1. How I Experience a Poem

2. Step 1 Get out a pencil!

3. Step 2 Look at the poem - the ‘architecture’- note: Stanzas? Patterned or varied? Divisions? Numbered? Line lengths? Anomalies? Reflect/associate - i.e. four parts. What else comes in fours?

4. Step 3 Read the title Reflect/Associate - double meaning?

5. Step 4 Read the poem through, preferably aloud. Breathe Reflect- Have I been taken somewhere? Moved? Asked a question? Shown a place? If possible write a literal summary.

6. Step 5 Apply DIDLS “D”idls = Diction Circle words that stand out or are repeated. Note their connotations. Mark “shift” words and punctuation: yet, but, so, however, then, although - poems rarely begin and end in the same place.

7. Step 6 d”I”dls = Imagery: vivid descriptions that recreate sensory experiences Reflect- What is the speaker trying to convey with these sensory details? What is the mood created by them?

8. Step 7 di”D”ls = Details What details are included and what are left out? Why? This can inform us about the attitude of the speaker towards the subject.

9. Step 8 did”LS” = Language and Syntax Language is the choice of words as a whole- formal? colloquial? Syntax is the sentence structure. This, along with punctuation, governs rhythm. Sentence length? Sentence beginnings?Arrangement of ideas?

10. Step 9 SOAPStone Based on steps 1-8 what can I determine about: Speaker-Occasion-Audience-Purpose-Subject and finally what is the ‘tone’ of the poem?

11. Step 10 Get a cold drink Take a nap