T ITLE  Look at it  What could it mean?  Is it clear?  Is it vague? That should tell you something about what to expect, too.

P ARAPHRASE  What is the literal meaning of the poem in your own words? 5 complete thoughts

C ONNOTATION  What is the implied meaning, and how does the poet convey this meaning?  What kinds of literary things are going on in the poem? Think in terms of diction, syntax (sentence structure), imagery, symbolism, etc. Any literary device used in the poem fits under the connotation category.

A TTITUDE  What is the tone of the poem? (see your Tone list in your journal!)

S HIFT  There is a shift of some sort in nearly every poem written. Some shift indicators: Until Then But Yet Nevertheless Punctuation (dashes, periods, etc) Stanza divisions Sharp contrasts in Word Choice/ Diction

T HEME  In a sentence, what is the theme? What statement about life is the poet making? Be careful, theme is difficult to nail down, and it is easy to just write down subject matter rather than theme.

T ITLE  Take another look at the title. What does it mean to you now that you’ve analyzed the poem?

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