Staring at a poem and not sure where to start? Here is how to analyze a poem: read it aloud at least twice, annotate, ask who speaks, then study form, language and imagery before you write.
This method sits inside the wider literature guide, which covers reading and writing about literary texts.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum first readings (aloud) | At least 2 readings |
| Core context questions (subject, speaker, larger context, genre or mode) | 4 questions |
| Basic form categories (closed or fixed, open) | 2 categories |
| Poem modes named in the guide | 6 modes |
These figures come from the Closely Reading Poetry and Prose writing guide. Guides get revised, so check the source before you rely on them.
Why close reading comes before writing
When you read a poem closely, you explore specific themes or patterns in the text, learn about its language and rhetorical technique, and see how the writer crafted it. That is how the CUNY guide describes close reading of poetry and prose.
The payoff is practical. Once you have finished reading, you should already have the foundations of your analysis, so the writing process has begun before you open a blank page.
The method below follows that guide, which in turn adapts material from Purdue OWL and the American Academy of Poets. Work through the steps in this order:
- Read the poem slowly and aloud, more than once.
- Annotate and respond with questions and connections.
- Translate confusing lines and summarize the poem in your own words.
- Identify the subject, speaker, context and mode.
- Examine form and structure.
- Study language, tone and imagery.
You can repeat any step. A second pass through the language often changes what you noticed about the structure.
Read aloud, then annotate
Start by reading the poem slowly and aloud. The guide says to read it at least twice on the initial reading, and to keep returning to it after that, as set out in the Closely Reading Poetry and Prose guide.
Poems are not always logical, so read both intuitively and logically. Look for patterns: repeated words, shifts in tone, images that return.
Annotation is one of the first steps of analysis. Highlight or underline whatever stands out, then respond to the poem with questions about its meaning.
Make connections as you go. Seemingly random connections can turn out to be points of entry into a poem, so include them in your notes rather than throwing them away.
Translate the lines that lose you
Most readers hit places where a poem “loses” them. When that happens, translate the passage into everyday language.
The guide adds one condition: make every effort to stay true to the poet’s overall rhetoric as you translate. Your plain version is a tool for understanding, not a replacement for the poem.
Summarize in your own words
Next, summarize the poem in your own words, or rewrite it as prose. If you cannot say what happens or what is being argued, return to your annotations and look for the line that blocks you.
How do you identify the speaker, subject and context?
Before you judge any technique, ask four rhetorical questions of the poem:
- What is the subject, or are there several subjects, that the poem addresses?
- Who is the speaker of the poem?
- What is the poem’s larger context?
- What genre or mode of poem are you reading?
Write short answers to each. They give your later claims something solid to stand on.
The guide names six modes, and the mode you choose shapes what you look for next:
- Lyrical mode uses associative, vivid language, expresses strong thoughts and feelings, and is usually focused inwardly.
- Narrative mode tells a story.
- Dramatic lyric mode uses lyric and narrative elements.
- Descriptive mode describes the world around the speaker using elaborate imagery and adjectives.
- Elegy poems reflect on death or loss.
- A soliloquy is a monologue in which a character speaks to him or herself.
Many poems blend modes, so treat the list as a set of lenses rather than boxes. If a poem seems to fit two, say so and explain why.
Form and structure: what shape does the poem take?
First decide whether the poem is in a closed or fixed form, which follows a pattern of lines, meter, rhymes or stanzas, such as sonnets and villanelles. The alternative is open form, which is free from structure.
If you cannot name the form, the guide to types of poetry can help you match what you see on the page to a known pattern.
Then look at the stanzaic makeup. In other words, ask how the lines are grouped together and separated from each other, and how many lines each stanza holds.
Finally, hunt for devices that shape the reading experience. The guide points to these:
- Repetition
- Punctuation
- Section divisions
Note where a pattern breaks. A stanza that runs longer than the rest, or punctuation that suddenly stops, is usually worth a sentence in your analysis.
Language, tone and imagery
Look closely at the language. Poets are often trying to help readers see things in a way they may not have before, so ask how the wording makes something surprising or new.
Is the language multi-syllabic, formal, informal, elaborate, or a mix? The answer matters because language helps you determine the tone, and tone helps you determine the mood.
Then turn to images. Ask which ones stand out and why, and what each image embodies. The guide notes that images provide a relationship between emotion and idea.
Ask too how metaphor alters or layers the poem. A single metaphor can change how you read everything around it.
To describe what you find with precision, use the literary and figurative devices vocabulary. The guide says this conceptual vocabulary facilitates focused analysis and lets you infer meaning from what the poem does.
Turning your notes into an analysis
By now you have annotations, a plain-language summary, answers to the four context questions, notes on form and notes on language. The next move is to find the pattern that ties several of them together.
Pick the observation that explains the most. Perhaps a repeated image, a shift in tone and a break in the stanza pattern all point to the same tension. That tension becomes the centre of your argument.
Test it against other readers’ ideas. Comparing your reading with literary themes examples can show you how a pattern in one poem connects to a wider theme.
Expect disagreement. The guide reminds you that your interpretation of a poem may contradict that of your peers, and a well-supported reading holds up either way.
Frequently asked questions
How many times should I read a poem before analyzing it?
Show answer
The CUNY guide says to read it at least twice on the initial reading, slowly and aloud, and to keep rereading afterwards.
What should I do when a line makes no sense to me?
Show answer
Translate it into everyday language, staying true to the poet’s overall rhetoric. Then check whether your version fits the rest of the poem.
Do I need to name the poem’s form to analyze it?
Show answer
Naming it helps, but the first question is simpler: is the poem closed or fixed in form, or open and free from structure? From there, look at its stanzas and devices such as repetition and punctuation.
What if my reading differs from my classmates’?
Show answer
That is expected. The guide says your interpretation may contradict that of your peers, so support your reading with specific words and patterns from the poem.
