While the site is under construction, some pages may be unavailable. Those interested in adding missing info for service hours, please reach out.

Poetic Elements

Overview of Poetic Analysis

Poetry Flowchart

What:

What is the poem about?
The Big Idea (on AP Exam, often provided in the prompt)
Infer the what before you read based on the prompt and a quick read. You'll annotate for the WHAT as you read.

How:

How does the poet develop their Big Idea and reveal its importance?
Consider Literary Elements:
- Focus on Diction, Imagery, Figurative Language, Structure, and Sound Devices
You are interested in these only in HOW they develop the WHAT and WHY

Why:

Why is the poet writing about this Big Idea? Why does it matter?
This provides the Insight for your Thesis.
Your learn the WHY based on the HOW. HOW the poet is discussing the Big Idea in their poem shows WHY they care about it.

A Step by Step for Poetic Analysis

Annotating the Poem:

(For Exam Only): Read the prompt. What context does it give you and what does it want you to write about. That is usually your Big Idea.
First Read of the poem. Your goal in this read through is just to get a sense of the WHAT. Try to paraphrase the poem.
Second Read of the poem. Mark any major structural elements. Your goal in this read through is to find the Shift.

The Shift: When something changes in the poem. The meaning of the poem often lives in the Shift. Imagine the Shift as a bridge that goes from general knowledge about the Big Idea to what the poet wants you to notice about the Big Idea.
Look for a change in Tone, Subject, Narrator, Audience, or Time.
One technique is to try outlining the poem so the structure comes through more clearly.

Based on the structure/Shift, infer the WHY. Do you have some insight into WHY the poet is talking about the Big Idea?
Third Read of the poem. Only pay attention to the sections you marked in your Second Read as having structural significance for the Shift. Your goal in this read through is to pay attention for the HOW.
- Annotate for Diction, Imagery, Figurative Language, Structure or Rhyme/Rhythm around the moments where there is a Shift. HOW do those literary elements help you realize the shift? HOW do they help the poet offer their insight into the Big Idea? HOW do they guide what you are thinking about the topic?
Confirm the WHY that you inferred in step 4. Do the literary elements support that WHY? How so?

Video walkthrough of the steps for annotation applied to Wilfred Owen's poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est".
Final Annotation Sheet from the Video.

Reverse the Process for Writing:

Thesis: Repeat the WHAT and answer WHY the poet is talking about that WHAT (Idea + Insight). For your two aspects, briefly outline the two sides of the Shift.
Body Paragraphs: Show the ways the HOW develops the WHY of your Thesis.
- Each Body Paragraph should be one side of the shift.
- Evidence: Phrases/words that demonstrate Insight into the WHAT.
- Commentary: Using literary elements, explain HOW the evidence develops the insight (the WHY).

Tips for Analyzing Poetic Structure

For all of these, imagine someone saying it. If they were talking, why would they put a pause where they do? What might they be going through and reflecting upon at that moment?

Enjambement:

creates an emphasis on the last word of one line and the first word of the next line
builds syntactic tension
make for a more relaxed reading as they all flow together

Caesura:

includes a pause to encourage contemplation, show a shift, or reveal an epiphany

Tips for Analyzing Sound Devices

Euphony and Cacophony

Euphonic: pleasant to the ear (M, L, M, S)
- Reveals a pleasant tone
Cacophonic: disturbing to the ear (R, K, T, P)
- Reveals a disgusted tone

Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance, and Sibilance

does the sound of these words mimic a sound in the poem
- does it mirror a whisper, a ticking clock, etc.
Sibilance: form of consonance using the repetition of "S" or "Sh" that is supposed to mimic a whisper or a wind
- see "To be or not to be" soliloquy

Page updated

Report abuse