Poetry: Poetry Analysis

Contributed by:
Ivan
This lesson teaches how to break a poem into several parts for better comprehension and composition. Poetry analysis is the process of investigating a poem's form, content, structural semiotics, and history in an informed way, with the aim of heightening one's own and others' understanding and appreciation of the work.
1. Poetry Analysis 101
The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Poetry
2. Where do I start?
• To really understand a poem you need to read it 3
times.
• 1st to just read it through
• 2nd to analyze structure (rhyme scheme, meter,
figurative language, etc.)
• 3rd to analyze meaning
• Let’s start with an easy one
3. Reading 1
• Just read the poem and absorb the language.
Enjoy the imagery and the rhythm of the words.
• Close your eye if you want to—I’ll read it to you 
4. by Percy Bysshe Shelly
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
5. Reading 2
• Now let’s look at the form of this poem
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory; What is the rhyme
Odours, when sweet violets sicken, scheme?
Live within the sense they quicken. What does this rhyme
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, scheme tell you?
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
Any kn n’t you
personification?
do rds
wo y
An
?
Any metaphors?
ow
Similes?
6. Reading 3
• What kinds of questions do I ask?
• Remember, everything in poetry is done for a
purpose, so you have to be constantly asking
“WHY?” and “WHAT?”
• Why did he say this?
• What is this supposed to mean?
• What does this represent?
• What is the overall point?
7. Reading 3
When a song is
over, you still Music, when soft voices die,
remember it the Vibrates in the memory;
sound When a smell is
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
gone, you can
Live within the sense they quicken. still remember
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, the scent
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
When a rose dies the Love itself shall slumber on.
petals can be used on
the bed(coffin). You
remember the love And when you (my love) die,
that the rose and your thoughts are gone,
A big part of
represents. analyzing poetry is my love for you will live on,
I don’t actually know this, realizing that there and be a remembrance of
but it makes sense, think isn’t a right or wrong, you
of how people spread it’s all about saying
flower petals now as a your opinion and
romantic thing, dead telling why it’s right.
petals are the opposite of If you think it’s right,
then it can be!
8. Descriptive Language
• One important thing to think about when
analyzing poetry is the descriptive language.
• Picking particular adjectives and adverbs make a
huge difference in the meaning of the poem
9. Insert your own
Using this simple poetic stanza, put in whatever
descriptive words to have it make sense.
The sun rises and I have _________ thoughts.
My eyes ________ open, the ______ inside me
growing.
________, I step towards the day, knowing
I am _______, I am ________, that’s what this day has
brought.
See how important descriptive language can be?
10. “She Walks in Beauty”
By: Lord George Gordon
Byron
She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tells of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
11. Reading 2
She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies; • What is the rhyme scheme?
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes • Any figurative language?
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
• Let’s look at the descriptive
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace language.
Which waves in every raven tress, • Look at all the highlighted
Or softly lightens o’er her face
words, those words create
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place. the mood and tone of the
poem.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, • Imagine if he had used
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
other adjectives, it would
But tells of days in goodness spent, have a completely
A mind at peace with all below, different feel.
A heart whose love is innocent!
12. Reading 3
She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies; •What is happening in the poem?
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes •What is the author describing?
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies •What happened?
•How does he feel?
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace •Are there any words you don’t
Which waves in every raven tress, know?
Or softly lightens o’er her face
Where thoughts serenely sweet express •What is the mood?
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
•What is he trying to express?
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
•Is he successful?
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tells of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
13. “Mother to Son”
By: Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
14. •What does the voice of the
Well, son, I'll tell you: narrator tell you?
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it, •Who is she?
And splinters, •What has her life been
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor— like?
Bare. •Where is she from?
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on, •Remember the narrator and the
And reachin' landin's, author are usually not the same
person.
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back. •Who is she talking to?
Don't you set down on the steps. •Who ELSE is she talking to?
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey, •Which words stick out to you
I'se still climbin', as important?
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
•Important words are
ones that tell you a lot
very simply
15. Read Aloud
• Poetry is best when heard out loud. It’s
an art form that is easiest to understand
when you hear it.
• Each person reads a poem differently, so
we, the audience, can see a little bit of
their personality in the poem, which
affects how we understand it.
• The human soul is in the writing of
poetry, but the soul of the poem can’t be
let out, unless a person is there to do it.
16. Read Aloud
• Each person in the class has the same
poem as someone else.
• Study it, get familiar with the language.
• Each pair will read their poems
• This is not a competition, this is just to see
how your different personalities and
interpretations change the meaning of the
poem.
• Put some effort in! You won’t be funny
by reading it robotically or monotone on
purpose.
17. Read Aloud Continued
• Now that you have read your poems aloud, you
will work with your poem partner to analyze your
poem by writing one well-developed paragraph.
• BUT
• How do you do that?
18. Writing an Analysis
• Things to remember
• Poetry is subjective, meaning each person
brings their own thoughts, feelings, and
experiences to it
• There is NO right answer to analyzing
poetry, if you feel it, it can be right
• You do have to EXPLAIN your feelings and
connect them to the writing, it can’t just be
random stuff
• To write about poetry you have to have a
reaction and talk about it.
• Everyone can do it!
19. Sample Analysis
Music: by Percy Bysshe Shelly
The rhyming couplets connect each
Music, when soft voices die, set of lines together; they also
Vibrates in the memory; create focus of each idea.
Odours, when sweet violets sicken, The sensory images (sound,
Live within the sense they quicken. smell, sight) create a flow to the
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, poem and then in the final couplet
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed; where it goes to the mind, the
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone, ideas have already circled that.
Love itself shall slumber on. The overall meaning says that as
long as you remember someone in
your heart, they will be a part of your
life forever.
Now let’s combine my
My goal is to discuss the couplets, ideas into a cohesive
the sensory images and the overall paragraph!
20. Alw
Final Paragraph
an ays
d s
na the ay th
me au
! tho e title
r’s
full
In his poem “Music” author Percy Bysshe Shelly connects the sound of music to
the loss of a great love. Throughout the poem he uses rhyming couplets to
connect lines of ideas to finally come to his conclusion that love, much like things
felt by the other senses, is a part of our memory and as long as we keep it a part of
us, it can’t fade away. He talks about how we remember the sound of beautiful
music, how we remember the scent of flowers, and how the same flowers can
show us love and death together. Finally, he concludes that just like the scent of
the flower, the feelings of love he has can never be lost as long as he remembers
them vividly in his heart.
Note: I don’t say “I think” or “I feel,” I don’t even have to say anything
about the fact that it is my opinion. My interpretation of what Shelley is
saying shows my opinion. You just state your interpretation as if it’s the
only one there could be. If you were to read this, without knowing I
wrote it, you might think that this was TRUE, but really it’s just MY
educated analysis. Everyone is capable of doing the same thing…with a
little practice of course 
21. Your turn!
• Now, working with your Read Aloud Poem Partner
you are going to analyze your poem.
• Ask the kind of questions we practiced about
form, meaning, and imagery.
• Use your answers to these questions to write an
in-depth paragraph of analysis.