1. ANALYZING POETRY A QUICK AND EASY GUIDE

2. STEP 1: DETERMINING WHAT THE POEM MEANS READ THE POEM ONCE SILENTLY TO YOURSELF SLOWLY. THE FIRST TIME YOU READ THROUGH A POEM, RECORD ANY “GUT REACTIONS” YOU HAVE TO THE POEM: ANY EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS YOU HAVE WITH WHAT THE AUTHOR IS SAYING, REMINDERS OF PERSONAL DETAILED EXPERIENCES, THINGS YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE, OR THINGS YOU LIKE TO SHARE WITH OTHERS. THINK IN TERMS OF, “HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT THIS? WHY? WHY NOT?” THESE REACTIONS CAN HELP YOU FOCUS ON THE TYPE OF RESPONSE THE POET IS LOOKING FOR IN A READER AND ALSO GIVE YOU THE TRUE FEELING OF LIFE.

3. STEP 2: READ THE POEM AGAIN AND FIND THE LITERAL MEANING OF THE POEM. THE LITERAL MEANING IS THE MOST STRAIGHTFORWARD VERSION OF THE POEM AND DOES NOT REFER TO ANY POETIC DEVICES. TRANSLATE THE POEM INTO CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH. HOW WOULD YOU TELL THE POEM’S STORY TO A FRIEND? THINK IN TERMS OF, “WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF THIS WORD OR PHRASE?” THIS CAN BE A DIFFICULT STEP, BUT REMEMBER THAT ALL GOOD POETRY, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS INCREDIBLY INACCESSIBLE, IS STILL BASED ON WORDS THAT CARRY LITERAL MEANING

4. STEP 3: READ THE POEM AGAIN TO FIND THE CONNOTATIVE MEANING OF THE POEM. TAKE SEVERAL KEYWORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE POEM AND CONSIDER THE KINDS OF CONNOTATIONS THEY CARRY. THINK IN TERMS OF, “WHY THIS WORD AND NOT ANOTHER?” REFER TO YOUR FIRST REACTIONS: OFTEN CONNOTATIVE MEANINGS, RATHER THAN DENOTATIVE, ARE WHAT ENGAGE OUR EMOTIONS.

5. STEP 4: FIND THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF THE POEM. RECORD ANY ALLUSIONS YOU RECOGNIZE, REFERENCES TO SYMBOLS, ETC. THINK IN TERMS OF, “WHAT COULD THIS STAND FOR? WHY?” FOR EXAMPLE, CONSIDER THE WORD "LIGHT." THIS MAY NOT REFER TO THE LITERAL CONDITION THAT MEANS THE OPPOSITE OF DARKNESS; OFTEN "LIGHT" IS USED TO SYMBOLIZE KNOWLEDGE, TRUTH, PEACE, JOY, OR SPIRITUALITY.

6. STEP 5: STOP AND ASK YOURSELF, “WHAT IS THE AUTHOR TRYING TO SAY?” WHAT IS HIS GOAL FOR THIS POEM? WHAT KIND OF A REACTION IS HE TRYING TO GET OUT OF READERS? WHY?” TRY TO IDENTIFY THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE FOR WRITING.

7. STEP 6: IDENTIFY THE SPEAKER AND AUDIENCE. IS THERE A SPECIFIC PERSON TALKING? IS THE SPEAKER THE POET? EVEN IF THE SPEAKER IS THE POET, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS REFER TO THE SPEAKER AS ‘THE SPEAKER’ IN YOUR ANALYSIS. IN REGARDS TO THE AUDIENCE, WHO IS THE SPEAKER ADDRESSING? IS THERE A SPECIFIC GROUP? DOES THE AUDIENCE HELP TO DEFINE WHO THE SPEAKER IS?

8. STEP 7: DRAW YOUR CONCLUSIONS. WHAT IS THE THEME OR GOAL OF THE POEM? WHAT TOOLS DID THE POET USE TO CONVEY THE THEME OR MAIN IDEA OF THE POEM? HOW DID HE OR SHE USE THEM?