing
with on an offence. When the
speaker is angry with his friend, he
told the friend of it and his “wrath
did end.” However, when he was
angry with his enemy, he kept the
anger hidden, allowing it to grow.
His wrath, which is watered “in fears”
and sunned ‘with smiles, And with soft
deceitful wiles,” grows into the poison
tree of the title. The tree bears “an apple
bright” that the speaker’s enemy desires;
the greedy enemy takes the fruit, even
though he knows it belongs to the
speaker, and eats it. The next morning
the speaker is glad to see his “foe
outstretch’d beneath the tree.”
Analyzing “A Poison Tree”

"The Poison Tree" consists of four

sets of rhyming couplets. Each
stanza continues into the next,
giving the poem a hurried, almost
furtive tone that matches the
secretive deeds done in darkness of
the poem's content.
The obvious moral of this poem is that
hidden wrath becomes more dangerous
behind the deceit that hides it from its
object. Possibly, the “Friend” mentioned
in the first stanza is a friend simply
because the speaker respects him
enough to voice his anger face to face,
whereas the “enemy” may be a potential
friend who remains an enemy because
the speaker keeps his wrath secret and
nurtures it.
There is a touch of irony, however,
in that the poem ends with the
speaker’s gladness over his foe’s
death by poison. No final line
refutes the secret nurturing of
wrath, and in fact, the poem may be
read as a guide for taking vengeance
upon one’s enemies.
Some critics suggest that the apple
symbolizes Blake’s creative work,
which another of his
contemporaries may have stolen
and used as his own. If so, it appears
the theft of Blake’s intellectual
property ended badly for the thief
(or at least Blake hopes it will).
Analyzing Poetry takes patience.

 The analyst needs to:

◦ Observe
◦ Interpret
◦ Infer
◦ Analyze
◦ Evaluate
 Step 1: Title
Goal- Attempt to predict what the
poem will be about
 Ponder the title before reading the poem.

 Questions to ask yourself:

◦ What predictions can I make about the poem
◦ What feelings can I connect to the poem’s
title?

Write your response in a complete sentence

 Step 2: Paraphrase
Goal- Translate the poem, line by line, into

your own words.

 Paraphrase the literary meaning/plot of

the poem. A true understanding of the
poem must evolve from comprehension
or what’s going on in the poem.
 Step 3: Connotation
Goal- Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal meaning.

 In poetry, connotation indicates that

analyst should examine any and all poetic
devices, focusing on how such devices
contribute to the meaning, the effect, or
both of a poem.
 Consider imagery, figurative language,
symbolism, diction, point of view, and
sound devices
 You will link these considerations to the
overall meaning.
 Step 4: Attitude
Goal- Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude

 Having examined the poem’s devices

and clues closely, now explore the
multiple attitudes that may be present
in the poem.
 Here you will describe the tone of the
author and/or speaker.

Recall how this is done…

 Step 5: Shifts
Goal-Note shifts in the speaker’s attitudes or emotions.

 Rarely does a poet begin and end the

poetic experience in the same place.
Discovery of a poet’s understanding of
an experience is critical to the
understanding of the poem. Trace the
feelings of the speaker from the beginning
to the end, paying particular attention to
the conclusion
Look for the following to find shifts:

 1. Key words (but, yet, however, although)

 2. Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
3. Stanza division
 4. Changes in line or stanza length or both
 5. Irony (sometimes irony hides shifts)
 6. Effect of structure on meaning
 7. Changes in sound (rhyme) may indicate
changes in meaning
 8. Changes in diction (slang to formal language)
 Step 6: Title
Goal-Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level

Questions to ask yourself:

◦Why is the title “_____?”
◦What does this mean?
 Step 7: Theme
Goal- Determine what the author is saying and wants me
to learn and feel after reading the poem.

 Identify the theme by recognizing the human

experience, motivation, or condition suggested
by the poem
 This step, within itself, has a system:
1) Summarize the plot
2) List the subject (s) of the poem (moving from literal
subjects to abstract concepts such as war, death,
discovery)
3) Determine what the poet is saying about each
subject. Write a complete sentence, making a
statement and point about the subject (s).
 It was a transmogrifying bee
Janet Walking Came droning down on Chucky’s old bald head
And sat and put the poison. It scarcely bled,
But how exceedingly
Beautifully Janet slept
Till it was deeply morning. She woke then
And thought about her dainty-feathered hen, And purply did the knot
To see how it had kept. Swell with the venom and communicate
Its rigour! Now the poor comb stood up
straight
One kiss she gave her mother, But Chucky did not.
Only a small one gave she to her daddy
Who would have kissed each curl of his
shining baby; So there was Janet
Kneeling on the wet grass, crying her brown hen
No kiss at all for her brother.
(Translated far beyond the daughters of men)
To rise and walk upon it.
“Old Chucky, Old Chucky!” she cried,
Running on little pink feet upon the grass
And weeping fast as she had breath
To Chucky’s house, and listening. But alas,
Janet implored us, “Wake her from her sleep!”
Her Chucky had died.
And would not be instructed in how deep
Was the forgetful kingdom of death.
Example of theme explication using the poem
“Janet Walking”

Plot: In “Janet Walking” Janet awakens one morning and runs to

greet her pet chicken only to discover that a bee had stung and
killed the bird. The discovery desolates Janet to such a degree
that her father cannot comfort her.

Subjects:
1. A child’s first experience of death
2. loss of a pet
3. innocence

Themes:
1. Children become aware of the inevitability of death and are
transformed by the knowledge.
2. The death of innocence is inevitable
"You Can't Write a Poem About her face brown as a bun.
McDonald's“ Ronald Wallace Suddenly I understand cannibalism.
As I reach for her,
Noon. Hunger the only thing she breaks into pieces
singing in my belly. wrapped neat and packaged for take-out.
I walk through the blossoming cherry I'm thinking, how amazing it is
trees to live in this country, how easy
on the library mall, it is to be filled.
past the young couples coupling, We leave together, her warm aroma
by the crazy fanatic close at my side.
screaming doom and salvation I walk back through the cherry trees
at a sensation-hungry crowd, blossoming up into pies,
to the Lake Street McDonald's. the young couples frying in
It is crowded, the lines long and sluggish. the hot, oily sun,
I wait in the greasy air. the crowd eating up the fanatic,
All around me people are eating— singing, my ear, eye, and tongue
the sizzle of conversation, fat with the wonder
the salty odor of sweat, of this hungry world.
the warm flesh pressing out of
hip huggers and halter tops. 1) Where are the images that the reader can
When I finally reach the cash register, see, think, taste, feel, and smell?
the counter girl is crisp as a pickle, 2) What comparisons did the author make?
her fingers thin as french fries, What literary technique did he employ?
3) What is the mood of the poem?
 "I'm Nobody“ Emily Dickinson
What do you think Dickinson means by “I’m
I'm nobody! Who are you? 1.
nobody"?
Are you nobody, too? 2. Based on the poem, what can you infer that
the poet feels about being a “nobody”?
Then there's a pair of us - don't tell! 3. Why does Dickinson say she doesn’t want
They'd banish us, you know. “to be somebody”?
a. She’s not a realistic person.
b. She doesn’t get along with others.
How dreary to be somebody! c. She’s afraid to make friends.
How public like a frog d. She doesn’t want everyone to
know her name.
To tell your name the livelong day 4. Based on the passage, what might the word,
“banish” mean?
To an admiring bog! a. kill
b. celebrate
c. shun
d. welcome
“Daybreak” by Ted Kooser

On the tidal mud, just before sunset

1) What do you think the
Dozens of starfishes author’s purpose was for
were creeping. It was writing this poem?
as though the mud were a sky
a. to tell a story
and enormous, imperfect stars
b. to express a feeling
moved across it slowly c. to make the reader
as the actual stars cross heaven. laugh
All at once they stopped, d. to praise its subject
and as if they had simply
2) What is the simile in this
increased their receptivity poem? What is being
to gravity they sank down compared? Why do you think
into the mud; they faded down the author chose to use this
literary device?
into it and lay still; by the time
pink of sunset broke across them
they were as invisible
As the true stars at daybreak.