Essential skills to begin to analyse a poem

You probably saying that identifying the poetic devices is the easy part; but that you are struggling to comment critically on aspects of the poem, analyse as well as offer a personal opinion of the poem’s content. It is essential that you have the skills to know how to begin to analyse a poem:

I know these steps has been covered in class but we strongly advise that you read the poem AGAIN when you sit for the exam.

1. The first step to grasping an understanding of the poem you are studying is to read the poem through carefully, much like you would do for a comprehension.

2. Once you have read the poem through carefully and you have some sense of what the poem is about, you need to ask yourself the question, “Out of what situation, or event, does this poem arise?” This should assist you in understanding what major event is contained within the poem.

3. Next, you need to pay attention to the structure of the poem. How many stanzas (verses) does the poem contain? Are they all the same length? Is the poem written using a particular shape? Why do you think the poet would have done this? What effect do you think he/she would be hoping to create? When it comes to poetry, nothing is done randomly. The poet has written his/her poem and used language, punctuation, and structure specifically to create an overall effect. All aspects of the poem work together to achieve the poet’s desired effect.

And when you start answering (how to, will be covered in the next blog), avoid saying that the poet “is trying to say ...”

You need to think about what the poet wants you to know more about now that you have read the poem or alternatively, how the poet wants to make you feel.

Next blog: Often you know the answer, but you don’t know how to write the answer?