Guidelines for approaching a poem
(1) Read the poem several times and make sure that you understand its language and basic prose
sense. Look up unfamiliar words. Take note of the title.
(2) Re-read the poem, aloud if possible, and listen to it. How does the sound relate to the
meaning?
(3) Ask yourself the following questions:
(a) Who is the poet? [This is not always important, but it can be useful. Learn to select
information which is actually relevant to the poem.]
(b) Who is speaking? [Poet-speaker, voice, persona, tone]
(c) What is the poem saying? [Theme, subject]
(d) How is it being said?
Sound: Rhythm, metre, rhyme, sound effects eg. alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia
and repetition
Sequence: (i) Structure, genre eg. ballad, sonnet, ode, elegy, stanza, run-on line.
(ii) Argument, narrative, sense unit.
Language: Diction, syntax
Imagery: Tenor, vehicle, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, symbol
(e) What else should be noticed?
(4) Re-read the poem and reconsider (c). You should find that your understanding of the poem has
deepened, allowing you to respond to it more fully.
(1) Read the poem several times and make sure that you understand its language and basic prose
sense. Look up unfamiliar words. Take note of the title.
(2) Re-read the poem, aloud if possible, and listen to it. How does the sound relate to the
meaning?
(3) Ask yourself the following questions:
(a) Who is the poet? [This is not always important, but it can be useful. Learn to select
information which is actually relevant to the poem.]
(b) Who is speaking? [Poet-speaker, voice, persona, tone]
(c) What is the poem saying? [Theme, subject]
(d) How is it being said?
Sound: Rhythm, metre, rhyme, sound effects eg. alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia
and repetition
Sequence: (i) Structure, genre eg. ballad, sonnet, ode, elegy, stanza, run-on line.
(ii) Argument, narrative, sense unit.
Language: Diction, syntax
Imagery: Tenor, vehicle, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, symbol
(e) What else should be noticed?
(4) Re-read the poem and reconsider (c). You should find that your understanding of the poem has
deepened, allowing you to respond to it more fully.
