HOW TO ANALYSE A POEM

As poets its important we learn how to analyse a poem. For some poetry analysis is boring an unnecessary, for others analysing a poem before bed helps them sleep with a smile! Either way, it's good to have the tool in your shed should you ever need it, and here's my method!
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Recently I made a video on how to read poetry. I thought it was important in that video not to go into how to ANALYSE a poem in depth, because it’s important as poetry lovers we can differentiate the two. We should be able to kick off our shoes, put our feet up and know how to ENJOY a poem, and then if we decide we want to, how to ANALYSE a poem, and that’s what this videos going to be about.

I have to admit, I don’t tend to do in depth analysis of poems very often, I prefer to just read poetry for the fun of it, and let the sub conscious do its thing by figuring it all out and telling me how I feel about it. But if we want to be poets of knowledge and craftsmanship, its important we at least teach ourselves HOW to do analysis. Even if its just another tool to hang on the wall of our workshop. So let me show you how!

Now of course, with having two videos on a similar subject there’s going to be some crossovers. So, assuming you haven’t watched my How to Read Poetry video I’m going to start from the beginning and re-cover some those steps! Please do grab a pen and paper now and follow along with me, jotting down the steps and headings.

1. Read the poem. Read it out loud, ALWAYS read a poem out loud if you are able to! That way you get the full effect of the metre. Once you’ve read the poem, sit with it a second, ask yourself what you think it’s about. What effect it had on you, then read it again to see if your thoughts change or if it cements them. Keep in mind by the way, your initial understanding of a poem, your gut instinct towards it is never usually far off. But that’s not always the case, and if you’re reading a great poet, there’s usually a few hidden gems for you to discover along the way!

2. Next, figure out if the poem is in any kind of form. If so, does that form say anything about the poem? For example, and a strange one decide to get you thinking, if it’s a Sonnet written about austerity, what might that say? Next, consider punctuation. What does that explanation point say to you? Why has the poet used that? Is there any punctuation at all? If so, is it to make a point? Look for line breaks, stanza breaks, pauses.

3. Once you’ve decoded the poet’s form, take another look at his use of other techniques. Rhymes, alliteration, metaphors, similes. See if you can find a possible reason for the poet using them. What do they convey? Is there any repetition? If so, why? What does THAT tell you about the poem, poet, and why the poem was written?

4. What is the tone and emotion of the poem? You can figure this out by reading the poem over again and pull out anything words that you feel convey a sense of emotion, or tone.

5. Is there an overriding theme to the piece? Is there a message? Is the poet clearly trying to say something!? Read the poem over again, and really connect with each line, take it slowly and ask yourself what every single line really means, and try to decipher if there is an underlining message.

6. What was the poet’s influences at the time? See what you can find out about them as a person. Who were their influences. What inspired them. Was there anything particular going on in the world around them at the time that would have impelled them to write this piece, such as outbreak of war? Does the poem itself speak about something very specific in time? Find out more about that event to help you better understand where the poet might be coming from.

7. Having done all this work, read over all of your notes and answers to these questions, let them sink in, and then read the poem one final time, allowing your analysis to colour your reading of the piece.
I thought it might be kind of cool to throw one of my own pieces to a lucky volunteer and get them to try and analyse it. Let’s see what she comes up with.

So, as you can see analysis can take a lot of time and brainpower. It can also be extremely rewarding. Analysis isn’t for everyone, and this way of doing things might not be either, it’s just the way that works for me.
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#poetrytips #poetry #poems

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