Everyday Canvas

How I Read and Analyze a Poem

Prompt: When you analyze a poem, what are the main areas you focus on or the questions you ask?

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It is a difficult job to analyze someone else’s poem. Poets are more protective of their poetry than fiction writers with their fiction. I believe this is because emotions are involved more strongly in writing poetry. So I really take my time doing poetry reviews, and hesitant though I am, in a nutshell, the following is what I usually try to keep in mind:

At first reading, I try to figure out who the speaker is, his or her tone, and what he or she means or suggests as meaning in general, and what the subject and the central idea is.

Then, during the following readings, I look for the theme and see if there is a story inside the poem. I also look for form and meter and poetic devices, such as alliteration, similes and metaphors, the point of view, personification, etc. I check the imagery, if the images are in a pattern or if they are related to one another. Then I read the poem out loud to find out if I can hear a beat or a certain rhythm.

In addition, symbols are important; that is, if they are they universal symbols or symbols arising from inside the context of the poem.
Words are also important. Are they connotative; that is, do they signify or suggest associative or secondary meanings in addition to their dictionary meanings?

Then I ask myself if the sound effects are working well. Are any words or phrases repeated? Are repetitions used as poetic tools such as anaphora, epiphora, assonance, consonance, end or internal rhymes?

Another thing to notice is the line arrangement; if each line is a full line or a dropped line (line broken into two parts, the second part being sequential) or if the poet using enjambment or not. Then if there are stanzas, do they have the same line count in each one or are they separate to add to the meaning? Do the lines and stanzas allow for the reader some breathing or do they continue on without letting the reader breathe?

At the end, if there is a form, I try to figure out if the form has any influence on the meaning. Does it contribute or take away from the meaning?

W.H. Auden said, “Poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings.” There is so much truth in this. Poetry says what we cannot openly verbalize. Rather than spelling out our truths, poetry hints at them, and through that hinting, it touches our very soul. Poetry is, in fact, the home of the soul to me. So try as I may, I can only analyze someone else’s poem in a very superficial way. Thus, a poetry review can surely be a case of Catch-22 because most of the time, too much analyzing defeats the purpose.