How to Analyze a Poem

Analysing a poem: it is better to use the word approach because a poem can have
different meanings for different readers.

1) Read through it at least twice. You will have to read a poem multiple times
before even attempting to approach it for deeper meanings. Give yourself a chance to
thoroughly and fully experience the poem. Remember to note down initial reactions to
some words or images, as these may be important.

2) Is there a title? Don’t forget to take this into consideration. Readers often skip over
a poem’s title, which may give important clues for understanding it. Often the title is an
introduction that can guide you; for example, in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s’ “The Eagle”,
the title is all important:

3) What to do with unknown vocabulary. If there are any unfamiliar words or even a
few foreign terms, don’t worry too much. On your first read through, just let them go
and try instead to focus on the general meaning of the poem. On the second and
subsequent readings, you should then look up those words or anything else that is
problematic for you.

4) Read it aloud. You must do this. Poems are meant to be heard. Often you will find
that parts of a poem that have given you trouble on the written page suddenly make
sense when read out loud. You may feel silly at first, but soon you’ll be comfortable.
Read in your normal voice.

5) Pay attention to punctuation. Most poems use punctuation to help guide the voice
of its reader. You need to pay attention because the end of a line is frequently not the
end of a sentence. Consider these lines from Robert Frost’s “Birches”:

When I see birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging in them.

If you stop reading or pause at the end of the first line, the reading of the poem will
sound broken and unnatural. If you read smoothly through, pausing briefly at the
comma and stopping at the full stop, you will be reproducing the poem’s correct
conversational tone.

6) Try paraphrasing. It may be best for you to write in your own words what the
poet is saying in each line of the poem. As you work through it, you’ll see which areas
you need to concentrate on. But again, avoid the notion that there is “one true
meaning.” Remember there could be literal, connotative and symbolic meanings.

7) Who is the speaker? Remember not to confuse the poet with the “speaker” of the
poem. More often than not, the speaker is a character, just like in a novel or a play.
Determining who the speaker is will help you approach the work more easily. Even if
the speaker is the poet, you should always refer to the speaker as ‘the speaker’ in your
analysis. As regards the audience, who is the speaker addressing? Is there a specific
group? Does the audience help to define who the speaker is?

8) Be open to interpretation. Being open to the poet’s intentions can lead you to some
interesting ideas and questions.
9) There are no useless words. Poets select each and every word carefully. None
should be dismissed. Images and symbols all have a purpose in the overall meaning of
the poem. Take several keywords or phrases from the poem and consider the kinds of
connotations they carry. Think “Why this word and not another?” Refer to your first
reactions: often connotative meanings, rather than denotative, are what engage our
emotions.

Take the word “mother,” for example. The dictionary would define mother as “a female
parent.” OK, but the word “mother” probably creates emotions and feelings in you: it
paints a picture in your mind. You may think of love and security or you may think of
your own mother. The emotions and feelings that a word creates are called its
connotative meaning. What kind of reactions does the word “black”, or contrarily, “fair”
provoke in you?

10) Don’t expect a definitive reading. Many poems are intentionally open-ended and
do not offer a definitive conclusion. Although it is desirable to understand what a poem
is saying, remember that there are approaches and interpretations different to your own.

11) Determine the poem’s structure and organization. Does the poem follow a
narrative? Are there ideas grouped together in different sections? Does each stanza
cover a separate topic, or is there a continued theme throughout the poem? How is the
poem physically organized—is it one long poem, or does it have stanzas or separate
lines? See: Donne’s “The Flea” and Keats’ “Ode to Autumn”.

12) Determine the rhyme scheme of the poem. There are many different kinds of
rhyme schemes. Rhymes are used to give the poem a musical, pleasing sound. They can
also be used to deepen meaning, and strengthen the form of the poem. Is there any
meaning behind the placement of the rhymes? Does it put emphasis on a specific idea
within the poem?

End rhymes are one of the most common forms of rhymes. When the last word of a line
rhymes with another last word of a rhyme, this is considered an end rhyme. In “The
Vagabond Song,” the lines “And my lonely spirit thrills/To see the frosty asters like a
smoke upon the hills” are an example of lines that have end rhymes.

Internal rhymes are when words in the middle of a line rhyme with other words in the
middle of a different line. In a “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, he writes “The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew” ‘blew’ and ‘flew’ are
examples of internal rhymes.

True rhymes are words that rhyme exactly. For example, the words “cat” and “rat” are
perfect rhymes.

Off-rhymes are words that almost rhyme, but do not rhyme exactly. These are also
called slant rhymes. For example, the words “fate” and “saint” are off rhymes--they
sound very similar, but very subtly end in a different way. Off rhymes use assonance
and consonance. Assonance is when the vowels of two words rhyme, while consonance
is when the consonants of two words are the same.

13) Analyse the poem in terms of poetic devices. Look for poetic devices (alliteration,
assonance, etc.), imagery (sensory detail, word pictures, etc.) and so forth. Think "What
kind of language devices is this author using? How do they help him accomplish his
goal?"
What imagery does the author use? Does he use metaphor, simile, or personification?
Does the poet use alliteration? Alliteration is when words in a line begin with the same
letter. An example would be, “the terrifying tiger tackled the traumatized toad.”

How would you define the poem’s diction (language)? Did the author choose to put
specific words in the poem for a reason? Is the language flowery? Stark? Sad?
Passionate? Etc

14) Draw your conclusions. What is the theme or goal of the poem? What tools did the
poet use to convey the theme or main idea of the poem? How did he or she use them?
Write down your findings in an analytical essay.

How do I love thee (sonnet 43)

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

After approaching this poem, compare it to

The Eagle

By Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.