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How to Analyze a Poem

(and be able to write an essay about it)

While there are many ways to analyze a poem, here is a 12-step method that will help you
analyze the poem and synthesize how meaning is connected to technique.

Reading
1. Read the poem. Read it again. Read it again, this time aloud. Translate if necessary.

Meaning
2. What does the poem seem to be about? What is the story being told?
3. Who is the speaker of the poem? In other words, describe a persona behind the poem.
4. What is the mood or tone of the poem? In other words, what feeling is predominant?
5. Who was the poet who wrote this poem? When did he or she write it? Does the poem
perhaps reflect anything about the person or time in which it was written?
6. Do you think the poem has current relevance, for you personally or our society?

Technique Analysis
7. Is there a rhyme scheme to the poem? What is it? Does it have a name? Does it change?
8. Does the poem sound like it has a kind of rhythm? Describe it. Does it have a name?
9. Examine diction (word choice) in the poem:
a. Find all the metaphors or similes.
b. What words convey a certain image, mood, or symbol?
c. Is there any repetition of words or lines?
d. Is there alliteration (repeated consonant sound) or assonance (repeated vowel
sound)?
10. Examine the syntax (sentence structure) of each line:
a. Which lines are enjambed (sentences continue from one line to the next)?
b. Which lines are end-stopped (sentences end at the end of the line)?
c. Are there caesurae (periods or other stops in the middle of a line)?
d. What other punctuation is featured?
e. How long are the lines? Are they varied, or uniform?
11. Does the title give any indication as to the meaning or the mood of the poem?

Synthesis of Meaning and Technique

12. Now explain how each of the techniques reinforces the meaning or mood of the
poem. In an essay, your thesis would identify the main way(s), the body of your paper
would present your analysis, and question 6 could serve as a good conclusion.

Reprinted with permission of Anita Fischer