Poetry Analysis

1. Mark the Text

-Identify Title and Poet
-Number the lines and the stanzas
-Make a prediction
2. Read poem for pleasure without annotating.

3. Continue marking the text

-Circle key terms and define unfamiliar words
4. Summarize your own interpretation of the poem. Remember with poetry there is
NO one right answer; everyone can have a different perspective of the poems
meaning and message. In your opinion, what is the poem about? What makes
you think that?
5. Think about mood: How does the poem make you feel? Why?
Do you like it? Why or why not?
6. Identify poetic devices used and determine why the poet chose to use them.
Justify your answer. (Not all devices will apply to every poem; look for the ones
that do).
-speaker
-tone; key words for tone
-rhyme scheme
-sound devices
-figurative language
-imagery
-symbolism
-allusion
-theme
7. Read the poem one more time now that you have identified poetic devices and
reached your own interpretation of the poem.
8. Reflect
Write a reflection on the poem:
Make a connection with the poem. How can you relate to it?
1. Topic Sentence (Introduce poem/poet)
2. Direct Quotes
3. Word Count