HOW TO READ A POEM:

NOTICING STRUCTURE
& FORM
9AC ENGLISH
HOW DOES PROSE COMPARE TO POETRY?
• CHARACTER  THE SUBJECT (COULD BE A PERSON, PLACE, GROUP, CREATURE, ETC)
• NARRTOR SPEAKER
• NOTE: the speaker is not necessarily the poet!
• CHARACTER’S CONFLICT  THE SUBJECT’S CORE CONCERN/CORE CONFLICT/CORE SITUATION
• SENTENCES  LINES
• PARAGRAPHS  STANZAS

• RESOLUTION  RESOLUTION
• TITLE IS STILL IMPORTANT!
• BOTH HAVE MEAN/THEME!
POETRY ANALYSIS: You always want to address how the poem’s core conflict evolves to some
kind of resolution (or a lack of one). You will not be able to address every single line in your essay, BUT all
lines should support your interpretation—if they don’t, it’s not a valid interpretation. To have a convincing,
persuasive argument, ALL lines must prove your thesis.
BEFORE YOU READ A POEM, REMEMBER
THIS:
• Punctuation is important
because it tells you when to pause. Make sure you
stop your reading and “honor” the punctuation in
the poem when you see it– when you’re reading
silently to yourself.
• Enjambment is a fancy word for there being no
pause, i.e., no punctuation, at the end of a line of
poetry. No punctuation means NO PAUSE: You keep
reading without breaking your stride and continue
right on to the next line.
• An end-stopped line is any line that ends with ANY
kind of punctuation, even a comma. For that, you
stop a full beat before reading on.
HOW TO READ A POEM 3 DIFFERENT WAYS
• One common mistake of
rookie poetry readers is only
reading the poem line by line.
• First read it sentence by
sentence instead, so that you
catch the thoughts within.
• On a first read, read it line by line.
• On a second read, read it sentence by sentence.
• On a third read, read it according to punctuation
—each time you get to a new punctuation mark
(period, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, !, ?),
pause, then pick up reading again until the next
mark. Hyphens are NOT punctuation.
If you read a poem these different ways, you
will easily start to pick up on repetition of key
words, images, & thoughts and , of course,
meaning.
STRUCTURE: WHAT TO NOTICE
• IS THERE A RHYME SCHEME?
• DOES THE POEM HAVE A SHAPE? IS
THAT SHAPE FAMILIAR & HOW SO? All of these aspects
• HOW MANY LINES? (count syllables guide us to meaning.
per line; 10 = iambic)
• HOW MANY STANZAS?
The structural features either
• HOW MANY SENTENCES? (whole reinforce & mirror the core
poem/per stanza) conflict/situation in poem OR
• WHERE DO YOU FEEL SHIFTS (in they contrast it.
tone or topic) HAPPENING?
RHYME: PURPOSE & HOW TO FIGURE RHYME
SCHEME
RHYME: PURPOSE
& HOW TO FIGURE
RHYME SCHEME
A CALLIGRAM OR
CONCRETE POEM: SHAPE
POEM
SHAPE
COMMON FORMS: ENGLISH SONNET
COMMON FORMS: VILLANELLE
COMMON FORMS: FREE VERSE
“This
is Just
to Say
” by Wi
lliam
Ca rlos W
illiam
s
Post It Note: How to Approach a
Poem
1. Read it three ways
2. Identify the core conflict
3. Identify the mood/tone
4. Identify the rhyme scheme
5. Annotate the poem
-Line numbers
-Syllables
-Shift in tone
-Stanza numbers