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Dissecting poetry
LITERATURE: HOW AND WHY? (ELL1013F)
University of Cape Town
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How to analyse a poem (Taken from BBC Bitesize Guides)
To see the difference between these three terms, think of a house where the whole building is the poem's form, the rooms are the poem's structure and the furniture is the poem's language
It is crucial to observe a poem's form, structure and language but once you've identified the techniques that a poet has used for these, you should think about how they link to the meanings and effects of a poem.
When asked to discuss/comment/analyse a poem, these are the things you should
look at
Meaning Questions to ask yourself Considerations
Form
Some poems adopt specific forms eg sonnets or narrative poems. Many don’t have an identifiable form.
Can you spot a specific form? Why might the poet have chosen this? How does it link to the message of the poem or its ideas?
If the poem does not have a specific form you recognise, think about the impact of the structure.
Structure
The way the poet has organised the poem on the page e. number of stanzas, lines per stanza, breaks in between lines and stanzas.
How might the way the poem appears on the page link to its meaning and effect?
Think about big and small building blocks of a poem - the overall shape, number of stanzas, length of stanzas, length of lines, movement between lines and stanzas.
Rhyme, rhythm, metre
The poem may have a rhyme scheme and/or a noticeable rhythm in each line.
Can you spot a rhyme scheme? Is this regular or varied? Are there a regular number of beats or stresses in each line? Does this vary? How does this
Don’t just count beats and rhyming words, think how these link to the mood of the poem.
Meaning Questions to ask yourself Considerations
link to the mood of the poem?
Language
The power of individual words or phrases and the overall effect of the language in a poem.
When I read the poem and look away, what words, phrases or lines do I remember? Why are they powerful? How does the language of the poem support the overall effect and meaning?
Language is like the engine of a poem. What fires it up is thinking about the power of the language. This can be a strategy for getting to the heart of a poem.
Poetic techniques or devices/ figures of speech
Ways in which a poet uses language in a particular way to create effect, eg simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification.
Once I’ve felt the mood and message of a poem, can I spot the ways the poet has used language to support the meaning? How do specific techniques link to meaning?
Identifying techniques is only the first step. A good analysis has to think about how these link to meaning and effect.
Tone
The attitude coming from the poem – the writer’s attitude toward the subject or audience. The tone may be expressed in the subject matter of the poem, the poem’s characters or the particular events that the poem describes.
Who is the attitude directed at? Am I looking at the poem’s syntax, structure or vocabulary while trying to assume a tone? Is your description of the tone an adjective?
The tone does not always stay the same as the poem goes along. A poem can go from playful to melancholic in just a line, so watch out for a change in tone as well.
Comment on the structure of the poem
Look at the way the poem is organised
What kind of poem is it?
Dissecting poetry
Course: LITERATURE: HOW AND WHY? (ELL1013F)
University: University of Cape Town
