Poetry Analysis

Title Although titles are often a key to the possible

meaning of a poem, readers frequently do not
understand them before reading poetry. As a
first step in the analysis of a poem, predict
what you think the poem will be about.
Paraphrase Frequently, real comprehension of a poem
begins with whats going on in the poem. Try
to understand the plot of the poem. Restate the
poem in your own words, not necessarily one
line at a time, but by stanzas.
Connotation (beyond This term refers o the literary devices, which
dictionary definition) contribute to the meaning or effect of the
poem. Try to understand how these devices
enhance the meaning of the poem.
Literary devices:
Imagery (olfactory, gustatory, visual,
auditory, tactile, organic)
Figurative language (simile, metaphor,
personification, hyperbole)
Sound devices (alliteration, assonance,
consonance, onomatopoeia)
Title Examine the title again. Knowing what you
know now after examining the poem, why did
the author give this title to the work?
Theme In identifying theme, consider the authors
message about the human experience or
condition suggested by the poem. Look at what
you paraphrased, then list the subject of the
poem (moving from literal subjects to abstract
concepts: death, war, discovery, etc.) Finally,
determine what the poet is saying about that
subject in a universal message.

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 Mother to Son
By Langston Hughes
Title This poem may be a mother giving advice to
her son.
Paraphrase The mother is describing her life to her son
telling him to never give up.
Connotation (beyond Literary devices:
dictionary definition) Imagery: tactile-tacks splinters
Figurative language: metaphor- the stairs
are being compared to life
Sound devices: consonance-repetition of
the n sound: climbin reachin
landin turnin goin
Title The poet used literary devices to convey the
mothers advice to her son
Theme The poem shows the reader through literary
devices such as figurative language and
imagery that the mother has had a hard life and
is telling her son to never sit down. The
crystal stairs is the exact opposite of the
mothers experiences. The crystal stairs
represent prestige and money

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Paragraph exemplar:

Poets use many literary devices to convey a theme to the readers. In the
poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes, imagery, figurative language, and sound
devices are used to express the speakers experiences. The crystal stairs are a
metaphor comparing to the speakers life. Tactile imagery is used to describe the
stairs with tacks and splinters. These devices suggest the mother did not have
prestige and money and the speaker tells her son life for me aint been no crystal
stair suggesting that she has endured many hardships.