What to Look for in a Poem

7/29/2019 What to Look for in a Poem

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WHAT IS POETRY?

Poetry has certain characteristics that make it

special. These include...

Poetry uses vivid images and descriptive

language to paint a picture in the readers

mind.

Poetry cuts out all the excess words that you

might find in prose, creating its magic with a

limited amount of text.

Poetry is normally designed to be read out

loud - when you read it, do try to hear it as

well.

Poetry often makes the reader emphasise

certain important words, and it usually has a

strong rhythm. Poetry may rhyme, but it does not have to.


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WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A POEM

STRUCTURE:

When you are analysing a poems structure, ask yourself the following questions:

The stanzas. How many are there and how long is each one? Are the verses all

the same length or are they different? The Punctuation. Does each verse end with a full stop or not? How does the

punctuation affect the flow of the poem?

The Rhyme Pattern. Is there a constant rhyme pattern? Does this affect thestructure and flow of the poem?

The Storyline. Does each verse contain a particular part of the story, or does

it run throughout?

STORYLINE:

When you first read a poem, you are looking for meaning. What is this poem about?

Some poems are not about anything - they simply evoke a mood, or an emotion, or a

vivid atmosphere. But even these poems can be said to have a story, because the poet issaying something to the reader. When you are analysing a poem, you should avoid

saying it is definitely about X or Y. Try instead to interpret its possible meaning ormeanings in your analysis. Often, the story in a poem will work on more than one

level. There could be the literal level, at which the plot or action of the poem is apparent,

but there could also be one or more deeper levels of meaning.When you see a poem for the first time, take the following steps:

On your first reading, simply gain a feeling for atmosphere or emotion. Do not

try to make sense of it. On your second reading, look to see if there is something happening in the poem.

What is the poet or character doing?

On your third reading, start to look deeper. Does the poet create a metaphor? Isthe poem really about something else?

VIEWPOINT:

The word viewpoint describes the point of view from which a poem is written. Just asin a novel, a writer might use a first or third person narrative, so with poetry it is

important to identify what viewpoint the poet is using. Sometimes, poets will use a real

or invented character, to tell their story, while other poems might be written from thepoets own perspective. Some poems use a mixture of viewpoints, shifting between them

in a way not possible in a novel. Poems that simply describe a place or an emotion might

not use either the first or third person narrator. When the poet writes as though he or she

is a godlike voice, looking at the world from on high, rather than through a person,this is known as the omniscient viewpoint.

The three main types of viewpoint=

First Person Viewpoint. This viewpoint is easily identifiable, because the writertalks directly to the reader. Look out for the words I, my, me, and so on.

Third Person Viewpoint. In the third person viewpoint, the poet is slightly more

distant, talking through a character. Look for the words he, she, him,her, and so on.


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Omniscient Viewpoint. With this viewpoint, the poet is even further away from

the reader, and from his or her subject. The poem written using this viewpoint

might provide a description, without any sense of character.

THEME:

Poets use a huge range of themes or subjects in their work. Often, poets will deal withmore than one theme in a piece of work. For instance, a poet might deal with the themes

of childhood, memories and the natural world, all within one piece of poetry. Remember,

when you are analysing poetry, you must comment on the effects or images that arecreated, as well as simply identifying the themes.

RHYME:

The English language has many words that rhyme, including homonyms, which arewords that sound the same but have a different spelling and meaning, e.g. son and sun.

There are various different types of rhyme that you should learn to identify:

End Rhyme: words that rhyme at the end of a line.

Internal Rhyme: words that rhyme within a line. Half Rhyme: words that almost rhyme, either within or at the end of a line.

RHYTHM:

Poetry is about sound as well as about creating images. Even if you are not reading a

poem out loud, you should still be able to hear it in your head. Rhythm is an importantaspect of poetry. As well as changing the way that you say a poem, it can also link to the

images that the poet describes. For instance, if a poet were describing a clock ticking, he

or she might use short, alliterative words to help echo the sound of the clock. Rhyme and

rhythm are inextricably linked, and the use of rhyme will create a certain rhythmnaturally within a poem.

As well as use of rhyme, other aspects of a poem that will help to create rhythm=

The length of the words used. A series of monosyllables will create a verydifferent effect from longer words.

The length of the lines. When we are reading a poem, we tend to stop or pause

at the end of a line. The use of punctuation. Full stops, commas, semi colons and other forms of

punctuation will all have an impact on a poems rhythm.

The use of techniques such as alliteration and imagery. These affect the way we

say the words and consequently the rhythm of a poem.

TONE:

The tone of a poem is one of the first things that you will notice it about it as you read.The word tone describes the overall sort of atmosphere and feeling that the poem seems

to have. A good way to understand exactly what tone means, is to think of a poem like a

song. Ask yourself: if this poem was set to music, what sort of music would it have? Forinstance, a poem about losing a lover would probably have a sad, emotional music,

because this would fit its tone. On the other hand, a poem about a beautiful morning

have a more energetic, positive tone.


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MOOD AND EMOTION:

When you analyse the mood and emotion of a poem, you should think both about the

feelings of the poet, and the mood or emotions that the poem creates in you. There arevarious ways that a poet can create a strong sense of mood or emotion. They could use:

Vivid imagery, for instance metaphor, personification or alliteration.

Adverbs and adjectives that give the reader a sense of how they are feeling. A subject or theme that automatically evokes strong feeling, e.g. war or love

IMAGERY:Imagery is the painting of pictures in the readers mind through the use of language.

Because poetry is such a condensed form of language, poets tend to make greater use of

imagery than novelists. Images take a variety of forms. They can:

Use a comparison between one thing and another, to develop the picture that iscreated. This type of image includes similes and metaphors.

Create sound pictures, by using words that make a sound like the thing that is

being described, or that add rhythm to the poem. Examples of this type of

imagery include alliteration and onomatopoeia.

When you are analysing imagery, it is very important to avoid simply listing the imagesthat the poet uses. For each image you discuss, you should consider:

What type of image is being used.

Why this particular image is being used. What the effect of this image is on the reader.

How the image contributes to the poem as a whole.

When you analyse imagery, you should suggest a possible interpretation, rather than

stating your ideas as definite.

BASIC IMAGERY=

Simile: A comparison between two things, using the words like or as as a .Metaphor: A comparison between two things, where one is said to be the other.

Alliteration: The use of repeated consonant sounds at the beginnings of words. Used to

create a sound picture.MORE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES=

Extended Metaphor: A metaphor is extended to run throughout a poem or piece of prose.

Onomatopoeia: A word that sounds like the thing it describes, for example ow! or

crash!Assonance: The use of repeated vowel sounds to create a sound picture.

Personification: Giving human attributes to an inanimate thing.

Analysing poetry part 2
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0 ExamsYou should have a general idea by now of what you believe the poem to be about, its themes andthe mood or tone of the piece. This is more or less what you need to know. Re-read the poem,(you should have read the poem at least four or five times by now) is there anything that you

notice about the poem? What stands out as particularly interesting about it?

Write these things down. Don't worry too much if you can't think of much. What you think is whatmatters.

In order to demonstrate your understanding of the poem you will need to be able to describe insome detail how the poet has achieved the expression of the themes through the mood and toneand language techniques of the poem. In this topic we will go through some of these techniquesand their significance to poetry.

Structure

The questions that you will need to ask of your poems in terms of structure will have to do with

conventional structures and stanza lengths and regularity. You will then need to decide whatimpact the structure has on a poem. We will go into more detail as we analyse a variety of poeticforms in the coming topics.

Rhythm or movement

Many poems use a regular rhythm. In many poems this rhythm is quite easily defined

You may study blank verse and free verse and wonder why this is any different from prose. Theanswer is simply that the poet uses rhythm and meter in order to shape meaning. It is often usefulto read the poem aloud so that you can hear where different accents and different rhythms havebeen used. Consider the appropriateness for the subject matter in each of these phrases:

1. The long, slow, tedious, mathematics lesson

Dragged on and on and on.

2. Square roots, sin and cosine, quadratics

It's lunchtime!

Read each one out loud. Notice the different emphasis and rhythm of each. In Example 1, therhythm is regular (meaning that it does not change) and tedious - this suits the subject matter.The rhythm of Example 2 is much brighter and snappier, implying that the lesson flew past. Thisis merely one example of the effect that poetry can have and we will discuss rhythm more in thistopic. What you should take from it in this context is that poetry is not merely a passage that

rhymes but passages whose words, rhyme, rhythm and meter match the subject matter and,more often than not, influence meaning.

Language & Poetic Devices

Important Poetry Techniques
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Technique Explanation Examples

Alliteration Words that start with the same sound to create

emphasis and at times dramatic impact

Breathing-takingbeauty of the belle

Assonance A repetition of vowel sounds within syllables

with changing consonants

Please bake me a date cake

Consonance Repetition of consonants anywhere within

words

Gloomy woman

Hyperbole The use of exaggeration often to create an

impact on readers

She ate a mountain of foodin just a

few minutes

Imagery Elements in poetry that can spark off our

senses (sight, sound, smell, feeling, taste) as we

read. It can often create a very vivid

description

The dark(sight) pungent(smell)

enclosure

Metaphor When a comparison is made between 2 things.

Although sometimes similar to a simile, mosttimes it is much more hidden and harder to

detect on the surface

HisHerculean strength sent the

spectators into aweThe apple never falls far from thetree (how children are similar to

their parents)

Onomatopoeia A word imitating a sound The buzzof the bee...When the catmeowed...

Personification Inanimate objects being given human qualities.

Personification has become very common in a

daily language use

The gloomy weather

The beautiful building

Simile When 2 items are compared with one another

with the use of like as

Her smile was as brightas the sun

He was stronglike Hercules

Tone Reflect the way in which the poet expresses his

ideas. Often this is detected through his use of

words / images, etc

Tone example (non-exhaustive list):

Anger

Comic

Condemning

DepressedDetached

Happiness

Serious

Connotation

A connotation is when a part of a text, or even a single word, implies (makes somethingunderstood without expressing it directly) a value or meaning beyond the literal. Take for examplethese three simple sentences:

1. The building was very tall.2. The building was monstrous.3. The building was towering.


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All three sentences mean the same thing literally. However, the word 'monstrous' hasconnotations of the building being scary and imposing and the word 'towering' may connote thatthe building was impressive in its size.

In poetry, connotations are very important. Look for words that connote particular things as theychange the emphasis of the text.

Copy down or underline any words that you think are particularly relevant to the poem's subjectmatter, theme or mood. In this list you will also need to copy down any words that stand out toyou - words that are striking and words that might be deliberately dull.

Repetition

Some poetry contain repetition. This may include repetition ofsound, syllable, words, phrases,lines, stanzas. Poets often use repetition to draw our attention to certain aspects in the poemand to create a particular emphasis that adds meaning to the poem.

Repetition is found extensively in free verse, which does not have a traditional, recognizablemetrical pattern. Repetition in free verse includes parallelism (repetition of a grammar pattern)and the repetition of important words and phrases.

Examples of repetition

Example 1

Bavarian gentians, big and dark, only dark

darkening the day-time, torch-like with the smoking blossoms of Pluto's gloom,ribbed and torch-like, with their blaze of darkness spread bluedown flattening into points, flattened under the sweep of white day

torch-flower of the blue-smoking darkness, Pluto's dark-blue daze,black lamps from the halls of Dis, burning dark blue,

giving off darkness, blue darkness, as Demeter's pale lamps give off light, lead me

then, lead the way.

D. H. Lawrence's "Bavarian Gentians"Example 2

Because I do not hope to turn again

Because I do not hope

Because I do not hope to turn...

T. S. Eliot's Ash-Wednesday

Have you seen any other examples of repetition?

Repetition is so obvious and everpresent that we sometimes forget its importance. Keeprepetition in mind as you analyse any poetry you read.


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What to Look for in a Poem

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