How to approach a poem

Speculate!
Poems are packed with a variety of writing techniques that have been specifically chosen
by their writers to create particular moods and portray particular ideas.
Because of the vast amount of literary and linguistic devices available to poets, there is no
precise way in which to analyse an individual poem, AND, of course, no one
can be entirely certain about why poets use particular devices or, indeed,
what they actually intend - although it is possible to speculate about this.
So, how do you go about speculating?
Its easy!
Believe it or not, a poem is one of the easiest forms of writing to analyse!

Look out for and analyse

Keep your eyes peeled for significant literary and linguistic techniques used by the writer i.e. those devices that create important effects and give the reader strong hints related to
meanings. In this way you can form intelligent, valid opinions, which is what teachers and
examiners are interested in - YOUR opinions.
The following checklist is for guidance only. Please note that only the first two points are
relevant to ALL poems (even those without a title); individual poems may contain all or a
combination of the features described - the key here is significance.

Poetry analysis checklist

Title: What impression does the title give you? What might the poem be about? If
theres no title, once youve read the poem try to work out why.

Reading: Read the poem aloud whenever possible. What are your first impressions?
How does it make you feel? What might the poet have intended?

Rhyme scheme, metre and enjambment: Is there a rhyme scheme and or metrical
pattern and or any enjambment? What tone(s) does this create?

Lexical choices: Is the diction (language) simple or complex? What effect(s) does this
have?
Are there any significant lexical or semantic fields? What are their effects?

What types of nouns are there? Look for patterns of abstract, concrete, and collective
nouns. What are their effects?

Are the main verbs dynamic or stative? Look for any patterns. What are their effects?

Is there anything significant about the use of personal pronouns - first, third person,
plural, and so on?

Look at the adverbs and adjectives: is there anything significant about them?

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How to approach a poem

Sentences: Pencil mark the ends of the sentences (i.e. full stops, question marks,
exclamation marks).
What types are they - minor, simple, compound, complex? What are their effects?
What functions do they have - declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory?
What are their effects?
Its sometimes useful to analyse complex sentences, especially long ones - identify the
main and subordinate clauses: the main clause will give you the gist of the sentence,
and the subordinate clauses provide extra information.
Is there anything unusual about the syntax? What effect(s) does this create? N.B.:
Whilst unusual syntax can be significant, poets sometimes manipulate syntax to aid the
rhyme scheme.
Is there one, or maybe two, short sentences? These are usually important - try to work
out why.

Voice(s): Is the speaker the poet or a persona? This is important but can be difficult to
ascertain. If youre unsure, then its probably a persona.
How many speakers are there? Who/what do they represent, what is being said?
Does the tone change with each speaker? Look at the sentence moods.

Changes in tone: These can be related to different speakers (see above), or to a break
of some kind in the poem. Look for sentences that start with a conjunction, or a
change in sentence lengths, or the use of caesura, and so on.

Phonological features: Along with the rhyme scheme, metre, and enjambment, what
sound effects are there? Look for auditory imagery such as assonance, consonance,
sibilance, plosives, fricatives, aspirants, alliteration, onomatopoeia ... What are their
effects?

Other important poetic devices: Is there any visual imagery or imagery that appeals
to the senses? Look for metaphors, similes, and so on. What are their effects?

N.B.: Please note that when describing the effects of a poets use of particular
techniques, you must be specific, for instance (note the detailed discussion of
the effects in the following piece of sample analysis):
Phonetics enhance the overall tone of the poem, such as the fricatives in
foolish frolics and features festered, which slow the pace and forcefully
imply contempt. Also, the harsh plosives in the triple noun phrase
badgered, burdened and browbeaten create a powerful and menacing tone,
which together with the use of sibilants in quench his lost soul, stifle this
selfish emptiness convey a sense of insignificance that also expresses a dark
aspect.

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