tenses

Exploring the poet’s choice of tenses in the poem can be interesting.

The English language is very complex in its use of tenses - there are many, to indicate different aspects of past, present and future.  So you should explore the tenses used by the poet, and what the effect is of the poet's choice.

For example, use of the simple past tense will often establish distance between the thing described and the poet.  

   I walked out one morning, as well I remember

Here the use of the past tense ('I walked out ...') underlines that the poet is reflecting on a past experience, contrasting it with the immediacy of the thoughts she is presenting in the poem (present tense ‘I remember’).

Many poems use the present tense to create an immediacy, as though the poet is describing or exploring in the moment something that is happening to them or in front of them.  For example: 

I walk out  

Take a breath 

Stretch my arms towards the sky.  

Silence.

Here the present tense is a crucial factor in establishing that immediacy.