Understanding
Traditional Poetry
Look at these four areas when trying to understand the
meaning of a poem.
- The
poem’s content:
- What
does the writing literally say? What is the logical content?
- What
is the emotive content? Figurative
language? Does the poem make you
feel good, bad, happy, sad, etc.
- Classification
of the poem. What type of poem is this? (Separate sheet) Does this help to decipher the poem?
- Narrative
- Lyric
- Dramatic
- Structure
of the poem. Sometimes the structure helps figure out the meaning.
- Stanza
a.) Number of lines per stanza
- Lines
a.)
foot prosody (how many feet per line)
b.)
stress prosody (how many stresses per line)
c.)
syllabic prosody (how many syllables per line)
d.)
line length (long line – serious; short line – light
and happy)
- Fulcrum
– The turning point in the poem. (climax).
- Rhyme
scheme – The poet can hint at what’s important by the pattern.
a.)
Finding rhyme scheme
- the pattern or sequence in which rhyme occurs.
b.)
Assonance – similar vowel sounds within the lines of
poetry.
c.)
Consonance – similar consonant sounds within the
lines of poetry.
- Figurative
language.
- Simile:
Compare two things. Use the words “like” or “as”. (My fist is like a
rock.)
- Metaphor:
Compare two things. Say one thing is another thing. (My fist is a
rock.)
- Personification:
Giving human qualities to non-human, non-living things.(The mountain
stood firm.) (The curtains danced in the wind.)
- Apostrophe:
Direct address to an abstract quality or absent person. (“Oh Springtime,
thou art lovely.”) (Screaming at your car when it won’t start. “I hate
you.”)
- Irony:
Intended meaning is opposite of what is expressed. Outcome is unexpected.
(An anti-capitalist website sells
anti-capitalism t-shirts for a profit.)
- Analogy:
Similarity in certain aspects between things otherwise unlike. Does not
make a direct comparison. (heart/pump)
- Metonymy:
Using a word associated with an object, to replace that object. (the
white house said today.) (pay tribute to the crown)
- Synecdoche:
Using a word expressing part of a thing that represents the whole thing. (mouths
to feed.) (wheels/ car) (all hands on deck/ crew)