How to Read Poetry

Reading poetry isn't hard.  Run through this process before you try your way.

1. Read the poem.

2. Read the poem, again.

3. Grab a sheet of paper and a pencil.  Read the poem and write down all the words you can't define.

4. Look up the definitions of those words and write them down.

5. Read the poem, when you come across those words, read the definitions.

6. Take a break.

7. Welcome back, now read the poem OUT LOUD. Yes, out loud.  From here on down, you need to read OUT LOUD.

8. Is there a theme you can identify?  Write down a word or two.  If you can't right now, that's OK.  Look at this note on discovering theme.

9. Read the title.

10. Now, is there a theme you can identify?  Write down a word or two.  If you can't right now, that's OK.  Look at this note on discovering theme.

11. Who is the speaker / persona / voice?

12. Can you identify the tone? Need some tone words to help you out?  Jot down the tone words that fit.  Here's a shorter list of tone words from Poetry in Voice.

13. Can you identify an image, or images?  Write them down.

14. Can you identify any sensory imagery?  Write them down.

15. Identify any similes or metaphors.  Write them down.

16. Look at the structure of the poem.  Is it divided into sections?  Compare the sections.

17. Read out loud. Tap your pencil. Feel the rhythm.  See the YouTube video below.

18. Word choices.  Why does the poet choose their words?  Do certain words stick out? I don't mean words that stick out because you didn't understand them.  See step 4.

19. Rhyme. Can you hear it happen? Where does it happen? At the end of a line? In the middle of a line?

Reading Poetry for Meaning, Together

Let's find some poems in the Senior Anthology at Poetry in Voice.  I'll follow the steps of How to Read Poetry.  You're going to help me understand the poem. 

Unspeakable Acts in Cars - Matt Rader

Dear Diaspora Child - Cicely Belle Blain

mixed tape - Katherena Vermette

A Glossary of Poetic (Literary) Terms

This document comes from a handout from English 110.  I tried to reproduce it as faithfully as I could.  It was littered with underlines, which just don't work on the internet. It's older than you are.

Form

The form of a poem is its visual look. It consists of stanzas (the poetic equivalent of paragraphs), lines, and shapes (sometimes, the shape of a poem will resemble the shape of the object or action it describes).

Structure

the division of a poem in to parts which constitute beginning, middle and end.

Types

poems have assumed a number of identifiable types over time.  The most common types include the sonnet, the lyric, the narrative, the elegy, the dramatic dialogue, and the dramatic monologue.

Image

in any literary text, an object that can be experienced or perceived by one of the five senses -- taste, touch, smell, sound and especially sight.

ex. The sailboats drifted on the calm seas, hardly touched by the faint spring breezes. (sailboats, seas, and spring are visual images, the breezes here represent an image of touch)

Symbol

in any text, and in everyday life, the word, person place or object that represents more that itself

e.x The $ is a symbol of money; the rose is a symbol of love; the flag is the symbol of a nation.

Sound Devices

patterns of deliberate repetitions in a text are usually evidence of the writer's use of sound effects.  These effects are often intended to emphasize meaning or feeling, and most often they play a large part in establishing the tone of the speaker (i.e., the speaker's attitude towards the subject matter or the audience).  Readers can expect to find the following sorts of sound effects in texts:

rhyme (identical sounds at the ends of lines)

rhythm (repetitions of numbers of beats in adjacent lines

alliteration (repetition of consonant sounds in lines

assonance (repetition of vowel sounds in lines)

euphony (combinations of pleasant sounds in a group of lines)

cacophony (repetition of harsh and unpleasant sounds in a group of lines)

onomatopoeia (the use of a word that sounds just like the sound it represents)

Metaphor

an unusual and subtle comparison of unlikely objects

e.x. She was a volcano waiting to explode. (volcano is a metaphor for this woman)

Simile

an unusual and direct comparison containing the words "like", "as", or "as if"

ex. She looks like a volcano waiting to explode. (volcano is a simile for this woman)

Personification

the poet's attribution of human qualities to a non-human creature or inanimate object

ex. Time crept in the shadows like a thief in the night. (the poet makes time seem to be a person up to no good)

Paradox

the writer's presentation of a statement which seems illogical and contradictory at first, but which proves true in the context of the entire text

ex. She was cruel in her kindness: she helped her brother, but she refused to tell him that she was proud of him.

Oxymoron

the appearance of two absolutely opposite words side by side as if they belong together

ex. loving hate; freezing heat; silent sound; burning cold.

Irony

the gap between what is said and what is actually meant

ex. In Shakespeare's play Othello, Othello expresses his love for his wife Desdemona even as he is strangling her. (there is irony in his words)

ART WARS

About - What is this poem about?

Repeated Words - How does the use of repeated words affect the poem’s meaning?

Tone - What is the tone of the poem? How do you know?

Words - What effect do the words have on the meaning?

Alliteration - What examples of alliteration ( Or any other poetic device you see ) are there? What’s the effect? 

Rhythm & Rhyme - How are rhythm and  rhyme used? What’s the effect?

Structure - How does the structure of the poem affect the meaning?

Poetry Video Assignment

Create a poetry video for a poem of your choice from the list found at Poetry in Voice - 25 Lines or Fewer.  Focus on expressing the meaning of the poem by choosing images (still or moving from WeVideo) and sounds (sound effects and music from WeVideo) that suite the tone and theme of your poem.   When you analyze the poem, focus on imagery, symbol, simile, metaphor and theme.  

1. Watch my Poetry Video Assignment - Example.

2. Take notes during my WeVideo Demo or watch the WeVideo Tutorial.

3. Choose a poem from Poetry in Voice's 25 Lines or Fewer list. MAKE SURE IT IS A SENIOR POEM.

4. Use How to Read Poetry to help you understand the poem.

5. Use Google Chrome to make your Poetry Video.

6. Login to WeVideo with your student account. (USE YOUR STUDENT GOOGLE ACCOUNT)

7. Choose appropriate still images or video clips for your video.

8. Choose appropriate sounds for your video.

9. Add the poem's text to your video.

10. Record your reading of the poem, and add it to the video.  Make sure that the narration is clear, and that your reading reflects the tone of the poem. Consider adding subtitles.

11. Include a title.

12. Include end credits.

13. Include transitions.

14. When you are done, see Lesson 27 for hand-in instructions.

15. We will watch the videos as a class.  Bring your own popcorn.