Reading a Poem

(To the left: "Gaozongquatrain," a Chinese poem. Is this what you feel like you're reading when you tackle the 1002 assignments?)

Here are some tips from a couple of websites on reading poetry.

(From Bedford/St. Martin's LitLinks)

1. Who is the speaker?What does the poem reveal about the speaker's character? In some poems the speaker may be nothing more than a voice meditating on a theme, while in others the speaker takes on a specific personality.

2. Is the speaker addressing a particular person?If so, who is that person, and why is the speaker interested in him or her?

3. Does the poem have a setting?Is the poem occasioned by a particular event?

4. Is the theme of the poem stated directly or indirectly?Some poems use language in a fairly straightforward and literal way and state the theme, often in the final lines. Others may conclude with a statement of the theme that is more difficult to apprehend because it is made with figurative language and symbols.

5. From what perspective (or point of view) is the speaker describing specific events? Is the speaker recounting events of the past or events that are occurring in the present? If past events are being recalled, what present meaning do they have for the speaker?

6. Does a close examination of the figurative language (see "Glossary of Literary Terms") of the poem reveal any patterns?

7. What is the structure of the poem?Since narrative poems, those that tell stories, reveal a high degree of selectivity, it is useful to ask why the poet has focused on particular details and left out others. Analyzing the structure of a nonnarrative or lyric poem can be more difficult because it does not contain an obvious series of chronologically related events.

8. What do sound and meter (see "Glossary of Literary Terms") contribute to the poem?Alexander Pope said that in good poetry "the sound must seem an echo to the sense," a statement that is sometimes easier to agree with than to demonstrate.

9. What was your response to the poem on first reading?Did your response change after study of the poem or class discussions about it?

Also consider the following (From UWisconsin-Madison Writing Center):

*Read a poem with a pencil in your hand.

*Mark it up; write in the margins; react to it; get involved with it. Circle important, or striking, or repeated words. Draw lines to connect related ideas. Mark difficult or confusing words, lines, and passages.

*Read through the poem, several times if you can, both silently and aloud.