Introduction and the 6 S Strategy for Analyzing Poetry
The secrets of unlocking poems! Don’t be intimidated by poems. They are just words put together in a certain way. They are usually shorter that any other type of fiction! They are easy to finish in one sitting. They seldom have sequels.
Stanzas and Form What is a stanza? Couplet- contains two lines. The last word of the two lines generally rhyme. Ex. Brothers, sisters husbands, wives—/ Followed the Piper for their lives. Quatrain- consists of four lines, usually drawn together by some form of end rhyme. Rhyme Scheme is the pattern in which the last words in lines of poetry rhyme. We record rhyming lines with letters. The first two lines that rhyme would be A; the next two would be B… and so on. The rhyming lines do NOT have to come right after another.
Rhyme Scheme Example Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. What lines in Mother Goose’s “Humpty Dumpty” end in rhyming words? Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again! Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again! A B
The 6 S Strategy for Analyzing Poetry
Start Look at the title of the poem. Are there any words that stand out as unusual or unknown to you? Look them up. Know the meaning of every word! Visualize (you can draw) the title Predict what you think the poem will be about.
Situation In one or two sentences, explain what is happening in the poem. Think about how you would paraphrase this to give a brief description to your parent.
Speaker Identify who is narrating or talking. What is the speaker’s tone? For an easy start to figure out tone, ask yourself is the narrator Mad Sad Glad After you have determined that, get more detailed and precise
Mad (Red) Angry Irate Annoyed Frustrated Irritated Indignant
Sad (Blue) Melancholy Lonely Devastated Heart broken Wistful Nostalgic
Glad (Yellow) Euphoric Pleased Giddy Justified Satisfied Romantic
Syntax (Sentence Structure) Look carefully at the punctuation. Look for hyphens, quotation marks and unusual placement of end punctuation. Look for how you should read the poem. Do you follow the punctuation to read the poem? Remember to pause for commas and halt for periods. Poets make choices; nothing is accidental.
Simile/Symbol Are there any literary devices? Poets have very few words to make their points so literary devices are often used in order to get the point across in as few words as possible. Ask your self why the poet chose to use that literary device? What is added to the understanding or enjoyment of the poem? Common devices that poets use are metaphors, allusions, imagery and similes.
Symbols Continued… Metaphor- a comparison of two objects that does not use “like” or “as”. Ex. Bethany’s hair is a cascade of gold. Simile- a comparison of two objects using like or as. Ex. Bethany’s hair was as golden as the bright sun. Personification- giving human qualities to non-human objects Ex. The wind spoke to me; The sun soothed my hurt feelings. Allusion- is a passing reference to a literary or historical person, place, or event, or to another literary work or passage. Ex. “Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel”, “He was a real Romeo with the ladies” Hyperbole- an over-exaggeration of a fact or possibility Ex. He scared me so much that I thought I almost went through the roof! Imagery- appeals to the five senses
Shift Poets often start out by explaining or exploring a topic then they shift to providing a possible answer to the problem. To find the shift, look for a punctuation cue like a question mark or hyphen. A poet may also use spacing within a stanza or within a line.