Thinking & Writingabout Poetry

How to Interpret a Poem

music art

Artists use color and line to create a beautiful painting.

Musicians use rhythm and sound to capture a mood or convey feeling

In the same way, poets use various literary techniques to convey the sense, or meaning of a poem and to convey mood and feeling. These techniques include choice of the speaker, sound, imagery and figurative language.

Poetry has much in common with..

You should learn to think about all these techniques so that when you interpret a poem you will be able to show the connection between the techniques of the poem and its meaning.

Think about the techniques a poet uses

The SPEAKER or voice of the poem. Sometimes the speaker is the poet him/herself and sometimes the speaker is a character or a thing the poet has created him/herself .

SPEAKER

The SOUND DEVICES a poet might use such as onomatopoeia or alliteration.

SOUND

RHYME (the repetition at regular intervals of similar or identical sounds) and RHYTHM (the pattern created by arranging stressed and unstressed syllables).

RHYME & RHYTHM

A poem’s IMAGES may appeal to one or more senses.

Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, internal feelings

IMAGERY

metaphor simile personification

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

be done in five easy steps…

1. Read the poem silently to yourself.2. Reread the poem aloud.3. Read the poem again silently to yourself.4. Decide what you think the poem is about.

If you have no idea, paraphrase the poem line by line to help you figure it out.

5. Identify the poetic devices

Understanding a poem can..

Does the poem focus on the actions of a character?

USE THESE QUESTIONSTO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND A POEM

Does the poem describe something?

Does the poem focus on an idea? A feeling?

What emotional response does the poem seem to call up in you?

After your first emotional response to the poem, on what does the poem cause you to reflect?

Let’s analyze the following poem together:

The Poem The ActivityFour Little Foxes

By Lew Sarett

Speak gently, Spring, and make no sudden sound For in my windy valley, yesterday I foundNew-born foxes squirming on the ground –

Speak gently.

Walk softly, March, forbear the bitter blow;Her feet within a trap, her blood upon the snow,The four little foxes saw their mother go –

Walk softly.

Go lightly, Spring, oh, give them no alarm;When I covered them with boughs to shelter them from harm,The thin blue foxes suckled at my arm -

Go lightly.

Step softly, March, with your rampant hurricane;Nuzzling one another, and whimpering with pain,The new little foxes are shivering in the rain –

Step softly.

1. Read the poem silently to yourself. Make a note of the vocabulary you don’t understand.

2. What is this poem about?

3. Does the poem focus on the actions of a character?

4. Does the poem describe something?

5. Does the poem focus on an idea? A feeling?

6.What emotional response does the poem seem to call up in you?

7.After your first emotional response to the poem, on what does the poem cause you to reflect?

8. What poetic devices do you see in this poem? Use the chart to help you.

Selection of Speaker

Sound Imagery Figurative Language

Who is speaking?What is his/her attitude?

Examples:Rhythm

Rhyme

Alliteration

What images are created to appeal to our senses?Sight: Sound:  Taste: Touch: Internal Feelings:

Personification

Metaphor

Simile

TECHNIQUES USED TO CONVEY MEANING IN A POEM

Four Little FoxesBy Lew Sarett

Speak gently, Spring, and make no sudden sound;For in my windy valley, yesterday I found New-born foxes squirming on the ground –

Speak gently.

Walk softly, March, forbear the bitter blow;Her feet within a trap, her blood upon the snow,The four little foxes saw their mother go –

Walk softly.

Go lightly, Spring, oh, give them no alarm;When I covered them with boughs to shelter them from harm,The thin blue foxes suckled at my arm -

Go lightly.

Step softly, March, with your rampant hurricane;Nuzzling one another, and whimpering with pain,The new little foxes are shivering in the rain –

Step softly.

Rhyme scheme

Alliteration

Imagery

A

B

Speaker

rhythm

Personification

A

A

Analyze a poem in 3 easy steps. Just remember to P.E.E.! P.E.E. stands for:

PointEvidenceExplanation

Writing About Poetry

Now on your own:

The Poem The Activity

At your table, interpret “Oranges” by Gary Soto.

Read the poem silently to yourself.

2. What is this poem about?

3. Does the poem focus on the actions of a character?

4. Does the poem describe something?

5. Does the poem focus on an idea? A feeling?

6.What emotional response does the poem seem to call up in you?

7.After your first emotional response to the poem, on what does the poem cause you to reflect?

8. What poetic devices do you see in this poem? Use the chart to help you.

What is the topic of the first line?

The first sentence must make it clear what the paragraph will be about.

For example: At the beginning of “Oranges,” the speaker explains that he has a vivid memory about the first time he walked with a girl: he was 12 years old, it was very cold and he had two oranges in his pocket. The poet uses imagery to create these pictures in the readers’ heads.

Writing about PoetryStep1: Make your Point

What words or phrases or events prove or illustrate your point?

The next sentence should give evidence from the text. It must relate directly to your point!

For example: This was a clear memory as he creates clear images such as, “December. Frost cracking beneath my steps, my breath before me, then gone, as I walked toward her house, the one whose porch light burned yellow night and day”.

Step 2: Provide Evidence

What does the author want the reader to think or feel by using those words?

Explain how the evidence illustrates or proves your point.

For example: The use bright colors such as ‘orange’ and ‘yellow’ against the background of a winter landscape appeals to our sense of sight, creating a very clear image of how cold it actually is. In addition, the speaker describes his breath ‘before him’, meaning when he breathes he can see his breath. All these images create a clear picture that is was a cold day this boy walked with a girl.

Step 3: Explanation

At the beginning of “Oranges,” the speaker explains that he has a vivid memory about the first time he walked with a girl: he was 12 years old, it was very cold and he had two oranges in his pocket. The poet uses imagery to create these pictures in the readers’ heads.This was a clear memory as he creates clear images such as, “December. Frost cracking beneath my steps, my breath before me, then gone, as I walked toward her house, the one whose porch light burned yellow night and day”. The use bright colors such as ‘orange’ and ‘yellow’ against the background of a winter landscape appeals to our sense of sight, creating a contrast which in turn shows a very clear image of how cold it actually is. In addition, the speaker describes his breath ‘before him’, meaning when he breathes he can see his breath. All these images create a clear picture that is was a cold day this boy walked with a girl.

The Whole Paragraph Reads Evidence

Point

Explanation

The first P.E.E. paragraph used ‘Oranges’.

Let’s look at Four Little Foxes!

Writing About Poetry

Poetic Analysis Writing

In the poem “Four Little Foxes,” Lew Sarett uses alliteration and personification to encourage Spring to take care with the newborn foxes: Speak gently, Spring, and make no sudden sound “. Sarett uses alliteration by repeating the “s” sound at the beginning of four words. The repetition of this sound imitates how he or she would like Spring to speak. This example also shows personification; Sarett recreates the gentle manner of speaking to encourage Spring to ‘speak gently’. This helps the reader understand how fragile newborn foxes are and how vulnerable they are in the winter months.

Evidence

Point

Explanation

At your tables, use the P.E.E. paragraph format to write one paragraph about “Oranges” or “Four Little Foxes”.

In your paragraphs: ◦ Identify the poetic devices and define them.◦ Give examples of that device being used in the

poem. ◦ Explain why Gary Soto used that device in the

poem.

Writing about Poetry