Guidelines for Experiencing a Poem:
In an approximate way, the following questions and directions could be used with almost any poem:
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1. Paraphrase the poem; that is, summarize the poem by considering what is happening in the poem. Think about the nature of the speaker, what he is saying, and the poem’s setting.
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2. What sort of words does the poet use? Do these words have particular connotations for you? In general, what can you say about the poem’s diction?
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3. What is the shape of the poem on the paper? Does the poem have a rigid stanza form, or is it free verse? Is the poem neatly organized, or is it spread out on the page? How does the shape of the poem seem to relate to its content or subject?
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4. Consider the poet’s use of particular stylistic devices, especially those pertaining to sound. Can you find examples of alliteration, assonance, rhyme, a noticeable rhythm, or onomatopoeia? What effect do these have on your reading of the poem?
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5. Take particular note of the poem’s imagery, for the poet communicates most closely with the reader through his/her images. What sort of images are present? Watch for specific visual (sight), aural (sound), tactile (touch), taste, and nasal (smell) images. What sort of physical perceptions do these images give to the poem?
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6. What sort of comparisons does the poet make through the use of figurative language (especially through similes and metaphors)? How do these comparisons expand the range and meaning of the poem?
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7. Consider the poem’s tone. How does the poem make you feel? How do the stylistic devices (#4) and the use of imagery (#5) and figurative language (#6) contribute to this feeling or mood? What is the prevailing mood—calm, excited, happy, sad, ironic, sarcastic? Try to tell me just how you feel.
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8. Search for an inner tension, a conflict, in the poem. Most poems make use of some sort of inner tension to provide a basis for developing the theme or main idea. In this regard, watch especially for irony.
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9. Ask yourself, “Why has the poet written this poem?” What is the main idea that the poet is trying to get across? How do you respond to this theme? Has the poem shown you something new?
Try to understand that these questions are all interrelated, that we can not talk about sound devices without talking about tone, that we can’t discuss conflict without touching upon theme. Poetry consists of all of these particulars unified into a cohesive whole.
