analysing poetry = glossary of poetry terms

1. POETRY Understanding and Glossary
One of the great things about poetry is that YOU DON`T HAVE TO FOLLOW RULES of grammar and
punctuation. You can emphasize one or all of the following : Ideas, Style, Mood, Point of view, Tone,
Characters and setting.
Sometimes poetry seems complicated because we don`t know how to read it, or where to start. On the
first reading we may only capture one thing, but further readings often unravel ideas one by one. You
don`t have to understand everything to appreciate poetry and many works are quite subjective and evoke
different reactions and interpretations depending on the reader or listener.
Here are some questions that may help you to read a poem.
First reading
What is the mood of the poem?
Can you understand the message?
Does the title help you sum up the subject or theme?
What is your initial response? (head and heart)
Are there any memorable words or phrases you like?
What is one image that is easy to pick up?
Can you share in the poet`s vision?
If you want to dig a little deeper, you may find that analysing a poem increases your understanding and
pleasure.
FOUR STEPS
1 What is the poem about?
(meaning)
2 How does it present its message?
(vocabulary and argument)
3 What literary devices and techniques are used?
(form, rhythm and rhyme)
4 What do I like / dislike and what are my reasons?
STEP ONE : First impression
Think about title, characters, feeling, setting, poet`s attitude and audience.
STEP TWO : Vocabulary – What is being said and HOW?
Check vocabulary – Is it unusual, striking, familiar, shocking, formal, typical of a certain situation etc.
Try to paraphrase (put the poem into your own words)
STEP THREE : Technical aspects
Is there a specific form? ( ballad, sonnet, divided into verses)
Figurative language ( imagery, metaphors etc.), rhyme , rhythm.
STEP FOUR : Overview
How do I interpret the message? Is it relevant to me (or others)? / Can I relate to it? Has it given me fresh
insights? Has it touched me (emotion)? What do I like/dislike? Would I like to read more poems by the
same poet?
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2. Another approach which covers the same basic ideas is the SIFT approach
Sense = What the poem is about
Imagery = What we can see, hear, taste, smell or touch
Feeling = The tone of the poem and emotions involved/evoked
Techniques = rhyme, rhythm, alliteration etc.
Homework Find the definition and example for the Poetry Terms
Glossary of Poetry Terms
Allegory
Alliteration
Ballad
Couplet
Elegy
Figurative
Foot
Free verse
Hyperbole
Iambic
Idiomatic
Imagery
Internal rhyme
Irony
Litotes
Metaphor
Meter
Metonymy
Ode
Onomatopoeia
Parody
Personification
Pun
Quatrain
Rhyme
Rhythm
Satire
Setting
Stanza
Stress pattern
-anapestic
-dactylic
-iambic
-spondaic
-trochaic
Symbolism
Tone