1. English II

2.  Examine the title before reading the poem.  Consider connotations (other meanings)

3.  Translate the poem into your own words (literal/denotation). Resist the urge to jump to interpretation. A failure to understand what happened literally inevitably leads to interpretive misunderstanding. *Paraphrase should be by complete sentences instead of line by line.

4.  Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for:  Imagery  Symbolism  Irony  Allusions  Sound Devices

5.  Examine both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitudes. Remember, don’t confuse the author with the “narrator” Look for: Speaker’s attitude toward self, other characters, and the subject. Attitudes of characters other than the speaker. Poet’s attitude toward speaker, other characters, and suject.

6.  Note shifts in speaker, attitudes Look for:  Occasion of poem (time and place)  Key words (but, yet)  Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons)  Stanza divisions  Changes in line and or stanza length  Irony

7.  Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level. Does it still mean the same thing you thought it did?

8.  First, list what the poem is about (subject matter); then determine what the poem is saying about each of those subjects (theme).  Remember, the theme must be expressed in a complete sentence.  Examples: Love is blind. Be careful what you wish for.