Poetry Analysis ___________

1. The title of this poem is_________________________________________________.

2. It was written by ________________________________________.

3. This poem is written in the ___________(1st or 3rd) person point of view.

4. Who is the speaker?

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5. What is the basic situation?

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6. What is the poem’s setting?

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7. Are there conflicts in the poem? If so, what are they?

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8. What kind(s) of imagery do you see most often in the poem? Give some examples.

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9. Does the poem have meter? If so, what is it?

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10. Does your poem have a rhyme scheme? If so, what is it?

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11. What other sound devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia) have been

included by the poet? Give examples of each.

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12. What figures of speech are included ( metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole,

metonymy, apostrophe, etc. )? Include examples and explain the effect each one has on

your understanding and appreciation of the poem.

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13. What is the mood of this poem? Explain your answer.

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14. Identify words which have a connotative meaning which help to clarify the author’s

tone. Explain each example.

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15. What is the author’s tone (his or her attitude toward the subject?

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16. Explain the significance of the poem’s title.

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17. Write a paragraph in which you briefly summarize the poem.

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18. Based on your analysis, what do you think is the author’s purpose in writing this

poem? That is, what universal truth does he/she want to share with his/her readers

(theme)?

19. Can you paraphrase the poem?

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20. What is the speaker’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem ironic?

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21. What heavily connotative words are used? What words have unusual or special meanings? Are

any words or phrases repeated? If so, why? Which words do you need to look up?

22. What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images

form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

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23. What figures of speech are used? How do they contribute to the tone and meaning of the poem?

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24. Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from

the context of this poem?

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25. What is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence?

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26. How important is the role of sound effects, such as rhyme and rhythm? How do they affect tone

and meaning?

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27. How important is the contribution of form, such as rhyme scheme and line arrangement? How

does form influence the overall effect of the poem?

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