How to Read a Poem Re-reading a Poem Questioning Your Turn How Do You Read a Poem? Feature Menu

Robert Frost once said that poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom. But sometimes a poem leaves you asking Huh? instead of saying Ah-ha! Reading a Poem How can you have fewer Huh? questions and more Ah-ha! moments?

Reading a poem isn’t like reading a novel or a note. To read a poem, you need to read a different way. How to Read a Poem Midnight Haiku Alone in the night, I saw just the dark—and then Came the brave, bright moon. Visualize images Take the time to think about the poem’s images.

Reading a poem isn’t like reading a novel or a note. To read a poem, you need to read a different way. Identify Personification Watch for examples of personification—human qualities given to something that isn’t human. A lonely road, Its arms stretched out to touch a lonely sun.... How to Read a Poem

Reading a poem isn’t like reading a novel or a note. To read a poem, you need to read a different way. Hiss and rattle of the train’s long lumber.... Listen for Onomatopoeia Listen for words whose sounds imitate their meanings. Hiss and rattle of the train’s long lumber.... How to Read a Poem

Reading a poem isn’t like reading a novel or a note. To read a poem, you need to read a different way. Hiss and rattle of the train’s long lumber, a hiss and tattle to break our slumber.... Listen for Rhyme and Repetition Listen for words that rhyme or repetition of sounds or words. Hiss and rattle of the train’s long lumber, a hiss and tattle to break our slumber.... How to Read a Poem

Follow these guidelines as you read the poems in your textbook: 1. Pay attention to the poem’s title. Think about the images it creates. I’m Nobody Emily Dickinson I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you Nobody too? Then there’s a pair of us! Don’t tell! They’d banish us, you know! How dreary to be Somebody! How public—like a Frog— To tell your name the livelong June To an admiring Bog! How to Read a Poem

2. Look for complete sentences; pay special attention to punctuation. I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you Nobody too? Stop briefly at semicolons and end marks. Pause at commas. Don’t tell! they’d banish us, you know! How to Read a Poem

How dreary to be Somebody! How public—like a Frog— Look for sudden shifts in thought after dashes. If a line doesn’t end in punctuation, don’t stop; pause very briefly and continue reading to the end of the sentence. To tell your name the livelong June To an admiring Bog! How to Read a Poem

3. Read the poem aloud. Hear how it sounds, and feel the poem’s rhythm as you read. How dreary to be Somebody! How public—like a Frog— To tell your name the livelong June To an admiring Bog! 4. Pay attention to word choice. Be certain to find the meanings of unfamiliar words. 5. Visualize the poem’s images. Be alert for comparisons. comparisons banish—to send away; get rid of How to Read a Poem

Comparisons include similes and metaphors. Her smile shines as brightly as a rainbow. A simile is a comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles. A metaphor is an imaginative comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing. “Move!” barked the troop leader. How to Read a Poem

6. Remember that the reading strategies that you use to understand prose will also help you understand poetry. What does the poem say to you? How does it relate to your experience? How to Read a Poem

[End of Section] QuickCheck Notice techniques like images and rhyme. It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. Read this stanza from “Annabel Lee” aloud three or four times. How to Read a Poem

Poems are meant to be read again and again. Re-reading a Poem After the first reading, stop and think about the poem’s images sounds flow of emotions and ideas Midnight Haiku Alone in the night, I saw just the dark—and then Came the brave, bright moon.

Re-reading a Poem Read the poem a second time. You may read it through three times or more. The lesson here is that.... What message does the poet have for me? This makes me think of.... With each re-reading, you will discover something new about the poem.

Re-reading a Poem Your response to some poems will be but never thought about that way before. It tells me something I always knew... Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head. Carl Sandburg

Re-reading a Poem Quick Check Midnight Haiku Alone in the night, I saw just the dark—and then Came the brave, bright moon. 1. Read this poem and write down one thing that it makes you think or feel. 2. Read it again. What is something new you found in it? [End of Section]

When you read a poem—especially the first time through—record questions about it. Questioning You can use a chart like this one as you read or after you read: How does a “ribbon of moon- light” look?

Use a chart like this to compare any two objects. “I Like to See it Lap the Miles” by Emily Dickinson is an extended metaphor that compares a train to a horse. Questioning [End of Section]

Questioning Quick Check Make a question chart for this poem by Gary Soto. Ode to Family Photographs This is the pond, and these are my feet. This is the rooster, and this is more of my feet. Mama was never any good at pictures.

Questioning Quick Check Here are some sample questions and answers. Question Answer What is an ode? Why does the poet say, “Mama was never any good at pictures”? A poem of celebration

Your Turn 1. What can you do to unlock a poem’s meaning? 2. What reading strategies associated with prose will also be useful when reading poetry? 3. If you were reading a poem about the moon, what thoughts or associations would come to mind? Apply Reading Skills

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