How to Deal with Poetry: Guide til digtanalyse

Poetry deals with human experience in a confined space.

Reading and understanding a poem may be hard work.

Reading poetry requires you to remember a few poetic conventions, such as:

1. The speaker is not the poet

2. Poems use structure to convey meaning.

3. Poems are meant to be read aloud.

4. Poems need to be reread.

5. Poems have multiple interpretations. - Poets try to explore multiple ideas or feelings. - The meaning of a poem is what a reader is able to get from the evidence that the poem represents.

TOOLKIT. – questions to be asked , things to look for.

1. What is the poem about ? Its theme?

2. Who is speaking?

3. Is there a development during the poem? If yes: What causes this development?

4. Analyze how the poet uses technical devices to reach his reader:

4a: Stanzas? Regular/irregular? How many ? A traditional form?

4b: End stopped lines/ run-on lines ?

4c: Rhyme pattern/scheme? Internal rhymes ?

4d: Rhythm? Metre?

4e: Language. Simple words/short, simple sentences? Complex words/long sentences?

4f: Alliterations ? Repetitions? Contrasts ? Pairs? Patterns of three? Symbols?

4g: Other poetic ‘tricks’?

NB. ! Don’t just sum up all the technical devices in your analysis, explain how they contribute to the point that the poet is making, how they contribute to your interpretation of the text. This is extremely important.