Poetry is a powerful way of expressing feelings and ideas. Poets use a variety of devices to convey these feelings and ideas. One of the greatest features of poetry is the possibility of alternative interpretations. Analysis does not take the beauty or power away from the poem. Instead, it helps the reader to better understand the poem and appreciate the poet's craft.

First, just read the poem. Always read according to the punctuation (if there is any), not the line breaks. What is your first impression of the poem? Does it tell a story or describe certain events? What images do the words bring to your mind?

If the poem is free verse, pay attention to the line breaks. Is the author using line breaks to develop an interesting double meaning or to create an effect?
Example

Identify any poetic devices that are used in the poem. See the Poetic Devices section below to familiarize yourself with these techniques. See if any of the poetic devices help you determine the the poem or part of the poem.

*Here is an example of a Poem Analysis Paper that I wrote in college. This is a two page excerpt from a paper about American poet Gary Snyder and one of his poems, "Song of the Taste".

Poetic Devices

The point of identifying poetic devices is to determine how they add to or what they tell you about the meaning of the poem. For example,a change in a pattern, like rhyme or meter,is a clue to the meaning of the poem.

|aliteration | allusion | archetype| assonance | consonance |couplet | hyperbole | imagery | line breaks |
|metaphor |meter| neologism | onomatopoeia| paradox |personification | rhyme | simile | stanza |

- the repeating of consonants at the beginning of words.

Example - Check out the first line of this poem
or any tongue twister!

- a reference to a mythological situation or character or to another piece of literature.

Example - In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" (toward the very end) the speaker says "Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse...", refering to the sea god.

- the repeating of a specific vowel sound or group of vowel sounds throughout a poem, but not the consonants following them.

Example - "Eldorado" Look for the "o" sound in particular.'devices top

CONSONANCE

- a pair of lines whose end words rhyme

Example -
"Eenie Meenie Miny Moe,
Catch a tiger by his toe."

- an exaggeration of the truth.

Example-"The Daffodils" by William Wordsworth

- the use of description to create an image in the mind of the reader

Example - Dylan Thomas' "Fern Hill"

- where the poet chooses to end one line and begin another, especially used in free verse.

Example - "This is just to Say"

- an association of two completely different objects as being the same thing. Distinguishes itself from simile by not using "like" or "as". Considered a powerful form of communication because it disregards logic. (ie. an object can not be something else and be itself at the same time.)

Example- "Blight" Edna St. Vincent Millay equates fostering hatred in her heart to planting a garden.

NEOLOGISM

- to make up a word or give a new meaning to an old word.
Example-"Jabberwocky"

devices top

- a statement which appears to contradict itself which may, in fact, be true.

Example: One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. (from "Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne)

- using the qualities of a person to describe an inanimate object

"Suicide's Note"

The calm, cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.

-Langston Hughes

- the associating of two words in a poem through the way they sound. Rhyme usually occurs at the end of a line in a poem, but it is not restricted in that way necessarily.There are many kinds of rhyme:

True Rhyme - two words whose last syllables sound the same.
Example - "Nothing Gold Can Stay"

Assonant Rhyme - the rhyming of vowels only. Rather popular in prose poetry since it is often hard to recognize. Also effective in internal rhyme.
Example - He was at Naples writing letters home And, between his letters, reading paragraphs On the sublime. Vesuvius had groaned For a month. ( ... ) (from "Esthetique du Mal" by Wallace Stevens) ("home" and "groaned" rhyme assonantly)

Consonant Rhyme - the rhyming on consonants only. Often used as a deviation from "true" rhyme in a lyrical poem.
Example- But Antichrist got down from the Barbary beast And doffed his plume in courteous prostration; Christ left his jennet's back in deprecation And raised him, his own hand about the waist. (from "Armageddon" by John Crowe Ransom) ("beast" and "waist" rhyme consonantly.)

Sight Rhyme - words that are spelled similarly, but do not rhyme. (sight rhymes are frequently also assonant or consonant rhymes)
Example- I cut the tree, envious, Self concious of my height, And was crushed under the weight Of its branches. (from "Tree" by Ryan Deschamps)

Internal Rhyme - when a word in the middle of a line rhymes with the word at the end of the line
Example

devices top

SIMILE

- a comparison of two completely different objects using "like" or "as". Not generally considered as powerful as Metaphor since it does not defy logic. (see METAPHOR)
Example (first line)

- a set of lines in a poem, separated from other stanzas with an empty line
This Example has Four stanzas.

Write an analysis of each of the following poems. First, read the poems. Then, write at least a paragraph about the poem's literal and figurative meanings. Finally, identify the poetic devices used in the poem and explain how they influence or add to the meaning of the poem.

"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning
"How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Daffodils" by William Wordsworth
"She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron
"Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell
"To Autumn" by John Keats

Poem analyses are due at the beginning of class on May 17th.

There are many ways to write a poem; inspiration can be found anywhere. The important thing to remember about writing poetry is that it doesn't have to be clear, with an obvious meaning. You can do more with poetry than with prose; your work can mean different things to different readers.

Another important thing about any type of writing is the drafting process. After you write one poem, even if you love it the way it is, you should rewrite it. In your revision you can rearrange words or lines, try a new perspective, or implement a poetic device you hadn't tried. Always keep your drafts. You never know when you might want them.

If you've been working on a poem for a long time and feel stuck, put the poem away for awhile. Sometimes writers need distance from their work. You may be stuck, but later, when you're out mowing the lawn, inspiration will strike!

Here are some poetry writing exercises to help you get started!

Poetry Writing Exercises

| cut out | phone # | art | couplet | 3 stanza | story | memory | simile | made up | coversation | It's not fair | found |meter |TOP

Begin by cutting words out of newspapers and magazines. The more unique the words are, the better. When you have a substantial collection of words, spread them out on a blank piece of paper. Have another piece of paper ready to write the poem on. Arrange the words on the blank piece of paper. You don't have to use all of them, and you can add your own "connector" words to complete your ideas. When you have a draft of a poem, write it on the other piece of paper. Don't worry if your poem seems vague or confusing. It's okay, that's the beauty of poetry! It is often the later drafts of this poem that are the best.
This exercise is often more effective if done with the help of a partner or a teacher (to cut out words for you). It is very similar to magnetic poetry kits that you can purchase.

This exercise can be a lot of fun. Pick a phone number that has significance for you and write it down. Use the number for your title. Your poem will have as many lines as your phone number has numbers. Each line will have the number of syllables as the number it corresponds with.
For example, if you use 426-3213, the first line will have four syllables, the second line will have two, the third will have six, and so on.
The contents of the poem should relate to the phone number you chose.

Phone Number Poem Example

Find a work of art that you admire or find interesting. Write a poem about the artwork.

-You could write about the artist: what (s)he was thinking or doing, why (s)he created it, or what the artist thought of his/her own work.
OR
- You could write about the art: what it looks like, something it reminds you of, how it makes you feel, or what might be going on around it.

Write a poem that is made up of at least ten couplets. Try to be original with your rhymes. Sometimes it helps to try a rhyming site like RhymeZone.

Attention: To make this exercise effective, please complete one step at a time.

Step One: To begin writing this poem you will need a collection of various items to look at. You could either have a teacher or a partner gather items for you, or you could use a more natural collection of items in your bedroom, for example. Pick one item and write a stanza of poetry about it.
Step Two: Next, choose a person, either one of your parents or a person who is like a parent to you. Write a stanza about this person. Try to find something specific about this person to write about. Use details.
Step Three: Then, write a stanza about yourself. (This is difficult for many people!)
Step Four: Find a title for your poem that somehow ties all three stanzas together.

Write a poem that tells a story. Often it is easier if it is about something that actually happened to you. Epic poems are very long poems that tell an entire story. One famous example of an epic poem is Homer's Odessey. Don't worry, your story poem doesn't have to be hundreds of pages long!

Take a piece of paper and write the words sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste on it, leaving plenty of space between each word. Then pick a memory to write about. It can be anything, as long as you remember it vividly and it has some importance to you.
Now think of the memory. What do you see? Write down words or phrases that describe what you are seeing under "sight".What do you smell? Write down words or phrases that describe what you are smelling under "smell". What did you touch? Write down words or phrases that describe what you feel under "touch". What do you hear? Write down words or phrases that describe what you are hearing under "hearing". Finally, what do you taste? Write down words or phrases that describe what you are tasting under "taste".
Now, on a separate piece of paper, combine the words and phrases from the five senses list to create a poem about the memory.

First, read "Jabberwocky", by Lewis Caroll. Then write a poem using words that you invent. Your invented words should convey some meaning, either by the way they are used or the way they sound. One method of creating words is to combine two words.

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Writing - Drafting