Click Here for English III Poetry Terms
- Read the poem OUT LOUD to yourself, to a friend, or to whoever will listen.
- Look up any unknown words and write down the definitions.
- Determine who is speaking and to whom they speak.
- Summarize the stanzas in your own words.
- Check for figurative language.
- Listen for anything notable about the sounds of the words or lines.
- Consider the mood of the poem.
- Deduce the overall meaning, theme, or lesson.
- Doodle, draw a picture if it helps.
Generally,
OBSERVE: think about details of description, action, language, and form.
CONNECT: examine these details and look for connection to see the poem's coherence.
INFER: make interpretive guesses about their significance.
CONCLUDE: make a conclusion about the poem's meaning based on all of these things.
In addition, you may consider the following questions:
Ask these questions:
- What feelings does the poem evoke? What sensations, associations, and memories does it give rise to?
- What ideas does the poem express, either directly or indirectly?
- What view of the world does the speaker present? What do you think of the speaker's view?
Experience:
- What feelings surfaced as you read this poem?
- What words, phrases, and details triggered your strongest responses?
- What associations about your own life do you bring to the poem?
Interpretation:
- What words, phrases, lines and details may have confused or baffled you? Why?
- What observations can you make about the poem's details?
- What words recur? How? Where? Why?
- What connections can you establish among the details and the actions of action and language?
- What inferences can you draw from these connections?
- How, for now at least, do you understand this poem?