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How to Write a Poetry Essay (Complete Guide)
Unlock success in poetry essays with our comprehensive guide. Uncover the process to help aid understanding of how best to create a poetry essay.
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While many of us read poetry for pleasure, it is undeniable that many poetry readers do so in the knowledge that they will be assessed on the text they are reading, either in an exam, for homework, or for a piece of coursework. This is clearly a daunting task for many, and lots of students don’t even know where to begin. We’re here to help! This guide will take you through all the necessary steps so that you can plan and write great poetry essays every time. If you’re still getting to grips with the different techniques, terms, or some other aspect of poetry, then check out our other available resources at the bottom of this page.
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This Guide was Created by Joe Samantaria
Degree in English and Related Literature, and a Masters in Irish Literature
Upon completion of his degrees, Joe is an English tutor and counts W.B. Yeats , Emily Brontë , and Federico Garcia Lorca among his favorite poets. He has helped tutor hundreds of students with poetry and aims to do the same for readers and Poetry + users on Poem Analysis.
How to Write a Poetry Essay
- 1 Before You Start…
- 2 Introductions
- 3 Main Paragraphs
- 4 Conclusions
- 6 Other Resources
Before You Start…
Before we begin, we must address the fact that all poetry essays are different from one another on account of different academic levels, whether or not the essay pertains to one poem or multiple, and the intended length of the essay. That is before we even contend with the countless variations and distinctions between individual poems. Thus, it is impossible to produce a single, one-size-fits-all template for writing great essays on poetry because the criteria for such an essay are not universal. This guide is, therefore, designed to help you go about writing a simple essay on a single poem, which comes to roughly 1000-1200 words in length. We have designed it this way to mirror the requirements of as many students around the world as possible. It is our intention to write another guide on how to write a comparative poetry essay at a later date. Finally, we would like to stress the fact that this guide is exactly that: a guide. It is not a set of restrictive rules but rather a means of helping you get to grips with writing poetry essays. Think of it more like a recipe that, once practiced a few times, can be modified and adapted as you see fit.
The first and most obvious starting point is the poem itself and there are some important things to do at this stage before you even begin contemplating writing your essay. Naturally, these things will depend on the nature of the essay you are required to write.
- Is the poem one you are familiar with?
- Do you know anything about the context of the poem or the poet?
- How much time do you have to complete the essay?
- Do you have access to books or the internet?
These questions matter because they will determine the type, length, and scope of the essay you write. Naturally, an essay written under timed conditions about an unfamiliar poem will look very different from one written about a poem known to you. Likewise, teachers and examiners will expect different things from these essays and will mark them accordingly.
As this article pertains to writing a poverty essay, we’re going to assume you have a grasp of the basics of understanding the poems themselves. There is a plethora of materials available that can help you analyze poetry if you need to, and thousands of analyzed poems are available right here. For the sake of clarity, we advise you to use these tools to help you get to grips with the poem you intend to write about before you ever sit down to actually produce an essay. As we have said, the amount of time spent pondering the poem will depend on the context of the essay. If you are writing a coursework-style question over many weeks, then you should spend hours analyzing the poem and reading extensively about its context. If, however, you are writing an essay in an exam on a poem you have never seen before, you should perhaps take 10-15% of the allotted time analyzing the poem before you start writing.
The Question
Once you have spent enough time analyzing the poem and identifying its key features and themes, you can turn your attention to the question. It is highly unlikely that you will simply be asked to “analyze this poem.” That would be too simple on the one hand and far too broad on the other.
More likely, you will be asked to analyze a particular aspect of the poem, usually pertaining to its message, themes, or meaning. There are numerous ways examiners can express these questions, so we have outlined some common types of questions below.
- Explore the poet’s presentation of…
- How does the poet present…
- Explore the ways the writer portrays their thoughts about…
These are all similar ways of achieving the same result. In each case, the examiner requires that you analyze the devices used by the poet and attempt to tie the effect those devices have to the poet’s broader intentions or meaning.
Some students prefer reading the question before they read the poem, so they can better focus their analytical eye on devices and features that directly relate to the question they are being asked. This approach has its merits, especially for poems that you have not previously seen. However, be wary of focusing too much on a single element of a poem, particularly if it is one you may be asked to write about again in a later exam. It is no good knowing only how a poem links to the theme of revenge if you will later be asked to explore its presentation of time.
Essay plans can help focus students’ attention when they’re under pressure and give them a degree of confidence while they’re writing. In basic terms, a plan needs the following elements:
- An overarching answer to the question (this will form the basis of your introduction)
- A series of specific, identifiable poetic devices ( metaphors , caesura , juxtaposition , etc) you have found in the poem
- Ideas about how these devices link to the poem’s messages or themes.
- Some pieces of relevant context (depending on whether you need it for your type of question)
In terms of layout, we do not want to be too prescriptive. Some students prefer to bullet-point their ideas, and others like to separate them by paragraph. If you use the latter approach, you should aim for:
- 1 Introduction
- 4-5 Main paragraphs
- 1 Conclusion
Finally, the length and detail of your plan should be dictated by the nature of the essay you are doing. If you are under exam conditions, you should not spend too much time writing a plan, as you will need that time for the essay itself. Conversely, if you are not under time pressure, you should take your time to really build out your plan and fill in the details.
Introductions
If you have followed all the steps to this point, you should be ready to start writing your essay. All good essays begin with an introduction, so that is where we shall start.
When it comes to introductions, the clue is in the name: this is the place for you to introduce your ideas and answer the question in broad terms. This means that you don’t need to go into too much detail, as you’ll be doing that in the main body of the essay. That means you don’t need quotes, and you’re unlikely to need to quote anything from the poem yet. One thing to remember is that you should mention both the poet’s name and the poem’s title in your introduction. This might seem unnecessary, but it is a good habit to get into, especially if you are writing an essay in which other questions/poems are available to choose from.
As we mentioned earlier, you are unlikely to get a question that simply asks you to analyze a poem in its entirety, with no specific angle. More likely, you’ll be asked to write an essay about a particular thematic element of the poem. Your introduction should reflect this. However, many students fall into the trap of simply regurgitating the question without offering anything more. For example, a question might ask you to explore a poet’s presentation of love, memory, loss, or conflict . You should avoid the temptation to simply hand these terms back in your introduction without expanding upon them. You will get a chance to see this in action below.
Let’s say we were given the following question:
Explore Patrick Kavanagh’s presentation of loss and memory in Memory of My Father
Taking on board the earlier advice, you should hopefully produce an introduction similar to the one written below.
Patrick Kavanagh presents loss as an inescapable fact of existence and subverts the readers’ expectations of memory by implying that memories can cause immense pain, even if they feature loved ones. This essay will argue that Memory of My Father depicts loss to be cyclical and thus emphasizes the difficulties that inevitably occur in the early stages of grief.
As you can see, the introduction is fairly condensed and does not attempt to analyze any specific poetic elements. There will be plenty of time for that as the essay progresses. Similarly, the introduction does not simply repeat the words ‘loss’ and ‘memory’ from the question but expands upon them and offers a glimpse of the kind of interpretation that will follow without providing too much unnecessary detail at this early stage.
Main Paragraphs
Now, we come to the main body of the essay, the quality of which will ultimately determine the strength of our essay. This section should comprise of 4-5 paragraphs, and each of these should analyze an aspect of the poem and then link the effect that aspect creates to the poem’s themes or message. They can also draw upon context when relevant if that is a required component of your particular essay.
There are a few things to consider when writing analytical paragraphs and many different templates for doing so, some of which are listed below.
- PEE (Point-Evidence-Explain)
- PEA (Point-Evidence-Analysis)
- PETAL (Point-Evidence-Technique-Analysis-Link)
- IQA (Identify-Quote-Analyze)
- PEEL (Point-Evidence-Explain-Link)
Some of these may be familiar to you, and they all have their merits. As you can see, there are all effective variations of the same thing. Some might use different terms or change the order, but it is possible to write great paragraphs using all of them.
One of the most important aspects of writing these kind of paragraphs is selecting the features you will be identifying and analyzing. A full list of poetic features with explanations can be found here. If you have done your plan correctly, you should have already identified a series of poetic devices and begun to think about how they link to the poem’s themes.
It is important to remember that, when analyzing poetry, everything is fair game! You can analyze the language, structure, shape, and punctuation of the poem. Try not to rely too heavily on any single type of paragraph. For instance, if you have written three paragraphs about linguistic features ( similes , hyperbole , alliteration , etc), then try to write your next one about a structural device ( rhyme scheme , enjambment , meter , etc).
Regardless of what structure you are using, you should remember that multiple interpretations are not only acceptable but actively encouraged. Techniques can create effects that link to the poem’s message or themes in both complementary and entirely contrasting ways. All these possibilities should find their way into your essay. You are not writing a legal argument that must be utterly watertight – you are interpreting a subjective piece of art.
It is important to provide evidence for your points in the form of either a direct quotation or, when appropriate, a reference to specific lines or stanzas . For instance, if you are analyzing a strict rhyme scheme, you do not need to quote every rhyming word. Instead, you can simply name the rhyme scheme as, for example, AABB , and then specify whether or not this rhyme scheme is applied consistently throughout the poem or not. When you are quoting a section from the poem, you should endeavor to embed your quotation within your line so that your paragraph flows and can be read without cause for confusion.
When it comes to context, remember to check whether or not your essay question requires it before you begin writing. If you do need to use it, you must remember that it is used to elevate your analysis of the poem, not replace it. Think of context like condiments or spices. When used appropriately, they can enhance the experience of eating a meal, but you would have every right to complain if a restaurant served you a bowl of ketchup in lieu of an actual meal. Moreover, you should remember to only use the contextual information that helps your interpretation rather than simply writing down facts to prove you have memorized them. Examiners will not be impressed that you know the date a particular poet was born or died unless that information relates to the poem itself.
For the sake of ease, let’s return to our earlier question:
Have a look at the example paragraph below, taking note of the ways in which it interprets the linguistic technique in several different ways.
Kavanagh uses a metaphor when describing how the narrator ’s father had “fallen in love with death” in order to capture the narrator’s conflicted attitudes towards his loss. By conflating the ordinarily juxtaposed states of love and death, Kavanagh implies the narrator’s loss has shattered his previously held understanding of the world and left him confused. Similarly, the metaphor could suggest the narrator feels a degree of jealousy, possibly even self-loathing, because their father embraced death willingly rather than remaining with the living. Ultimately, the metaphor’s innate impossibility speaks to the narrator’s desire to rationalize their loss because the reality, that his father simply died, is too painful for him to bear.
As you can see, the paragraph clearly engages with a poetic device and uses an appropriately embedded quotation. The subsequent interpretations are then varied enough to avoid repeating each other, but all clearly link to the theme of loss that was mentioned in the question. Obviously, this is only one analytical paragraph, but a completed essay should contain 4-5. This would allow the writer to analyze enough different devices and link them to both themes mentioned in the question.
Conclusions
By this stage, you should have written the bulk of your essay in the form of your introduction and 4-5 main analytical paragraphs. If you have done those things properly, then the conclusion should largely take care of itself.
The world’s simplest essay plan sounds something like this:
- Tell them what you’re going to tell them
- Tell them what you’ve told them
This is, naturally, an oversimplification, but it is worth bearing in mind. The conclusion to an essay is not the place to introduce your final, groundbreaking interpretation. Nor is it the place to reveal a hitherto unknown piece of contextual information that shatters any prior critical consensus with regard to the poem you are writing about. If you do either of these things, the examiner will be asking themselves one simple question: why didn’t they write this earlier?
In its most simple form, a conclusion is there, to sum up the points you have made and nothing more.
As with the previous sections, there is a little more to a great conclusion than merely stating the things you have already made. The trick to a great conclusion is to bind those points together to emphasize the essay’s overarching thread or central argument. This is a subtle skill, but mastering it will really help you to finish your essays with a flourish by making your points feel like they are more than the sum of their parts.
Finally, let’s remind ourselves of the hypothetical essay question we’ve been using:
Remember that, just like your introduction, your conclusion should be brief and direct and must not attempt to do more than it needs to.
In conclusion, Kavanagh’s poem utilizes numerous techniques to capture the ways in which loss is both inescapable and a source of enormous pain. Moreover, the poet subverts positive memories by showcasing how they can cause loved ones more pain than comfort in the early stages of grief. Ultimately, the poem demonstrates how malleable memory can be in the face of immense loss due to the way the latter shapes and informs the former.
As you can see, this conclusion is confident and authoritative but does not need to provide evidence to justify this tone because that evidence has already been provided earlier in the essay. You should pay close attention to the manner in which the conclusion links different points together under one banner in order to provide a sense of assuredness.
You should refer to the poet by either using their full name or, more commonly, their surname. After your first usage, you may refer to them as ‘the poet.’ Never refer to the poet using just their first name.
This is a good question, and the answer entirely depends on the level of study as well as the nature of the examination. If you are writing a timed essay for a school exam, you are unlikely to need any form of referencing. If, however, you are writing an essay as part of coursework or at a higher education institution, you may need to refer to the specific guidelines of that institution.
Again, this will depend on the type of essay you are being asked to write. If you are writing a longer essay or writing at a higher educational level, it can be useful to refer to other poems in the writer’s repertoire to help make comments on an aspect of the poem you are primarily writing about. However, for the kind of essay outlined in this article, you should focus solely on the poem you have been asked to write about.
This is one of the most common concerns students have about writing essays . Ultimately, the quality of an essay is more likely to be determined by the quality of paragraphs than the quantity anyway, so you should focus on making your paragraphs as good as they can be. Beyond this, it is important to remember that the time required to write a paragraph is not fixed. The more you write, the faster they will become. You should trust the process, focus on making each paragraph as good as it can be, and you’ll be amazed at how the timing issue takes care of itself.
Other Resources
We hope you have found this article useful and would love for you to comment or reach out to us if you have any queries about what we’ve written. We’d love to hear your feedback!
In the meantime, we’ve collated a list of resources you might find helpful when setting out to tackle a poetry essay, which you can find below.
- Do poems have to rhyme?
- 10 important elements of poetry
- How to analyze a poem with SMILE
- How to approach unseen poetry
- 18 Different Types of Themes in Poetry
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A Full Guide to Writing a Perfect Poem Analysis Essay
01 October, 2020
14 minutes read
Author: Elizabeth Brown
Poem analysis is one of the most complicated essay types. It requires the utmost creativity and dedication. Even those who regularly attend a literary class and have enough experience in poem analysis essay elaboration may face considerable difficulties while dealing with the particular poem. The given article aims to provide the detailed guidelines on how to write a poem analysis, elucidate the main principles of writing the essay of the given type, and share with you the handy tips that will help you get the highest score for your poetry analysis. In addition to developing analysis skills, you would be able to take advantage of the poetry analysis essay example to base your poetry analysis essay on, as well as learn how to find a way out in case you have no motivation and your creative assignment must be presented on time.
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What Is a Poetry Analysis Essay?
A poetry analysis essay is a type of creative write-up that implies reviewing a poem from different perspectives by dealing with its structural, artistic, and functional pieces. Since the poetry expresses very complicated feelings that may have different meanings depending on the backgrounds of both author and reader, it would not be enough just to focus on the text of the poem you are going to analyze. Poetry has a lot more complex structure and cannot be considered without its special rhythm, images, as well as implied and obvious sense.
![how to write a literary essay on a poem poetry analysis essay](https://handmadewriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/poem-analysis-essay.jpg)
While analyzing the poem, the students need to do in-depth research as to its content, taking into account the effect the poetry has or may have on the readers.
Preparing for the Poetry Analysis Writing
The process of preparation for the poem analysis essay writing is almost as important as writing itself. Without completing these stages, you may be at risk of failing your creative assignment. Learn them carefully to remember once and for good.
Thoroughly read the poem several times
The rereading of the poem assigned for analysis will help to catch its concepts and ideas. You will have a possibility to define the rhythm of the poem, its type, and list the techniques applied by the author.
While identifying the type of the poem, you need to define whether you are dealing with:
- Lyric poem – the one that elucidates feelings, experiences, and the emotional state of the author. It is usually short and doesn’t contain any narration;
- Limerick – consists of 5 lines, the first, second, and fifth of which rhyme with one another;
- Sonnet – a poem consisting of 14 lines characterized by an iambic pentameter. William Shakespeare wrote sonnets which have made him famous;
- Ode – 10-line poem aimed at praising someone or something;
- Haiku – a short 3-line poem originated from Japan. It reflects the deep sense hidden behind the ordinary phenomena and events of the physical world;
- Free-verse – poetry with no rhyme.
The type of the poem usually affects its structure and content, so it is important to be aware of all the recognized kinds to set a proper beginning to your poetry analysis.
Find out more about the poem background
Find as much information as possible about the author of the poem, the cultural background of the period it was written in, preludes to its creation, etc. All these data will help you get a better understanding of the poem’s sense and explain much to you in terms of the concepts the poem contains.
Define a subject matter of the poem
This is one of the most challenging tasks since as a rule, the subject matter of the poem isn’t clearly stated by the poets. They don’t want the readers to know immediately what their piece of writing is about and suggest everyone find something different between the lines.
What is the subject matter? In a nutshell, it is the main idea of the poem. Usually, a poem may have a couple of subjects, that is why it is important to list each of them.
In order to correctly identify the goals of a definite poem, you would need to dive into the in-depth research.
Check the historical background of the poetry. The author might have been inspired to write a poem based on some events that occurred in those times or people he met. The lines you analyze may be generated by his reaction to some epoch events. All this information can be easily found online.
Choose poem theories you will support
In the variety of ideas the poem may convey, it is important to stick to only several most important messages you think the author wanted to share with the readers. Each of the listed ideas must be supported by the corresponding evidence as proof of your opinion.
The poetry analysis essay format allows elaborating on several theses that have the most value and weight. Try to build your writing not only on the pure facts that are obvious from the context but also your emotions and feelings the analyzed lines provoke in you.
How to Choose a Poem to Analyze?
If you are free to choose the piece of writing you will base your poem analysis essay on, it is better to select the one you are already familiar with. This may be your favorite poem or one that you have read and analyzed before. In case you face difficulties choosing the subject area of a particular poem, then the best way will be to focus on the idea you feel most confident about. In such a way, you would be able to elaborate on the topic and describe it more precisely.
Now, when you are familiar with the notion of the poetry analysis essay, it’s high time to proceed to poem analysis essay outline. Follow the steps mentioned below to ensure a brilliant structure to your creative assignment.
Best Poem Analysis Essay Topics
- Mother To Son Poem Analysis
- We Real Cool Poem Analysis
- Invictus Poem Analysis
- Richard Cory Poem Analysis
- Ozymandias Poem Analysis
- Barbie Doll Poem Analysis
- Caged Bird Poem Analysis
- Ulysses Poem Analysis
- Dover Beach Poem Analysis
- Annabelle Lee Poem Analysis
- Daddy Poem Analysis
- The Raven Poem Analysis
- The Second Coming Poem Analysis
- Still I Rise Poem Analysis
- If Poem Analysis
- Fire And Ice Poem Analysis
- My Papa’S Waltz Poem Analysis
- Harlem Poem Analysis
- Kubla Khan Poem Analysis
- I Too Poem Analysis
- The Juggler Poem Analysis
- The Fish Poem Analysis
- Jabberwocky Poem Analysis
- Charge Of The Light Brigade Poem Analysis
- The Road Not Taken Poem Analysis
- Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus Poem Analysis
- The History Teacher Poem Analysis
- One Art Poem Analysis
- The Wanderer Poem Analysis
- We Wear The Mask Poem Analysis
- There Will Come Soft Rains Poem Analysis
- Digging Poem Analysis
- The Highwayman Poem Analysis
- The Tyger Poem Analysis
- London Poem Analysis
- Sympathy Poem Analysis
- I Am Joaquin Poem Analysis
- This Is Just To Say Poem Analysis
- Sex Without Love Poem Analysis
- Strange Fruit Poem Analysis
- Dulce Et Decorum Est Poem Analysis
- Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis
- The Flea Poem Analysis
- The Lamb Poem Analysis
- Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Poem Analysis
- My Last Duchess Poetry Analysis
Poem Analysis Essay Outline
As has already been stated, a poetry analysis essay is considered one of the most challenging tasks for the students. Despite the difficulties you may face while dealing with it, the structure of the given type of essay is quite simple. It consists of the introduction, body paragraphs, and the conclusion. In order to get a better understanding of the poem analysis essay structure, check the brief guidelines below.
Introduction
This will be the first section of your essay. The main purpose of the introductory paragraph is to give a reader an idea of what the essay is about and what theses it conveys. The introduction should start with the title of the essay and end with the thesis statement.
The main goal of the introduction is to make readers feel intrigued about the whole concept of the essay and serve as a hook to grab their attention. Include some interesting information about the author, the historical background of the poem, some poem trivia, etc. There is no need to make the introduction too extensive. On the contrary, it should be brief and logical.
Body Paragraphs
The body section should form the main part of poetry analysis. Make sure you have determined a clear focus for your analysis and are ready to elaborate on the main message and meaning of the poem. Mention the tone of the poetry, its speaker, try to describe the recipient of the poem’s idea. Don’t forget to identify the poetic devices and language the author uses to reach the main goals. Describe the imagery and symbolism of the poem, its sound and rhythm.
Try not to stick to too many ideas in your body section, since it may make your essay difficult to understand and too chaotic to perceive. Generalization, however, is also not welcomed. Try to be specific in the description of your perspective.
Make sure the transitions between your paragraphs are smooth and logical to make your essay flow coherent and easy to catch.
In a nutshell, the essay conclusion is a paraphrased thesis statement. Mention it again but in different words to remind the readers of the main purpose of your essay. Sum up the key claims and stress the most important information. The conclusion cannot contain any new ideas and should be used to create a strong impact on the reader. This is your last chance to share your opinion with the audience and convince them your essay is worth readers’ attention.
Problems with writing Your Poem Analysis Essay? Try our Essay Writer Service!
Poem Analysis Essay Examples
A good poem analysis essay example may serve as a real magic wand to your creative assignment. You may take a look at the structure the other essay authors have used, follow their tone, and get a great share of inspiration and motivation.
Check several poetry analysis essay examples that may be of great assistance:
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/poetry-analysis-essay-example-for-english-literature.html
- https://www.slideshare.net/mariefincher/poetry-analysis-essay
Writing Tips for a Poetry Analysis Essay
If you read carefully all the instructions on how to write a poetry analysis essay provided above, you have probably realized that this is not the easiest assignment on Earth. However, you cannot fail and should try your best to present a brilliant essay to get the highest score. To make your life even easier, check these handy tips on how to analysis poetry with a few little steps.
- In case you have a chance to choose a poem for analysis by yourself, try to focus on one you are familiar with, you are interested in, or your favorite one. The writing process will be smooth and easy in case you are working on the task you truly enjoy.
- Before you proceed to the analysis itself, read the poem out loud to your colleague or just to yourself. It will help you find out some hidden details and senses that may result in new ideas.
- Always check the meaning of words you don’t know. Poetry is quite a tricky phenomenon where a single word or phrase can completely change the meaning of the whole piece.
- Bother to double check if the conclusion of your essay is based on a single idea and is logically linked to the main body. Such an approach will demonstrate your certain focus and clearly elucidate your views.
- Read between the lines. Poetry is about senses and emotions – it rarely contains one clearly stated subject matter. Describe the hidden meanings and mention the feelings this has provoked in you. Try to elaborate a full picture that would be based on what is said and what is meant.
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Write a Poetry Analysis Essay with HandmadeWriting
You may have hundreds of reasons why you can’t write a brilliant poem analysis essay. In addition to the fact that it is one of the most complicated creative assignments, you can have some personal issues. It can be anything from lots of homework, a part-time job, personal problems, lack of time, or just the absence of motivation. In any case, your main task is not to let all these factors influence your reputation and grades. A perfect way out may be asking the real pros of essay writing for professional help.
There are a lot of benefits why you should refer to the professional writing agencies in case you are not in the mood for elaborating your poetry analysis essay. We will only state the most important ones:
- You can be 100% sure your poem analysis essay will be completed brilliantly. All the research processes, outlines, structuring, editing, and proofreading will be performed instead of you.
- You will get an absolutely unique plagiarism-free piece of writing that deserves the highest score.
- All the authors are extremely creative, talented, and simply in love with poetry. Just tell them what poetry you would like to build your analysis on and enjoy a smooth essay with the logical structure and amazing content.
- Formatting will be done professionally and without any effort from your side. No need to waste your time on such a boring activity.
As you see, there are a lot of advantages to ordering your poetry analysis essay from HandmadeWriting . Having such a perfect essay example now will contribute to your inspiration and professional growth in future.
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A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death
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Ethical Research Paper Topics
Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]
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Art Research Paper Topics
Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]
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- How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide
How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide
Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.
Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.
A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.
Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :
- An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
- A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
- A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.
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Table of contents
Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.
The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.
Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.
To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.
Language choices
Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?
What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).
Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.
Narrative voice
Ask yourself:
- Who is telling the story?
- How are they telling it?
Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?
Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.
The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?
Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.
- Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
- Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
- Plays are divided into scenes and acts.
Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.
There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?
With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.
In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.
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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.
If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:
Essay question example
Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?
Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:
Thesis statement example
Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.
Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.
Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.
Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:
Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:
The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .
However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:
Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.
Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.
Finding textual evidence
To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.
It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.
To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.
Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.
A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.
If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.
“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”
The introduction
The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.
A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.
Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.
Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!
If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.
The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.
Paragraph structure
A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.
Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.
In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.
Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.
Topic sentences
To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.
A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:
… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.
Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.
This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.
Using textual evidence
A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.
It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:
It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.
In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:
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The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.
A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:
If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!
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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.
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How to write a poetry essay
- August 26, 2023
Whether you love literature or are just curious, this guide will help you understand, enjoy, and talk about poetry. So, let’s start exploring the world of lines and symbols, where each one tells a story to discover.
Here are the steps on writing a poetry essay.
Choose a poem
The first step is, of course, to choose a poem to write your essay .
It should be one that you find interesting, thought-provoking, or emotionally resonant. It’s important to select a poem that you can engage with and analyze effectively.
- Choose a poem that genuinely captures your interest. Look for poems that evoke emotions, thoughts, or curiosity when you read them.
- Consider the themes addressed in the poem. It should offer ample material for analysis.
When choosing a poem
So for this guide, let’s choose Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” You’ll see a short excerpt of this poem for your understanding.
Poem example for poetry essay
Because i couldn not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality. We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility – We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the Setting Sun – The poem continues....
This poem is intriguing due to its exploration of mortality, the afterlife, and eternity. The imagery and language in the poem provide ample material for analysis, making it a suitable choice for a comprehensive essay.
After carefully choosing the poem that interests you, understanding the poem is the biggest key to writing an effective and nice poetry essay.
Understand the poem
Reading the poem several times to grasp its meaning is the most important part of a good analysis. You must first analyze the structure, rhyme scheme , meter and literary tools used in the poem.
For a solid understanding, you should:
- Read the poem multiple times to familiarize yourself with its content. Each reading may reveal new insights.
- Identify the central themes or messages the poem conveys.
- Study the rhyme scheme and meter (rhythmic pattern) of the poem.
- Consider how the structure, including its stanzas, lines, and breaks, contributes to the poem's meaning and impact.
For example
Remember, understanding the poem thoroughly is the foundation for a well-informed analysis. Take your time to grasp the poem’s various elements before moving on to the next steps in your essay.
Now that we have a clear understanding of the poem, let’s move into writing the introduction.
Write a catchy introduction
- Begin with an attention-grabbing hook sentence that piques the reader's interest.
- Provide the necessary information about the poem and its author. Mention the poet's name and title of the poem.
- Offer some context about the poem's time period, literary movement, or cultural influences.
- Present your thesis statement , which outlines the main argument or focus of your essay.
Poetry essay introduction example
Introduction
Thesis statement for poetry essays
A thesis statement is a clear and concise sentence or two that presents the main argument or point of your essay . It provides a roadmap for your reader, outlining what they can expect to find in your essay.
In the case of a poetry essay, your thesis statement should capture the central message, themes, or techniques you’ll be discussing in relation to the poem.
Why is the thesis important for a poetry essay?
By reading your thesis statement, your audience should have a clear idea of what to expect from your poem analysis essay.
When creating a thesis statement, keep these in mind:
- Start by identifying the key elements of the poem that you want to discuss. These could be themes, literary devices, emotions conveyed, or the poet's intentions.
- Based on the key elements you've identified, formulate a central argument that encapsulates your main analysis. What is the poem trying to convey? What are you trying to say about the poem?
- Your thesis should be specific and focused. Avoid vague or broad statements. Instead, provide a clear direction for your analysis.
Poetry essasy thesis statement example
....(introduction starts) ....(introduction continues) ....(introduction continues) In "Because I could not stop for Death," Emily Dickinson employs vivid imagery, personification, and an unconventional perspective on mortality to explore the transcendence of death and the eternity of the soul. Thesis statement, which is usually the last sentence of your introduction
Analyze language and imagery
Language and image analysis in poetry involves a close examination of the words, phrases and literary devices used by the poet. In this step you must uncover the deeper layers of meaning, emotion and sensory experiences conveyed by the poet’s choice of language and imagery.
Why language and imagery?
- Start by identifying and listing the literary devices present in the poem. These could include metaphors, similes, personification, symbolism, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and more.
- For each identified device, explain its significance. How does it contribute to the poem's meaning, mood, or tone?
- Analyze how the literary devices interact with the context of the poem. How do they relate to the themes, characters, or situations presented in the poem?
- Discuss how the use of specific language and imagery influences the reader's emotional response and understanding of the poem.
Continuing with Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,” let’s analyze the use of imagery:
Language and imagery analysis example
Lines chosen for analysis
Discuss themes in body paragraphs
Exploring themes helps you grasp the deeper meaning of the poem and connect it to broader human experiences. Understanding the themes allows you to uncover what the poet is attempting to convey and how the poem relates to readers on a universal level.
In this step, you will likely dedicate multiple body paragraphs to the analysis of various aspects of language and imagery. Each body paragraph should focus on a specific literary device, phrase, or aspect of language and imagery.
Here’s how you can structure the body paragraphs.
Poetry essay body paragraphs example
Body Paragraph 1: Identify and Explain Literary Devices
Body Paragraph 2: Context and Interaction with Themes
Body Paragraph 3: Reader's emotional response and understanding
Provide evidence from the poem
Providing evidence involves quoting specific lines or stanzas from the poem to support the points you’re making in your analysis. These quotes serve as concrete examples that demonstrate how the poet uses language, imagery, or literary devices to convey specific meanings or emotions.
- Select lines or stanzas from the poem that directly relate to the point you're making in your analysis.
- Introduce each quote with context, explaining the significance of the lines and how they contribute to your analysis.
- Use quotation marks to indicate that you're using the poet's language.
- After providing the quote, interpret its meaning. Explain how the language, imagery, or devices used in the quoted lines contribute to your analysis.
Providing evidence example
In your essay, you should include several quotes and interpret them to reinforce your points. Quoting specific lines from the poem allows you to showcase the poet’s language while demonstrating how these lines contribute to the poem’s overall expression.
Write a conclusion
Conclusion paragraph is the last sentence of your poem analysis essay. It reinforces your thesis statement and emphasizes your insights.
Additionally, the conclusion offers a chance to provide a final thought that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. In your conclusion, make sure to:
- Start by rephrasing your thesis statement. Remind the reader of the main argument you've made in your essay.
- Provide a concise summary of the main points. Avoid introducing new information; focus on the key ideas.
- Discuss the broader significance or implications. How does the poem's message relate to readers beyond its specific context?
- End with a thoughtful reflection, observation, or question that leaves the reader with something to ponder.
Poetry essay conclusion example
In your essay, the conclusion serves as a final opportunity to leave a strong impression on the reader by summarizing your analysis and offering insights into the poem’s broader significance.
Now, it’s time to double check what you’ve written.
Proofread and revise your essay
Edit your essay for clarity, coherence, tense selection , correct headings , etc. Ensure that your ideas flow logically and your analysis is well-supported. Remember, a poetry essay is an opportunity to delve into the nuances of a poem’s language, themes, and emotions.
- Review each paragraph to ensure ideas flow logically from one to the next.
- Check for grammar and punctuation errors.
- Verify that your evidence from the poem is accurately quoted and explained.
- Make sure your language is clear and effectively conveys your analysis.
By proofreading and revising, you can refine your essay, improving its readability and ensuring that your insights are communicated accurately.
So this was the last part, you’re now ready to write your first poem analysis (poetry) essay.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should i include in the introduction of a poetry essay.
In the introduction, provide background information about the poem and poet. Include the poem’s title, publication date, and any relevant context that helps readers understand its significance.
Can I include my emotional responses in a poetry essay?
Yes, you can discuss your emotional responses, but ensure they are supported by your analysis of the poem’s literary elements. Avoid focusing solely on personal feelings.
Is it important to understand the poet's background when writing a poetry essay?
While it can provide context, your focus should be on analyzing the poem itself. If the poet’s background is relevant to the poem’s interpretation, mention it briefly.
What's the best way to conclude a poetry essay?
In the conclusion, summarize your main points and tie them together. Offer insights into the poem’s broader significance, implications, or lasting impact.
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Writing About Poetry
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Writing about poetry can be one of the most demanding tasks that many students face in a literature class. Poetry, by its very nature, makes demands on a writer who attempts to analyze it that other forms of literature do not. So how can you write a clear, confident, well-supported essay about poetry? This handout offers answers to some common questions about writing about poetry.
What's the Point?
In order to write effectively about poetry, one needs a clear idea of what the point of writing about poetry is. When you are assigned an analytical essay about a poem in an English class, the goal of the assignment is usually to argue a specific thesis about the poem, using your analysis of specific elements in the poem and how those elements relate to each other to support your thesis.
So why would your teacher give you such an assignment? What are the benefits of learning to write analytic essays about poetry? Several important reasons suggest themselves:
- To help you learn to make a text-based argument. That is, to help you to defend ideas based on a text that is available to you and other readers. This sharpens your reasoning skills by forcing you to formulate an interpretation of something someone else has written and to support that interpretation by providing logically valid reasons why someone else who has read the poem should agree with your argument. This isn't a skill that is just important in academics, by the way. Lawyers, politicians, and journalists often find that they need to make use of similar skills.
- To help you to understand what you are reading more fully. Nothing causes a person to make an extra effort to understand difficult material like the task of writing about it. Also, writing has a way of helping you to see things that you may have otherwise missed simply by causing you to think about how to frame your own analysis.
- To help you enjoy poetry more! This may sound unlikely, but one of the real pleasures of poetry is the opportunity to wrestle with the text and co-create meaning with the author. When you put together a well-constructed analysis of the poem, you are not only showing that you understand what is there, you are also contributing to an ongoing conversation about the poem. If your reading is convincing enough, everyone who has read your essay will get a little more out of the poem because of your analysis.
What Should I Know about Writing about Poetry?
Most importantly, you should realize that a paper that you write about a poem or poems is an argument. Make sure that you have something specific that you want to say about the poem that you are discussing. This specific argument that you want to make about the poem will be your thesis. You will support this thesis by drawing examples and evidence from the poem itself. In order to make a credible argument about the poem, you will want to analyze how the poem works—what genre the poem fits into, what its themes are, and what poetic techniques and figures of speech are used.
What Can I Write About?
Theme: One place to start when writing about poetry is to look at any significant themes that emerge in the poetry. Does the poetry deal with themes related to love, death, war, or peace? What other themes show up in the poem? Are there particular historical events that are mentioned in the poem? What are the most important concepts that are addressed in the poem?
Genre: What kind of poem are you looking at? Is it an epic (a long poem on a heroic subject)? Is it a sonnet (a brief poem, usually consisting of fourteen lines)? Is it an ode? A satire? An elegy? A lyric? Does it fit into a specific literary movement such as Modernism, Romanticism, Neoclassicism, or Renaissance poetry? This is another place where you may need to do some research in an introductory poetry text or encyclopedia to find out what distinguishes specific genres and movements.
Versification: Look closely at the poem's rhyme and meter. Is there an identifiable rhyme scheme? Is there a set number of syllables in each line? The most common meter for poetry in English is iambic pentameter, which has five feet of two syllables each (thus the name "pentameter") in each of which the strongly stressed syllable follows the unstressed syllable. You can learn more about rhyme and meter by consulting our handout on sound and meter in poetry or the introduction to a standard textbook for poetry such as the Norton Anthology of Poetry . Also relevant to this category of concerns are techniques such as caesura (a pause in the middle of a line) and enjambment (continuing a grammatical sentence or clause from one line to the next). Is there anything that you can tell about the poem from the choices that the author has made in this area? For more information about important literary terms, see our handout on the subject.
Figures of speech: Are there literary devices being used that affect how you read the poem? Here are some examples of commonly discussed figures of speech:
- metaphor: comparison between two unlike things
- simile: comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as"
- metonymy: one thing stands for something else that is closely related to it (For example, using the phrase "the crown" to refer to the king would be an example of metonymy.)
- synecdoche: a part stands in for a whole (For example, in the phrase "all hands on deck," "hands" stands in for the people in the ship's crew.)
- personification: a non-human thing is endowed with human characteristics
- litotes: a double negative is used for poetic effect (example: not unlike, not displeased)
- irony: a difference between the surface meaning of the words and the implications that may be drawn from them
Cultural Context: How does the poem you are looking at relate to the historical context in which it was written? For example, what's the cultural significance of Walt Whitman's famous elegy for Lincoln "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed" in light of post-Civil War cultural trends in the U.S.A? How does John Donne's devotional poetry relate to the contentious religious climate in seventeenth-century England? These questions may take you out of the literature section of your library altogether and involve finding out about philosophy, history, religion, economics, music, or the visual arts.
What Style Should I Use?
It is useful to follow some standard conventions when writing about poetry. First, when you analyze a poem, it is best to use present tense rather than past tense for your verbs. Second, you will want to make use of numerous quotations from the poem and explain their meaning and their significance to your argument. After all, if you do not quote the poem itself when you are making an argument about it, you damage your credibility. If your teacher asks for outside criticism of the poem as well, you should also cite points made by other critics that are relevant to your argument. A third point to remember is that there are various citation formats for citing both the material you get from the poems themselves and the information you get from other critical sources. The most common citation format for writing about poetry is the Modern Language Association (MLA) format .
How to Write a Poetry Essay: Step-By-Step-Guide
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Table of contents
- 1 What Is A Poetry Analysis?
- 2 How to Choose a Poem for Analysis?
- 3.0.1 Introduction
- 3.0.2 Main Body
- 3.0.3 Conclusion
- 4.1 Title of the Poem
- 4.2 Poetry Background
- 4.3 Structure of the Poem
- 4.4 Tone and Intonation of the Poetry
- 4.5 Language Forms and Symbols of the Poetry
- 4.6 Poetic devices
- 4.7 Music of the Poem
- 4.8 Purpose of Poem
- 5 Poetry Analysis Template
- 6 Example of Poem Analysis
Edgar Allan Poe once said:
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.”
The reader’s soul enjoys the beauty of the words masterfully expressed by the poet in a few lines. How much meaning is invested in these words, and even more lies behind them? For this reason, poetry is a constant object of scientific interest and the center of literary analysis.
As a university student, especially in literary specialties, you will often come across the need to write a poetry analysis essay. It may seem very difficult when you encounter such an essay for the first time. This is not surprising because even experienced students have difficulty performing such complex studies. This article will point you in the right direction and can be used as a poetry analysis worksheet.
What Is A Poetry Analysis?
Any poetry analysis consists in an in-depth study of the subject of study and the background details in which it is located. Poetry analysis is the process of decomposing a lyrical work into its smallest components for a detailed study of the independent elements. After that, all the data obtained are reassembled to formulate conclusions and write literary analysis . The study of a specific lyric poem also includes the study of the hidden meaning of the poem, the poet’s attitude and main idea, and the expression of individual impressions. After all, the lyrics aim to reach the heart of the reader.
The goal of the poetry analysis is to understand a literary work better. This type of scientific research makes it possible to study entire categories of art on the example of specific works, classify them as certain movements, and find similarities and differences with other poems representing the era.
A poetry analysis essay is a very common type of an essay for university programs, especially in literary and philological areas. Students are often required to have extensive knowledge as well as the ability of in-depth analysis. Such work requires immersion in the context and a high level of concentration.
How to Choose a Poem for Analysis?
You are a really lucky person if you have the opportunity to choose a poem to write a poetry analysis essay independently. After all, any scientific work is moving faster and easier if you are an expert and interested in the field of study. First of all, choose a poet who appeals to you. The piece is not just a set of sentences united by a common meaning. Therefore, it is primarily a reflection of the thoughts and beliefs of the author.
Also, choose a topic that is interesting and close to you. It doesn’t matter if it is an intimate sonnet, a patriotic poem, or a skillful description of nature. The main thing is that it arouses your interest. However, pay attention to the size of the work to make your work easier. The volume should be sufficient to conduct extensive analysis but not too large to meet the requirement for a poem analysis essay.
Well, in the end, your experience and knowledge of the poetry topic are important. Stop choosing the object of study that is within the scope of your competence. In this way, you will share your expert opinion with the public, as well as save yourself from the need for additional data searches required for better understanding.
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Poem Analysis Essay Outline
A well-defined structure is a solid framework for your writing. Sometimes our thoughts come quite chaotically, or vice versa, you spend many hours having no idea where to start writing. In both cases, a poem analysis outline will come to your aid. Many students feel that writing an essay plan is a waste of time. However, you should reconsider your views on such a work strategy. And although it will take you time to make a poetry analysis essay outline, it will save you effort later on. While a perfect way out is to ask professionals to write your essays online , let’s still take a look at the key features of creating a paper yourself. Working is much easier and more pleasant when you understand what to start from and what to rely on. Let’s look at the key elements of a poem analysis essay structure.
The essence of a poetry essay outline is to structure and organize your thoughts. You must divide your essay into three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusions. Then list brainstormed ideas that you are going to present in each of these parts.
Introduction
Your essay should begin with an introductory paragraph . The main purpose of this section is to attract the attention of the reader. This will ensure interest in the research. You can also use these paragraphs to provide interesting data from the author of the poem and contextual information that directly relates to your poem but is not a part of the analysis yet.
Another integral part of the poem analysis essay introduction is the strong thesis statement . This technique is used when writing most essays in order to summarize the essence of the paper. The thesis statement opens up your narrative, giving the reader a clear picture of what your work will be about. This element should be short, concise, and self-explanatory.
The central section of a literary analysis essay is going to contain all the studies you’ve carried out. A good idea would be to divide the body into three or four paragraphs, each presenting a new idea. When writing an outline for your essay, determine that in the body part, you will describe:
- The central idea.
- Analysis of poetic techniques used by the poet.
- Your observations considering symbolism.
- Various aspects of the poem.
Make sure to include all of the above, but always mind the coherence of your poem literary analysis.
In the final paragraph , you have to list the conclusions to which your poetry analysis came. This is a paragraph that highlights the key points of the study that are worth paying attention to. Ensure that the information in the conclusion matches your goals set in the introduction. The last few lines of a poem usually contain the perfect information for you to wrap up your paper, giving your readers a ground for further thought.
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Tips on How to Analyze a Poem
Now, having general theoretical information about what a poetry analysis essay is, what its components are, and how exactly you can make an outline, we are ready to move on to practical data. Let’s take a closer look at the key principles that you should rely on in the poetry analysis. As you might guess, just reading a poem will not be enough to make a comprehensive analysis. You have to pay attention to the smallest details to catch what other researchers have not noticed before you.
Title of the Poem
And although the poems do not always have a title, if the work you have chosen has a name, then this is a good basis for starting the poetry analysis. The title of the poetic work gives the understanding of what the poet considers to be the key ideas of his verse. In some cases, this element directly reflects the theme and idea of the poem. However, there are also common cases when the poet plays with the name, putting the opposite information into it. Look at the correlation between the title and the content of the poem. This may give you new clues to hidden meanings.
Poetry Background
To fully immerse yourself in the context of the verse, you need to study the prerequisites for its writing. Analyze poetry and pay attention to the period of the author’s life in which the work was written. Study what emotions prevailed in a given time. The background information will help you study the verse itself and what is behind it, which is crucial for a critical analysis essay . What was the poet’s motivation, and what sensations prompted him to express himself specifically in this form? Such in-depth research will give you a broad understanding of the author’s intent and make your poem analysis essay writing more solid.
This fragment of your poem analysis essay study also includes interpretations of all the difficult or little-known words. Perhaps the analyzed poem was written using obsolete words or has poetic terms. For a competent poem analysis, you need to have an enhanced comprehension of the concepts.
Structure of the Poem
Each lyrical work consists of key elements. The theory identifies four main components of a poem’s structure: stanza, rhyme, meter, and line break. Let’s clarify each of the terms separately so that you know exactly what you are supposed to analyze.
The stanza is also called a verse. This element is a group of lines joined together and separated from other lines by a gap. This component of the poem structure exists for the ordering of the poem and the logical separation of thoughts.
The next crucial element is rhyme. This is a kind of pattern of similar sounds that make up words. There are different types of a rhyme schemes that a particular poem can follow. The difference between the species lies in the spaces between rhyming words. Thus, the most common rhyme scheme in English literature is iambic pentameter.
The meter stands for a composite of stressed and unstressed syllables, following a single scheme throughout the poem. According to the common silabotonic theory, the poem’s rhythm determines the measure of the verse and its poetic form. In other words, this is the rhythm with which lyrical works are written.
Finally, the line break is a technique for distinguishing between different ideas and sentences within the boundaries of one work. Also, the separation serves the reader as a key to understanding the meaning, thanks to the structuring of thoughts. If the ideas went continuously, this would create an extraordinary load on perception, and the reader would struggle to understand the intended message.
Writing an essay about poetry requires careful attention and analysis. Poems, although short, can be intricate and require a thorough understanding to interpret them effectively. Some students may find it challenging to analyze poetry and may consider getting professional help or pay to do an assignment on poetry. Regardless of the approach, it is essential to create a well-structured essay that examines the poem’s meaning and provides relevant examples.
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Tone and Intonation of the Poetry
The tone and intonation of the poem could be analyzed based on two variables, the speaker and the recipient. Considering these two sides of the narrative, you can reach a better overview of the analyzed poem.
The first direction is to dig deeper into the author’s ideas by analyzing thematic elements. Pay attention to any information about the poet that can be gleaned from the poem. What mood was the author in when he wrote it, what exactly he felt, and what he wanted to share? What could he be hiding behind his words? Why did the poet choose the exact literary form? Is it possible to trace a life position or ideology through analysis? All of this information will help you get a clue on how to understand a poem.
The analysis of the figure of the recipient is also going to uncover some crucial keys to coherent study. Analyze a poem and determine whether the poem was written for someone specific or not. Find out whether the poet put motivational value into his work or even called readers to action. Is the writer talking to one person or a whole group? Was the poem based on political or social interests?
Language Forms and Symbols of the Poetry
Having sufficiently analyzed the evident elements of the poem, it is time to pay attention to the images and symbols. This is also called the connotative meaning of the work. It can sometimes get challenging to interpret poems, so we will see which other poetic techniques you should consider in the poetry analysis essay.
To convey intricate ideas and display thoughts more vividly, poets often use figurative language. It mostly explains some terms without directly naming them. Lyrical expression works are rich in literary devices such as metaphor, epithet, hyperbole, personification, and others. It may sometimes get really tough to research those poem elements yourself, so keep in mind buying lit essay online. Descriptive language is also one of the techniques used in poems that requires different literary devices in order to make the story as detailed as possible.
To fully understand poetry, it is not enough just to describe its structure. It is necessary to analyze a poem, find the hidden meanings, multiple artistic means, references the poet makes, and the language of writing.
Poetic devices
Poetic devices, such as rhythm, rhyme, and sounds, are used to immerse the audience. The poets often use figurative techniques in various poems, discovering multiple possibilities for the readers to interpret the poem. To discover the composition dedicated to the precise verse, you need to read the poem carefully. Consider studying poetry analysis essay example papers to better understand the concepts. It is a certain kind of reader’s quest aimed at finding the true meaning of the metaphor the poet has hidden in the poem. Each literary device is always there for a reason. Try to figure out its purpose.
Music of the Poem
Many poems formed the basis of the songs. This does not happen by chance because each poem has its own music. Lyrical works have such elements as rhythm and rhyme. They set the pace for reading. Also, sound elements are often hidden in poems. The line break gives a hint about when to take a long pause. Try to pay attention to the arrangement of words. Perhaps this will reveal you a new vision of the analyzed poem.
Purpose of Poem
While you analyze a poem, you are supposed to search for the purpose. Each work has its purpose for writing. Perhaps this is just a process in which the author shares his emotions, or maybe it’s a skillful description of landscapes written under great impressions. Social lyrics illuminate the situation in society and pressing problems. Pay attention to whether the verse contains a call to action or an instructive context. Your task is to study the poem and analyze the motives for its writing. Understanding the general context, and especially the purpose of the poet will make your analysis unique.
Poetry Analysis Template
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To make it easier for you to research, we have compiled a template for writing a poetry analysis essay. The best specialists of the our writing service have assembled the main guides that will serve as a layout for your essay. Choose a poem that suits you and analyze it according to this plan.
Introduction:
- The title of the poem or sonnet
- The name of the poet
- The date the poem was first published
- The background information and interesting facts about the poet and the poem
- Identify the structure of the poem, and the main components
- Find out the data about the speaker and recipient
- State the purpose of the poem
- Distinguish the topic and the idea of the verse
Figurative language:
- Study the literary devices
- Search for the hidden meanings
Following these tips, you will write a competitive poem analysis essay. Use these techniques, and you will be able to meet the basic requirements for quality work. However, don’t forget to add personality to your essay. Analyze both the choices of the author of the poem and your own vision. First of all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do not limit yourself to dry analysis, add your own vision of the poem. In this way, you will get a balanced essay that will appeal to teachers.
Example of Poem Analysis
Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise,” is a powerful anthem of strength and resilience that has become an iconic piece of literature. The poem was written in the 1970s during the civil rights movement and was published in Angelou’s collection of poetry, “And Still I Rise,” in 1978. The structure of the poem is unique in that it is not divided into stanzas but is composed of a series of short phrases that are separated by semicolons. This creates a sense of continuity and momentum as the poem moves forward. The lack of stanzas also reflects the speaker’s determination to keep going, regardless of the obstacles she faces. The tone of the poem is confident and defiant, with a strong sense of pride in the speaker’s identity and heritage. The intonation is rhythmic and musical, with a repeated refrain that emphasizes the theme of rising above adversity. The language forms used in the poem are simple and direct. One of the most powerful symbols in the poem is the image of the rising sun… FULL POEM ANALYSIS
Our database is filled with a wide range of poetry essay examples that can help you understand how to analyze and write about poetry. Whether you are a student trying to improve your essay writing skills or a poetry enthusiast looking to explore different perspectives on your favorite poems, our collection of essays can provide valuable insights and inspiration. So take a look around and discover new ways to appreciate and interpret the power of poetry!
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Poetry & Poets
Explore the beauty of poetry – discover the poet within
How To Write A Poetry Essay
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Introduction
Poetry is the art of expressing emotions, ideas and thoughts in a creative way. Writing about poetry may be difficult for some people as it involves not just understanding the text, but also interpreting its implications. The key to writing a successful poetry essay is to explore what the poem means to you and finding out what the main themes and ideas of the poem are. Through this process, you will be able to take a deep dive into the analysis of the poem. In this article, we will provide an overview of how to write an effective poetry essay.
Preparing for Poetry Analysis
Before diving into writing your essay, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the basics of poetry. Firstly, it is important to read through the poem and examine the poem’s structure, meter, and rhyme scheme. These elements often give insight into the mood and themes of the poem. Additionally, it may also be useful to identify the poem’s speaker and its written form. It is only once these components are understood that you can begin to analyze the poem in greater detail. Secondly, it is helpful to examine the choice of words used in the poem. The poet’s use of vocabulary can reveal clues about his feelings and thoughts on the subject. Furthermore, you may also want to focus on particular words that are commonly used in the poem, as their inclusion may be used to convey a specific hidden meaning. For example, if the poem often uses the words ‘free’ and ‘liberty’, then it may be a way to express the theme of freedom.
Including Evidence in Your Essay
In order to effectively analyze a poem, it is important that your essay includes evidence from the poem that reinforce your argument. It is crucial to include specific examples of passages, lines, or words that you feel demonstrate the poem’s underlying themes or messages. Moreover, you may also want to explicitly state the effect these examples have on the meaning of the poem. For instance, the poet’s deliberate use of sad words to communicate grief.
Making Connections
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In addition to carefully analysing the poem, it is also important to make meaningful connections between different aspects of the poem. This may involve connecting literary elements, such as images, symbols, and allusions, to a broader theme or idea. These connections can be used to develop your understanding of the poem and illustrate how different elements come together to form a more holistic interpretation.
Invoking Imagery to Interpret the Poem
A great way to interpret the poem is to compare its themes to an image or painting. This way, you can visualize the poem’s message and identify its different facets. If done correctly, this method can provide you with an even deeper understanding of the poem’s true meaning.
Creating Your Thesis Statement
Having read and analyzed the poem, it is time to develop your thesis statement. This is the statement that outlines your analysis and interpretation of the poem. A strong thesis statement should concisely sum up the poem’s main idea and your interpretation of it. It should also steer clear of being too subjective or judgmental.
Proofreading and Editing
After finishing your essay, it is essential to proofread and edit it to refine it further. You may want to read the essay out loud to identify any grammatical errors or inconsistencies. Furthermore, you may also want to review your essay to ensure that your argument is well-articulated and your analysis is accurate.
Arguing Your Viewpoint
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For a successful poetry essay, it is important to provide your own subjective viewpoint on the poem. Feel free to use first-person narrative and provide your opinion on a particular element of the poem. This can help to create a sense of connection between the reader and the poem, as well as adding emotional triggers to your essay.
Using the Active Voice
Another key rule to consider when writing a poetry essay is to give preference to the active voice over the passive voice when expressing your ideas. This will enhance the clarity of your essay and make it easier for the reader to understand your analysis. Using the active voice will help to make your argument more convincing, as readers can clearly understand how and why you arrived at a certain conclusion.
Expanding on the Topic
Evaluating the poem’s context.
In order to get the most out of your poetry essay, you should consider researching and evaluating the poem’s context. This includes understanding the poet’s biography, their motivations for writing the poem, and any political or social movements that the poem may have been influenced by. By taking the poem’s context into account, you can gain an even better insight into the work and develop an even more thorough interpretation of the poem.
Exploring Different Perspectives
When writing your essay, it can be helpful to explore different non-academic perspectives that can help give you a more comprehensive understanding of the poem. Engaging with other interpretations and opinions can help you to get an even better idea of what the poem is trying to say. Additionally, it can also provide you with insight into the cultural significance of the poem.
Considering the Poem’s Aesthetic Elements
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When analyzing a poem, it is important to consider the poem’s aesthetic elements, such as its sound, rhythm, and meter. These aspects of a poem often convey the poem’s true meaning and can provide deeper insight into the poem’s themes and ideas. Additionally, they can also help you to better identify and convey the poem’s effect on the reader.
Incorporating Relevant Data
To further bolster your argument and make your essay more convincing, you may also want to cite relevant data and sources. This includes any papers or studies on the poem, as well as any quotes from experts on the poem. By including this data, your essay will appear more credible and will be more likely to convince your reader.
Adding Your Own Insights and Analysis
The final step to writing your poetry essay is to include your own insights and analysis. This is important for providing your essay with its unique voice and is essential for providing a unique argument. Using your knowledge of the poem, provide the reader with a summary of your own ideas and opinions on the poem. By doing so, you can make your essay more relatable and engaging to the reader.
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Minnie Walters
Minnie Walters is a passionate writer and lover of poetry. She has a deep knowledge and appreciation for the work of famous poets such as William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and many more. She hopes you will also fall in love with poetry!
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Poetry Analysis Essay Guide: Structure, Examples, and Writing Tips
Updated 26 Jul 2024
With its intricate language and captivating imagery, poetry has the remarkable ability to touch the depths of our emotions and provoke reflections. As readers, we often find ourselves captivated by the beauty and depth of a poem, but when tasked with analyzing and interpreting its layers of meaning, we may feel overwhelmed.
This blog post is your full poem analysis essay guide — you will get valuable insights and practical tips to navigate the intricate world of poetry analysis.
What is a poetry analysis essay? Quick explanation
A poetry analysis examines and interprets a poem to understand its meaning, themes, structure, language, and literary devices used by the poet. It seeks to go beyond the surface level and delve into the poem's complexities and nuances, uncovering its intentions, symbolism, and the overall effect created through the choice of words, imagery, rhythm, and other literary devices.
An analysis can change how you view the poem and help you see a deeper meaning, which helps to develop a greater appreciation for the artistry of poetry. To conduct a poetry analysis essay, you must engage with the poem on multiple levels, exploring its themes, emotions, and ideas.
How to choose a topic for a poetry analysis essay?
When choosing a poetry analysis essay topic, you should start by reading various poems and selecting one that captures your interest. Look for poems that resonate with you emotionally or intellectually or have themes or elements you find intriguing.
You can also look at its complexity and depth: a poem with multiple layers of meaning, rich imagery, and intricate language can provide ample material for analysis. Avoid choosing too simplistic or straightforward poems, as they may limit the depth of analysis.
Then, consider the thematic poem elements. Does it explore love, nature, identity, death, or social issues? Choose the one that addresses themes you find compelling or relevant, as it will make the analysis more engaging.
Remember, the topic you choose should be one that you feel passionate about, and that allows for a thorough and insightful analysis. It should offer enough material for exploration and interpretation, enabling you to delve into the poem's nuances and uncover deeper layers of meaning.
Poetry analysis essay outline with examples
An outline should include various sections to ensure a comprehensive and organized analysis — we added key rules and poetry analysis essay examples to guide you.
Introduction
The introduction sets the tone for the essay and provides the necessary context. It introduces the poem and the poet, establishes the focus of the analysis, and presents the thesis statement.
Include the following:
- Provide the title, poet's name, and publication date.
- Add brief background information about the poet and the poem's context.
- State your main argument or poem interpretation.
Poem analysis essay example :
‘Robert Frost's poem 'The Road Not Taken,' published in 1916, is a widely celebrated piece of American literature. In this poem, Frost explores the theme of choices and their lifelong impact. Closely examining the poem's language, symbolism, and narrative perspective makes it clear that 'The Road Not Taken' challenges the notion of individualism and invites a reconsideration of the conventional interpretation.’
Poem summary
A summary of the poetry analysis essay provides a concise overview of its content and structure. It helps the reader grasp the key elements of the poem before delving into the analysis. You need to:
- Summarize the content and structure of the poem.
- Highlight key events, images, or ideas presented in the poem.
'The Road Not Taken' is a narrative poem consisting of four stanzas with a rhyming scheme of ABAAB. The speaker reflects on a pivotal moment in their life when faced with two diverging paths in a yellow wood. They ultimately choose the less traveled road, which proves to have a profound impact on their life journey."
Analysis of poetic devices
Analyzing poetic devices helps uncover the poet's intentional choices, which deepen the understanding of the themes, emotions, and overall impact on the reader. You need to:
- Identify and analyze the literary devices.
- Discuss their effects on the poem's meaning and tone.
- Explore how the devices contribute to the overall poetic experience.
Metaphor: Frost uses the metaphor of the roads to symbolize life choices. By describing the two paths as 'diverged in a yellow wood,' he invites readers to consider the paths as representative of life's diverging opportunities. The metaphor emphasizes the significance of decision-making and the uncertainty that accompanies it.
Analysis of themes
By analyzing how themes are developed and conveyed, the essay reveals the poem's complexities and invites readers to engage with its deeper layers of meaning.
Make sure you complete the following:
- Identify and explore the central poem themes.
- Analyze how these themes are developed and conveyed throughout the poem.
- Provide evidence to support your analysis.
Individualism vs. Conformity: Frost challenges the conventional interpretation of the poem as a celebration of individualism. Instead, he suggests that both paths were equally worn, implying that choices often appear more significant in retrospect. The poem raises questions about the role of individual agency and the influence of societal expectations in decision-making.
If you have ever worked on other types of analysis, like a literary analysis essay, you know that the conclusion needs to summarize the main points and findings. It reinforces the thesis statement and restates the significance of the analysis. Your job is to:
- Recapitulate the analyzed poem's central themes, literary devices, and elements.
- Restate the thesis statement or main argument and emphasize how the analysis has supported and illuminated it.
- Discuss the broader significance of the poem and its analysis.
In conclusion, John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" transports us to a realm where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. Through his masterful use of vivid imagery, melodic language, and introspective musings, Keats invites us to contemplate the ephemeral nature of life and the solace that art can offer.
Poetry analysis essay: full guide
While poetry analysis is essential, some students also get asked to conduct a literature review. You only need to shoot ‘ write my literature review ’ to get professional assistance and learn more. In this section, we will review key things you must include in your poem analysis essay.
By analyzing the title of a poem, you can gain insights into the poet's intentions, thematic focus, and overall tone and atmosphere. It helps create a deeper exploration of the poem's content and enhances your understanding of its artistic and emotional impact.
- Consider the literal meaning. Start by examining the literal meaning of the title. Look for any keywords, phrases, or references that stand out. Consider the denotative meaning of these words and how they relate to the subject matter or themes you might expect to find in the poem.
- Look for symbolism. Titles often carry symbolic or metaphorical significance. Consider whether the title has a deeper symbolic meaning beyond its literal interpretation. Look for potential connections between the title and the content or themes of the poem.
- Examine word choice and connotations. Pay attention to the specific words chosen for the title. Consider their connotations and the associations they evoke. Analyze how these words contribute to the poem's tone, mood, or overall atmosphere. Reflect on whether the title reflects a positive, negative, ambiguous, or ironic tone.
- Explore multiple interpretations. Titles can be open to interpretation, allowing for multiple layers of meaning. Consider different interpretations of the title and how they align with your initial understanding of the piece. Reflect on how these interpretations influence your overall analysis and understanding of the poem.
- Reflect on the poet's intention.
- Consider the poet's intention in choosing the title. Reflect on whether the title serves to summarize, encapsulate, or add complexity to the poem's themes or ideas. Analyze how the title may reflect the poet's artistic vision or provide a clue to their intended message.
- Compare with the ending. Sometimes, the title of a poem gains additional significance or takes on new meaning when compared with the poem's ending. Analyze the relationship between the title and the final lines of the poem. Reflect on whether the title is reaffirmed, challenged, or transformed by the poem's conclusion.
While conducting poetry analysis essays, analyzing a poem's structure is a must. Here are questions that will guide you:
- Determine the specific form of the poem. Is it a sonnet, a haiku, a ballad, or a free verse?
- Are the lengths of the lines and stanzas consistent or vary throughout the poem? Reflect on how these breaks and variations contribute to the poem's rhythm, pacing, and overall effect.
- Does the poem follow a specific rhyme scheme (such as AABB, ABAB, or ABBA), or if it lacks a regular rhyme pattern?
- Are there any repeated words, phrases, or entire lines? Reflect on why the poet employs repetition and how it contributes to the overall meaning or effect of the poem.
- How does punctuation affect the flow and interpretation of the piece? Does the poet use punctuation to create pauses, emphasize certain words or phrases, or convey a specific tone or mood?
- Consider how the structure relates to its content and themes. Does the form enhance or challenge the poem's meaning? Analyze whether there is harmony or tension between the form and the subject matter and how this contributes to the poem's overall effect.
Tone and intonation of the poetry
By paying attention to the tone and intonation, you can gain insights into the poet's attitude, mood, and overall atmosphere. To analyze the tone and intonation in your poem analysis essay, read it multiple times, immersing yourself in the language and imagery used. Consider the following aspects:
Word choice. Look for words with strong connotations that evoke particular emotions or create a specific mood. Consider whether the words used convey a sense of joy, sadness, anger, or contemplation.
Figurative language. Analyze the poem's figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, and personification. Consider how these devices contribute to the tone and intonation. For example, using vivid metaphors may create a tone of intensity or heightened emotion, while gentle similes may convey a more tender or reflective tone.
Sentence structure and syntax. Note whether the sentences are long or short, fragmented or flowing. Consider how the poet's choices in sentence structure and syntax influence the tone and rhythm of the poem. Short, abrupt sentences may create a sense of urgency or tension, while longer, flowing sentences may convey a more contemplative or relaxed tone.
Analyzing the purpose of a poem involves examining the poet's intentions, motivations, and the message they seek to convey through their work.
- Reflect on the poet's background, including their life experiences, cultural influences, and literary tradition. Consider the historical, social, or political context in which the poem was written. Analyze how these factors may have shaped the poet's purpose and influenced their choice of subject matter or themes.
- Identify the main themes or ideas explored in the poem. Themes can range from love, nature, identity, social justice, mortality, or any other subject that the poet engages with. Reflect on the poet's purpose in addressing these themes and how they relate to the larger human experience or the poet's personal beliefs.
- Consider how literary devices such as metaphors, similes, symbolism, or allusion contribute to the poem's purpose. Reflect on how they enhance the meaning, create vivid imagery, or add layers of depth to the poet's message.
- Reflect on the impact the poem has on you as a reader. Analyze how the poet's purpose is conveyed through the emotional, intellectual, or sensory responses evoked by the poem. You can reflect on whether the poem achieves its purpose in engaging, enlightening, or transforming the reader's understanding or perspective.
- Based on your analysis, formulate your interpretation of the poet's purpose. Just like with the critical analysis essay example, engage with the text and connect your findings to your own experiences, knowledge, or beliefs. It’s a good idea to support your interpretation with evidence from the poem, highlighting specific lines, images, or techniques that contribute to the poet's purpose.
Language and imagery
Analyzing the language and imagery of poetry involves closely examining the poet's use of language, vivid descriptions, and literary devices to create a rich sensory experience for the reader.
- Imagery refers to sensory language that creates vivid mental images in the reader's mind. Pay attention to the visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory images created by the poet.
- Symbols are objects, images, or actions representing deeper meanings beyond their literal interpretation. Analyze the symbols used in the poem and consider their significance and potential interpretations.
- Poetic devices are techniques poets use to enhance their work's meaning, sound, and musicality. Analyze the following poetic devices and their impact on the poem:
Metaphor: Identify comparisons between two seemingly unrelated things without using "like" or "as."
Sample: "Her laughter was a melody that danced through the air."
Simile: Notice comparisons that use "like" or "as" to liken one thing to another.
Sample: "His smile shone like the sun on a summer's day."
Personification: Look for instances where non-human objects or abstract concepts are given human qualities or characteristics.
Sample: "The wind whispered secrets through the trees."
Alliteration: Identify the repetition of consonant sounds, particularly at the beginning of words.
Sample: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
Assonance: Notice the repetition of vowel sounds within words.
Sample: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."
Onomatopoeia: Identify words that imitate or resemble the sounds they describe.
Sample: "The sizzle of the frying pan filled the kitchen."
Analyzing the music of a poem involves examining the poet's use of sound patterns, rhythm, meter, and other musical elements to create a harmonious and melodic effect.
Poem's meter. Meter refers to the rhythmic pattern created by stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Analyzing it helps you understand the poem's musical structure and its effect on the reader.
Rhyme and rhyme scheme. Examine the poem's use of rhyme, including end rhymes (rhyming words at the end of lines) and internal rhymes (rhyming words within lines). Analyzing rhyme and rhyme schemes provides insights into the poem's musicality and the poet's deliberate choices.
Sound devices . Look for sound devices employed by the poet to create musical effects, including alliteration, assonance, and consonance.
Writing poetry analysis essay: key points
- Read the poem multiple times to grasp its meaning and gather initial impressions.
- Analyze the title and consider its significance in the poem's themes and content.
- Examining poetry analysis structure, including its stanzas, lines, and rhyme scheme.
- Analyze the language and imagery used, noting any literary devices the poet employs.
- Consider the tone and mood of the piece of poetry and how they contribute to its overall message.
- Reflect on the purpose of the poem and the poet's intended audience.
- Formulate a clear thesis statement that presents your interpretation or analysis.
- Develop the body paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect.
- Support your analysis with evidence from the work, including quotes and examples.
- Explain the significance of your findings and how they contribute to the overall understanding of the poem.
- Conclude your paper by summarizing your main points and reflecting thoughtfully on the poem's impact or significance.
Poetry analysis essay template
I. Introduction
- Hook: Begin with an attention-grabbing statement or question.
- Context: Provide brief background information about the poet and the poem.
- Thesis statement: State your main argument or interpretation.
II. Analysis of Title
- Analyze the title's significance and possible meanings.
- Discuss how the title sets the tone or introduces key themes.
III. Analysis of Structure
- Examine the poem's structure, including stanzas, lines, and rhyme scheme.
- Analyze the impact of the structure on the poem's meaning or rhythm.
IV. Analysis of Language and Imagery
- Identify and analyze literary devices used in the poem (e.g., metaphors, similes, personification).
- Discuss the effectiveness of the poet's language in conveying the poem's themes or emotions.
- Analyze the vividness and impact of the poem's imagery.
V. Analysis of Tone and Mood
- Identify the piece's overall tone (e.g., joyful, melancholic, contemplative).
- Discuss how the poet's tone contributes to the reader's understanding or emotional response.
- Analyze the mood created by the poem's language and imagery.
VI. Analysis of Themes and Meaning
- Identify the central themes.
- Analyze how the poet develops and conveys these themes through various poetic elements.
- Discuss the deeper meaning or message conveyed by the poem.
VII. Conclusion
- Summarize the main points discussed in the essay.
- Restate the thesis statement and its significance.
- Provide a final reflection on the poem's impact or enduring relevance.
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Tips on how to write a poetry analysis essay
Embrace your emotional response. Poetry often evokes strong emotions. Don't shy away from expressing your personal feelings and reactions. Your emotional response can be a valuable entry point for deeper analysis.
Engage with the poet's background. Research the poet's life, experiences, and historical context. Understanding the poet's background can illuminate the poem's inspiration and add depth to your analysis.
Draw connections to other works. Compare the poem with other works by the same poet or poets from the same literary movement. Identifying common themes and stylistic choices can enrich your interpretation.
Visualize the poem. Create a visual representation of the imagery and structure. Sketching or visual aids can help you better understand the poem's patterns and symbolism.
Collaborate with peers. Discuss the piece of poetry with classmates or friends and exchange ideas. Engaging in group discussions can offer fresh perspectives and lead to new insights.
Apply real-life experiences. Relate the themes or messages of the poem to real-life situations or historical events. This approach can make the poem's meaning more relatable and relevant.
Challenge conventions. Feel free to challenge conventional interpretations or literary analysis norms. A fresh perspective can lead to a more unique and compelling essay.
In conclusion
By carefully examining the poem's structure, language, imagery, and themes, we unlock its secrets and profoundly understand the poet's intentions. Writing a poetry analysis essay allows us to explore our interpretations, connect with the poet's voice, and engage with the timeless and universal truths that poetry conveys.
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Steven Robinson is an academic writing expert with a degree in English literature. His expertise, patient approach, and support empower students to express ideas clearly. On EduBirdie's blog, he provides valuable writing guides on essays, research papers, and other intriguing topics. Enjoys chess in free time.
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Introduction
You’ve been assigned a literary analysis paper—what does that even mean? Is it like a book report that you used to write in high school? Well, not really.
A literary analysis essay asks you to make an original argument about a poem, play, or work of fiction and support that argument with research and evidence from your careful reading of the text.
It can take many forms, such as a close reading of a text, critiquing the text through a particular literary theory, comparing one text to another, or criticizing another critic’s interpretation of the text. While there are many ways to structure a literary essay, writing this kind of essay follows generally follows a similar process for everyone
Crafting a good literary analysis essay begins with good close reading of the text, in which you have kept notes and observations as you read. This will help you with the first step, which is selecting a topic to write about—what jumped out as you read, what are you genuinely interested in? The next step is to focus your topic, developing it into an argument—why is this subject or observation important? Why should your reader care about it as much as you do? The third step is to gather evidence to support your argument, for literary analysis, support comes in the form of evidence from the text and from your research on what other literary critics have said about your topic. Only after you have performed these steps, are you ready to begin actually writing your essay.
Writing a Literary Analysis Essay
How to create a topic and conduct research:.
Writing an Analysis of a Poem, Story, or Play
If you are taking a literature course, it is important that you know how to write an analysis—sometimes called an interpretation or a literary analysis or a critical reading or a critical analysis—of a story, a poem, and a play. Your instructor will probably assign such an analysis as part of the course assessment. On your mid-term or final exam, you might have to write an analysis of one or more of the poems and/or stories on your reading list. Or the dreaded “sight poem or story” might appear on an exam, a work that is not on the reading list, that you have not read before, but one your instructor includes on the exam to examine your ability to apply the active reading skills you have learned in class to produce, independently, an effective literary analysis.You might be asked to write instead or, or in addition to an analysis of a literary work, a more sophisticated essay in which you compare and contrast the protagonists of two stories, or the use of form and metaphor in two poems, or the tragic heroes in two plays.
You might learn some literary theory in your course and be asked to apply theory—feminist, Marxist, reader-response, psychoanalytic, new historicist, for example—to one or more of the works on your reading list. But the seminal assignment in a literature course is the analysis of the single poem, story, novel, or play, and, even if you do not have to complete this assignment specifically, it will form the basis of most of the other writing assignments you will be required to undertake in your literature class. There are several ways of structuring a literary analysis, and your instructor might issue specific instructions on how he or she wants this assignment done. The method presented here might not be identical to the one your instructor wants you to follow, but it will be easy enough to modify, if your instructor expects something a bit different, and it is a good default method, if your instructor does not issue more specific guidelines.You want to begin your analysis with a paragraph that provides the context of the work you are analyzing and a brief account of what you believe to be the poem or story or play’s main theme. At a minimum, your account of the work’s context will include the name of the author, the title of the work, its genre, and the date and place of publication. If there is an important biographical or historical context to the work, you should include that, as well.Try to express the work’s theme in one or two sentences. Theme, you will recall, is that insight into human experience the author offers to readers, usually revealed as the content, the drama, the plot of the poem, story, or play unfolds and the characters interact. Assessing theme can be a complex task. Authors usually show the theme; they don’t tell it. They rarely say, at the end of the story, words to this effect: “and the moral of my story is…” They tell their story, develop their characters, provide some kind of conflict—and from all of this theme emerges. Because identifying theme can be challenging and subjective, it is often a good idea to work through the rest of the analysis, then return to the beginning and assess theme in light of your analysis of the work’s other literary elements.Here is a good example of an introductory paragraph from Ben’s analysis of William Butler Yeats’ poem, “Among School Children.”
“Among School Children” was published in Yeats’ 1928 collection of poems The Tower. It was inspired by a visit Yeats made in 1926 to school in Waterford, an official visit in his capacity as a senator of the Irish Free State. In the course of the tour, Yeats reflects upon his own youth and the experiences that shaped the “sixty-year old, smiling public man” (line 8) he has become. Through his reflection, the theme of the poem emerges: a life has meaning when connections among apparently disparate experiences are forged into a unified whole.
In the body of your literature analysis, you want to guide your readers through a tour of the poem, story, or play, pausing along the way to comment on, analyze, interpret, and explain key incidents, descriptions, dialogue, symbols, the writer’s use of figurative language—any of the elements of literature that are relevant to a sound analysis of this particular work. Your main goal is to explain how the elements of literature work to elucidate, augment, and develop the theme. The elements of literature are common across genres: a story, a narrative poem, and a play all have a plot and characters. But certain genres privilege certain literary elements. In a poem, for example, form, imagery and metaphor might be especially important; in a story, setting and point-of-view might be more important than they are in a poem; in a play, dialogue, stage directions, lighting serve functions rarely relevant in the analysis of a story or poem.
The length of the body of an analysis of a literary work will usually depend upon the length of work being analyzed—the longer the work, the longer the analysis—though your instructor will likely establish a word limit for this assignment. Make certain that you do not simply paraphrase the plot of the story or play or the content of the poem. This is a common weakness in student literary analyses, especially when the analysis is of a poem or a play.
Here is a good example of two body paragraphs from Amelia’s analysis of “Araby” by James Joyce.
Within the story’s first few paragraphs occur several religious references which will accumulate as the story progresses. The narrator is a student at the Christian Brothers’ School; the former tenant of his house was a priest; he left behind books called The Abbot and The Devout Communicant. Near the end of the story’s second paragraph the narrator describes a “central apple tree” in the garden, under which is “the late tenant’s rusty bicycle pump.” We may begin to suspect the tree symbolizes the apple tree in the Garden of Eden and the bicycle pump, the snake which corrupted Eve, a stretch, perhaps, until Joyce’s fall-of-innocence theme becomes more apparent.
The narrator must continue to help his aunt with her errands, but, even when he is so occupied, his mind is on Mangan’s sister, as he tries to sort out his feelings for her. Here Joyce provides vivid insight into the mind of an adolescent boy at once elated and bewildered by his first crush. He wants to tell her of his “confused adoration,” but he does not know if he will ever have the chance. Joyce’s description of the pleasant tension consuming the narrator is conveyed in a striking simile, which continues to develop the narrator’s character, while echoing the religious imagery, so important to the story’s theme: “But my body was like a harp, and her words and gestures were like fingers, running along the wires.”
The concluding paragraph of your analysis should realize two goals. First, it should present your own opinion on the quality of the poem or story or play about which you have been writing. And, second, it should comment on the current relevance of the work. You should certainly comment on the enduring social relevance of the work you are explicating. You may comment, though you should never be obliged to do so, on the personal relevance of the work. Here is the concluding paragraph from Dao-Ming’s analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
First performed in 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest has been made into a film, as recently as 2002 and is regularly revived by professional and amateur theatre companies. It endures not only because of the comic brilliance of its characters and their dialogue, but also because its satire still resonates with contemporary audiences. I am still amazed that I see in my own Asian mother a shadow of Lady Bracknell, with her obsession with finding for her daughter a husband who will maintain, if not, ideally, increase the family’s social status. We might like to think we are more liberated and socially sophisticated than our Victorian ancestors, but the starlets and eligible bachelors who star in current reality television programs illustrate the extent to which superficial concerns still influence decisions about love and even marriage. Even now, we can turn to Oscar Wilde to help us understand and laugh at those who are earnest in name only.
Dao-Ming’s conclusion is brief, but she does manage to praise the play, reaffirm its main theme, and explain its enduring appeal. And note how her last sentence cleverly establishes that sense of closure that is also a feature of an effective analysis.
You may, of course, modify the template that is presented here. Your instructor might favour a somewhat different approach to literary analysis. Its essence, though, will be your understanding and interpretation of the theme of the poem, story, or play and the skill with which the author shapes the elements of literature—plot, character, form, diction, setting, point of view—to support the theme.
Academic Writing Tips : How to Write a Literary Analysis Paper. Authored by: eHow. Located at: https://youtu.be/8adKfLwIrVk. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license
BC Open Textbooks: English Literature Victorians and Moderns: https://opentextbc.ca/englishliterature/back-matter/appendix-5-writing-an-analysis-of-a-poem-story-and-play/
Literary Analysis
The challenges of writing about english literature.
Writing begins with the act of reading . While this statement is true for most college papers, strong English papers tend to be the product of highly attentive reading (and rereading). When your instructors ask you to do a “close reading,” they are asking you to read not only for content, but also for structures and patterns. When you perform a close reading, then, you observe how form and content interact. In some cases, form reinforces content: for example, in John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 14, where the speaker invites God’s “force” “to break, blow, burn and make [him] new.” Here, the stressed monosyllables of the verbs “break,” “blow” and “burn” evoke aurally the force that the speaker invites from God. In other cases, form raises questions about content: for example, a repeated denial of guilt will likely raise questions about the speaker’s professed innocence. When you close read, take an inductive approach. Start by observing particular details in the text, such as a repeated image or word, an unexpected development, or even a contradiction. Often, a detail–such as a repeated image–can help you to identify a question about the text that warrants further examination. So annotate details that strike you as you read. Some of those details will eventually help you to work towards a thesis. And don’t worry if a detail seems trivial. If you can make a case about how an apparently trivial detail reveals something significant about the text, then your paper will have a thought-provoking thesis to argue.
Common Types of English Papers Many assignments will ask you to analyze a single text. Others, however, will ask you to read two or more texts in relation to each other, or to consider a text in light of claims made by other scholars and critics. For most assignments, close reading will be central to your paper. While some assignment guidelines will suggest topics and spell out expectations in detail, others will offer little more than a page limit. Approaching the writing process in the absence of assigned topics can be daunting, but remember that you have resources: in section, you will probably have encountered some examples of close reading; in lecture, you will have encountered some of the course’s central questions and claims. The paper is a chance for you to extend a claim offered in lecture, or to analyze a passage neglected in lecture. In either case, your analysis should do more than recapitulate claims aired in lecture and section. Because different instructors have different goals for an assignment, you should always ask your professor or TF if you have questions. These general guidelines should apply in most cases:
- A close reading of a single text: Depending on the length of the text, you will need to be more or less selective about what you choose to consider. In the case of a sonnet, you will probably have enough room to analyze the text more thoroughly than you would in the case of a novel, for example, though even here you will probably not analyze every single detail. By contrast, in the case of a novel, you might analyze a repeated scene, image, or object (for example, scenes of train travel, images of decay, or objects such as or typewriters). Alternately, you might analyze a perplexing scene (such as a novel’s ending, albeit probably in relation to an earlier moment in the novel). But even when analyzing shorter works, you will need to be selective. Although you might notice numerous interesting details as you read, not all of those details will help you to organize a focused argument about the text. For example, if you are focusing on depictions of sensory experience in Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,” you probably do not need to analyze the image of a homeless Ruth in stanza 7, unless this image helps you to develop your case about sensory experience in the poem.
- A theoretically-informed close reading. In some courses, you will be asked to analyze a poem, a play, or a novel by using a critical theory (psychoanalytic, postcolonial, gender, etc). For example, you might use Kristeva’s theory of abjection to analyze mother-daughter relations in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. Critical theories provide focus for your analysis; if “abjection” is the guiding concept for your paper, you should focus on the scenes in the novel that are most relevant to the concept.
- A historically-informed close reading. In courses with a historicist orientation, you might use less self-consciously literary documents, such as newspapers or devotional manuals, to develop your analysis of a literary work. For example, to analyze how Robinson Crusoe makes sense of his island experiences, you might use Puritan tracts that narrate events in terms of how God organizes them. The tracts could help you to show not only how Robinson Crusoe draws on Puritan narrative conventions, but also—more significantly—how the novel revises those conventions.
- A comparison of two texts When analyzing two texts, you might look for unexpected contrasts between apparently similar texts, or unexpected similarities between apparently dissimilar texts, or for how one text revises or transforms the other. Keep in mind that not all of the similarities, differences, and transformations you identify will be relevant to an argument about the relationship between the two texts. As you work towards a thesis, you will need to decide which of those similarities, differences, or transformations to focus on. Moreover, unless instructed otherwise, you do not need to allot equal space to each text (unless this 50/50 allocation serves your thesis well, of course). Often you will find that one text helps to develop your analysis of another text. For example, you might analyze the transformation of Ariel’s song from The Tempest in T. S. Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land. Insofar as this analysis is interested in the afterlife of Ariel’s song in a later poem, you would likely allot more space to analyzing allusions to Ariel’s song in The Waste Land (after initially establishing the song’s significance in Shakespeare’s play, of course).
- A response paper A response paper is a great opportunity to practice your close reading skills without having to develop an entire argument. In most cases, a solid approach is to select a rich passage that rewards analysis (for example, one that depicts an important scene or a recurring image) and close read it. While response papers are a flexible genre, they are not invitations for impressionistic accounts of whether you liked the work or a particular character. Instead, you might use your close reading to raise a question about the text—to open up further investigation, rather than to supply a solution.
- A research paper. In most cases, you will receive guidance from the professor on the scope of the research paper. It is likely that you will be expected to consult sources other than the assigned readings. Hollis is your best bet for book titles, and the MLA bibliography (available through e-resources) for articles. When reading articles, make sure that they have been peer reviewed; you might also ask your TF to recommend reputable journals in the field.
Harvard College Writing Program: https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/bg_writing_english.pdf
In the same way that we talk with our friends about the latest episode of Game of Thrones or newest Marvel movie, scholars communicate their ideas and interpretations of literature through written literary analysis essays. Literary analysis essays make us better readers of literature.
Only through careful reading and well-argued analysis can we reach new understandings and interpretations of texts that are sometimes hundreds of years old. Literary analysis brings new meaning and can shed new light on texts. Building from careful reading and selecting a topic that you are genuinely interested in, your argument supports how you read and understand a text. Using examples from the text you are discussing in the form of textual evidence further supports your reading. Well-researched literary analysis also includes information about what other scholars have written about a specific text or topic.
Literary analysis helps us to refine our ideas, question what we think we know, and often generates new knowledge about literature. Literary analysis essays allow you to discuss your own interpretation of a given text through careful examination of the choices the original author made in the text.
ENG134 – Literary Genres Copyright © by The American Women's College and Jessica Egan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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How to Write a Poem Analysis: 6 Steps for Students and New Reviewers
Even if you do not plan on learning how to write a poem analysis essay, building a routine of analysis into your reading can deepen your appreciation.
Elliot Riley
Emily Butler is a librarian and writer. You can discover more of their literary opinions on their YouTube channel, youtube.com/emilybutler, and follow them on Twitter @EmilyFButler1.
View All posts by Elliot Riley
If you’re a student or new reviewer first approaching the task, you may be wondering how to write a poem analysis. Fortunately, there are concrete steps you can take to analyze a poem or collection of poetry. Even if you do not plan on learning how to write a poem analysis essay, building a routine of analysis into your poetry reading can deepen your appreciation for the genre.
Poems have many layers of meaning. A particularly beautiful and well-crafted poem only becomes more enjoyable the more you increase your understanding of the decisions the poet made to craft it. The following steps outline the kinds of questions to ask yourself while writing a poem analysis.
Step 1: Read the Poem Aloud
Poetry has a long oral history. Poets often utilize sound techniques which are easier to detect when reading the poem aloud. Read it once without an analytical focus. Simply notice how you respond to the poem. Begin by asking yourself broad, simple questions such as: How did this make me feel? What do I think the poet is trying to say?
Jot some notes down about your initial impression. Analyzing a poem is a recursive process. You will read the poem several times, and these first impressions can provide interesting clues for what to focus on in your analysis.
Step 2: Identify the Type of Poem
There are several different types of poems, but all poems fall into three overarching categories: free verse, formal verse, and prose poems. Formal poetry itself comes in many more specific forms. Check out A Beginner’s Guide to Different Types of Poems.
There are certain analytical questions you can ask yourself depending on the type of the poem you’re reading. If this is a prose poem, ask yourself, what exactly makes this piece of writing a poem, as opposed to a short piece of prose? Recognizing a specific poetic form allows you to contextualize the poem in history. For example, if you’re reading a sonnet, consider how the poem you’re analyzing fits with or fights against the conventions of sonnets.
Step 3: Mark It Up
There is no one correct way to mark up a poem. You can underline lines which stand out to you. You can take notes in the margins identifying poetic techniques as you see them. You can scan the poem, a method of marking stressed and unstressed syllables. You can circle words which seem important or stand out as surprising.
If you are reviewing an entire poetry collection, it’s a good idea to take notes in the margins about particular motifs or themes. That way, when you are finished with your first read, you can look for ideas which appeared in multiple poems.
Step 4: Consider Poetic Techniques
Read the poem several times, considering a single poetic technique at a time. For example, free verse and formal poems use line breaks. Read through the poem once, focusing on how the poet has broken lines, and the impact of those decisions. If the poem contains stanzas, do the same for stanzas. You can repeat this process with any poetic technique: similes, metaphors, imagery, assonance, consonance, alliteration. How do these poetic techniques support, enhance, or problematize the overall message of the poem? Your observations will prove crucial when you are ready to sit down and write a poem analysis.
Step 5: Pay Attention to the Turn(s)
In poetry, the term “volta,” sometimes called a “turn,” is a shift in the tone, meaning, or style of a poem. This is a common enough poetic technique that it warrants its own step in the analytic process. Nearly every sonnet contains a turn in the final two lines of the poem, but countless other types of poems contain some sort of shift.
Voltas are so common that if the poem you’re reading does not contain a volta, that is a decision worth incorporating into a poem analysis. You can always ask yourself whether or not a poem contains a turn, and how this impacts the poem overall. Focus on the final lines of a poem, since that is where the volta typically appears.
Step 6: Make an Argument
If you are reviewing an entire poetry collection you can use the above steps for each poem. Then consider the way that the poet has chosen to order the poems within the collection. Revisit the first and last poems, asking yourself how they might function as a kind of introduction and conclusion to the collection.
As with any other essay in the realm of literature, in order to write a poem analysis essay, you should formulate an argument and back it up with evidence. Different readers can have opposing ideas about how a poem or collection of poetry operates, and that’s okay, as long as both readers have evidence to support their claims. How do you back up your claims with evidence? Refer to your notes, especially your observations of poetic techniques. Whenever necessary, quote exact lines or stanzas and use them to support your argument.
Step 7: Consider the Audience
Writing a book review of a poetry collection is considerably different from writing an essay about it. That is because book reviews serve a different purpose than essays do. Individual readers, book buyers, and librarians read reviews in order to decide whether or not to purchase a book.
Ask yourself: what kind of reader might enjoy this collection? It’s always a good idea to compare and contrast to other collections of poetry. You can recommend the poetry collection you’re reviewing to fans of another poet, for example.
Book reviews tend to be considerably shorter than essays, often as short as two or three hundred words. For that reason, it’s important to be concise. Unlike reviewing fiction or nonfiction, you do not exactly need to “summarize” a poetry collection. Most poetry collections cannot be summarized the way that a novel or nonfiction book can. Instead, list some of the central thematic concerns of the collection and describe the poetic style. Tell your readers what kind of poems they will find in this collection. Are these prose poems, free verse, formal verse, or a combination? Are they simple, accessible poems, or complex poems with unusual syntax? Does the collection contain a lot of references?
In a book review, you will want to quote a line or two which represents some aspect of the poetry collection as a whole. Since you do not have a lot of space, choose something representative of the poet’s style. This will give readers an idea of whether or not this collection appeals to them. For more information about writing book reviews, check out How To Write a Book Review: Six Steps to Take .
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How to Write a Poetry Analysis Essay: Template, Topic, Sample
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Samuel Gorbold
Poetry analysis is simply the process of reviewing the multiple artistic, functional, and structural pieces that make up a poem. Normally, this review is conducted and recorded within an analytical essay . This type of essay writing requires one to take a deeper look at both the choices that a poet made and the effects of those choices. In essence, these essays require an in-depth analysis of all parts that were used to form a work of poetry. Read the details from our essay writing service .
What Is A Poetry Analysis?
From an academic literary point of view, knowing the steps to follow to understand how to analyze poetry is essential. All kinds of jobs are usually found on the Internet, from relatively informal web articles to pedagogical documents in indexed journals. All of them typically coincide on one point: poems are a type of lyrical expression structured in verses. From that we can derive what a poem analysis essay should be about.
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Therefore, when you have chosen a poem to analyze, it is crucial to review definitions such as stanza, lyrical object, rhyme, synalepha, syneresis, among others. In this way, poems can be classified, interpreted, and "measured." Of course, without pretending to form unanimous criteria, since a stylized narrative emerged from inspiration always has a tremendous subjective load for whoever reads it. A good poem analysis essay or any poetry analysis in general leaves some room for interpretation. It's better not to deal in absolutes which you can see in all poem analysis essay examples.
Poetry Analysis Essay Subject Matter
The final element to writing a poetry analysis essay is a part of the composition dedicated to the poems subject matter. This can be analyzed during the reader’s quest to determine the theme, tone, mood, and poems meaning. The subject matter – and the thematic elements that support the intended message behind the subject – is often an interpretive minefield. Often, people have different ideas about what a poet is trying to say by their use of a subject, so unless the message is implicitly stated, it is best to state multiple possibilities about what the poet may have meant and included evidence for these theories. As the essay is to be an analysis, opinions are to be avoided in favor of facts and conjectures that are backed by evidence from work.
How To Choose A Topic For A Poem Analysis Essay?
A great way to choose a topic for these type of assignments is to decide on a topic that would deal with information that one is already familiar with. For example, if the choice of the poem to analyze is up to the writer, then it may be beneficial for the writer to choose a poem that he/she has encountered before. If the choice is to be made between different subject areas within a poem, then the writer could find it easier to choose to focus on writing about an area that plays to his/her strengths, so that the statements made in the essay are conveyed clearly and confidently. Such assignments may seem like a daunting writing experience at first, but if the topic, outline, and paper are composed following the steps above, the essay should turn out very well.
The analysis essay is a challenging type of assignment. Your task is not to retell poetry in prose because a lyric poem is not a transposition of some prosaic intention. Still, while embodying a particular poetic state of the artist and analyzing the lyrics, you should also be able to "enter" a similar condition. To interpret in a poem analysis essay a work means to approach the author’s intention. This can be done by following the path of the so-called "slow reading" – from the first verse to the last, considering each line of poetry, its content and form, sound, images, the logic of development of the author’s feeling or thought as a step towards solving the author’s idea.
How To Write A Poetry Analysis Essay?
In order to compose a poetry analysis essay, one must first read the poem carefully. This reading allows one to become familiar with the poem helping produce a strong literary analysis essay . It is also an opportunity to make note of the rhyme scheme (if there is one), the type of poem (limerick, ode, sonnet, lyric, haiku, free verse, etc.) and other poetic techniques that the poet used (such as enjambment, meter, end-stopped lines, figurative language, etc.). All of those elements in the poem are essential to know when one is writing such an essay because they are a part of the poem’s structure and can affect the content. It is not a bad idea to read up on these poetic terms before writing an essay, since being knowledgeable about a subject can allow one to assume a more confident tone when composing a literary analysis essay on that topic. By following the guidelines provided in this blog you will not be wondering how to write a poetry analysis assignment any longer. It is also important to follow the poem analysis essay structure. It's not paramount but it will make your poem analysis essay writing much easier.
Poetry Analysis Essay Outline
An outline for a poetry analysis essay can be very simple, as it is just a guideline for the writer to build upon as the first draft is written. When starting your introductions it would probably be best to put the essays title at the top of a page, then place a Roman numeral one (I) underneath, preceding the word "introduction." Under this, one can list brainstormed ideas for the introductory paragraph. The final portion of your poem analysis essay introduction should be dedicated to the papers thesis statement. Following the completion of that portion of the outline, one can move on to the body paragraphs of your example. Each of the Roman numerals used to label this part should denote a different subject area in respect to the poem that will be discussed in the essay. Letters under these numerals may be followed by subtopics within each subject area that are to be dealt within individual paragraphs (or sentences, if it is to be a shorter essay) within the body of the paper. At this point you are almost done with your poem analysis essay outline.
Introduction
It is necessary to add a poem’s title and author in the introduction to poetry essays. Other information, such as the date of printing, may be used. You can also include the poem’s or author’s additional details, as well as interesting facts or trivia.
Body Of Text
How to analysis poetry? When composing the main body of text, bear in mind that you must reference all the poem concepts, so add a quote to support the sentence; otherwise, the analogy would be a waste of time and will not be counted. Your comments must be explicit.
Now is the time to stand back from examining the poem’s elements and find out the poem’s general significance. It is bringing together the various aspects of the study into one key concept when writing about poetry.
What is the poet’s message, and how is it expressed, and with what emotion?
Then understand the context and how this evolves.
Is it clear from the outset, or does it progressively change as the story progresses? The last few lines of a poem can be significant, so they should be included in the poem review essay conclusion and discussed in terms of their influence on the work.
How To Analyze A Poem?
So how to analyze a poem? Commenting on a text is a way to verify what the author said and how he transmitted it, relating both concepts. You have to observe the connotations and the implicit meanings, interconnecting them with precise ideas. It is a moment when the reader establishes affinity with the text he reads, exposing his aesthetic sensitivity, articulating what the author said, the way he did it, with his subjectivity of those who analyze and comment.
When you analyze poem, the text must be coherent, resulting from the articulation of all aspects to be dealt with in the different analysis plans. Citations must appear in quotation marks. When it is not necessary to quote a complete verse or a complete sentence, you must use the sign [...] at the place where the transcription is interrupted. When it is desired to quote more than one verse, and that quote follows precisely the order of the analyzed poem, the respective verses must be separated using an oblique bar.
This is an essential step. Analyzing a poem, you need to understand the central message; the author’s primary emotion is trying to share with the poem’s recipient.
So now you can pay attention to the poet and see what information you can learn from them. Is it easy to get the speaker’s gender or age? Were there any racial or theological allusions to be found? Can we really tell whether the speaker is expressing their opinions and suggestions to the reader directly? If not, who is the poet’s character who is conveying the thoughts or messages? Your essay on poetry must include all the vital answers.
When you’ve figured out who or what the poem is about, you should go on to who or what the poem is about. Can the meaning of the poem be seen; what does the author expect from the audience? It’s pretty likely that the poet merely makes a comment or expresses themselves without expecting a reaction from the crowd.
A poem about March, for example, might be a cheerful declaration that winter is over. At the same time, it could be an intention to get somebody’s focus.
The analysis of poetic language is the most challenging part of the whole poetry essay. It has multiple openings, and the resources are very varied, so it is necessary to analyze the elements and assign them significant values.
Presenting a list of worthless poetic elements is not of great interest to the commentary of the poem. Analyzing poems, better share your images of what’s related to the topic.
Poetic Techniques
To analyse a poem successfully, you should remember the technical part of the task. If the poem has many metaphors, repetitions, or alliterations, it is in your best interests to highlight the emotional representation and expressiveness of the work you are interpreting. But don’t limit yourself to defining the style figures (for example, alliteration is the repetition of phonemes); this does not matter for the essay.
Technical Poetry Analysis Worksheet
After covering the technical aspects of a poem, it is best to learn about the poem's background. This means that one may find it beneficial to look up the poet, the date that the poem was written, and the cultural context surrounding the work. All of that information typically permits the reader a better understanding of the poem, and it seems self-explanatory that one who has an enhanced comprehension of the poem would have an easier time conducting an analysis of that poem.
Poetry Analysis Essay Tips
If you want to analyse poetry successfully, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Read the poem at least twice. This poetic analysis tip is general and applies to all text types: always read the text two times minimum. Read, in fact, as many times as necessary to understand poetry. We miss some critical points by doing just one reading, especially in poetry that expresses personal information.
- Identify the figures of speech. Another critical step is to pay attention to the figures of speech – this is precisely where you will find some information implied in the text. Pay attention to metaphors, antitheses, or any other model of speech that appears in the poem.
- Don’t let your opinion interfere with the interpretation. Precisely because it is a text with a lot of subjectivity, do not let your idea and conception of a specific theme interfere with the understanding of poetry. Always read neutrally concerning the poet’s point of view, without prejudice about the subject matter.
- Get to know the authors’ lives briefly. If you do this, you will have complementary information that will help you to interpret the poetry.
- Keep the habit of reading and try to analyze poems. Finally, keep the poetry reading habit. Reading is one of the most natural ways to get intimate with the language and its particularities.
Poetry Analysis Essay Template
1. Author and title of the poem .
2. Style : romanticism, realism, symbolism, Acmeism, sentimentalism, avant-garde, futurism, modernism, etc.
3. Genre : epigram, epitaph, elegy, ode, poem, ballad, novel in verse, song, sonnet, dedication poem, etc.
4. The history of the poem’s creation (when it was written, for what reason, to whom it was dedicated). How important is this exact poem in the poet’s biography.
5. Theme, idea, main idea .
6. The poet’s vocabulary (everyday, colloquial; bookish, neutral, journalistic).
7. Composition of the work .
- Analyze the micro-theme of each stanza. Highlight the main parts of the poetic work, show their connection (= determine the emotional drawing of the poem);
8. Description of a lyrical hero .
9. Your impressions of the work .
Poetry Analysis Essay Example
A good poem analysis essay example is an essential factor that can help you understand how to write an evaluative poetry essay. The poetry essay aims to test the ability to perceive and interpret the problems and artistic merits of the studied and independently read literary works, using the information obtained in studying the subject on the theory and history of literature. Let’s have a look at the analysis essay example of two poems.
The poem’s problem is an essential part of the poem structure and is determined by the formulation of the question in the text or the work’s subtext. This aspect of poetic work is not generally different from other literature types: the social and ethical questions are asked by the poets, and they also respond to "eternal" philosophical questions.
A poetry analysis worksheet can also be a specific set of parameters that the instructor has asked you to examine the work from. In this scenario, it is important to create a structure that will highlight the given set of instructions. An example of such a task would be "The Tyger" by William Blake. In this poem, one can examine it from the initial emerging theme examining the process of a tiger’s creation and unavoidably its end. This context lets us understand that no power other than God himself could create something as beautiful and terrifying as the tiger. However, some literary analysis essays will require you to adopt different interpretations of this subject matter. Some often compared the beauty and fear inspired by the tiger to the industrial revolution and new machinery being built at the time when Blake wrote this poem.
Another version of a poem background is that Blake explores the coexistence of good and evil and asks about the source of their existence, wondering how one creator could create both beauty and horror. Modern readers can resonate with this poem easily because the questions asked there are essential.
Sun Of The Sleepless
The author of the poem, George Byron («Sun of the Sleepless» taken as our poetry essay example), was born on January 22, 1788, in London into a titled but low-income family. The first education, from the biography of Byron, was received at a private school. Then he began to study at the classical gymnasium, the school of Dr. Gleni (there was a great desire for reading), the Harrow school. Byron wrote several poems in this school.
Metaphor is one of the linguistic, stylistic devices most often found in Byron’s lyrics; many of them indicate the poet’s peculiar style. In verse, the star illuminates the darkness that it cannot dispel. The meaning of Byron’s image: not hopelessness and bitterness of reproach, but the thought that the memory of happiness does not save, but even more "painfully" highlights the darkness.
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Appendix 5: Writing an Analysis of a Poem, Story, or Play
If you are taking a literature course, it is important that you know how to write an analysis—sometimes called an interpretation or a literary analysis or a critical reading or a critical analysis—of a story, a poem, and a play. Your instructor will probably assign such an analysis as part of the course assessment. On your mid-term or final exam, you might have to write an analysis of one or more of the poems and/or stories on your reading list. Or the dreaded “sight poem or story” might appear on an exam, a work that is not on the reading list, that you have not read before, but one your instructor includes on the exam to examine your ability to apply the active reading skills you have learned in class to produce, independently, an effective literary analysis.You might be asked to write instead or, or in addition to an analysis of a literary work, a more sophisticated essay in which you compare and contrast the protagonists of two stories, or the use of form and metaphor in two poems, or the tragic heroes in two plays.
You might learn some literary theory in your course and be asked to apply theory—feminist, Marxist, reader-response, psychoanalytic, new historicist, for example—to one or more of the works on your reading list. But the seminal assignment in a literature course is the analysis of the single poem, story, novel, or play, and, even if you do not have to complete this assignment specifically, it will form the basis of most of the other writing assignments you will be required to undertake in your literature class. There are several ways of structuring a literary analysis, and your instructor might issue specific instructions on how he or she wants this assignment done. The method presented here might not be identical to the one your instructor wants you to follow, but it will be easy enough to modify, if your instructor expects something a bit different, and it is a good default method, if your instructor does not issue more specific guidelines.You want to begin your analysis with a paragraph that provides the context of the work you are analyzing and a brief account of what you believe to be the poem or story or play’s main theme. At a minimum, your account of the work’s context will include the name of the author, the title of the work, its genre, and the date and place of publication. If there is an important biographical or historical context to the work, you should include that, as well.Try to express the work’s theme in one or two sentences. Theme, you will recall, is that insight into human experience the author offers to readers, usually revealed as the content, the drama, the plot of the poem, story, or play unfolds and the characters interact. Assessing theme can be a complex task. Authors usually show the theme; they don’t tell it. They rarely say, at the end of the story, words to this effect: “and the moral of my story is…” They tell their story, develop their characters, provide some kind of conflict—and from all of this theme emerges. Because identifying theme can be challenging and subjective, it is often a good idea to work through the rest of the analysis, then return to the beginning and assess theme in light of your analysis of the work’s other literary elements.Here is a good example of an introductory paragraph from Ben’s analysis of William Butler Yeats’ poem, “Among School Children.”
“Among School Children” was published in Yeats’ 1928 collection of poems The Tower . It was inspired by a visit Yeats made in 1926 to school in Waterford, an official visit in his capacity as a senator of the Irish Free State. In the course of the tour, Yeats reflects upon his own youth and the experiences that shaped the “sixty-year old, smiling public man” (line 8) he has become. Through his reflection, the theme of the poem emerges: a life has meaning when connections among apparently disparate experiences are forged into a unified whole.
In the body of your literature analysis, you want to guide your readers through a tour of the poem, story, or play, pausing along the way to comment on, analyze, interpret, and explain key incidents, descriptions, dialogue, symbols, the writer’s use of figurative language—any of the elements of literature that are relevant to a sound analysis of this particular work. Your main goal is to explain how the elements of literature work to elucidate, augment, and develop the theme. The elements of literature are common across genres: a story, a narrative poem, and a play all have a plot and characters. But certain genres privilege certain literary elements. In a poem, for example, form, imagery and metaphor might be especially important; in a story, setting and point-of-view might be more important than they are in a poem; in a play, dialogue, stage directions, lighting serve functions rarely relevant in the analysis of a story or poem.
The length of the body of an analysis of a literary work will usually depend upon the length of work being analyzed—the longer the work, the longer the analysis—though your instructor will likely establish a word limit for this assignment. Make certain that you do not simply paraphrase the plot of the story or play or the content of the poem. This is a common weakness in student literary analyses, especially when the analysis is of a poem or a play.
Here is a good example of two body paragraphs from Amelia’s analysis of “Araby” by James Joyce.
Within the story’s first few paragraphs occur several religious references which will accumulate as the story progresses. The narrator is a student at the Christian Brothers’ School; the former tenant of his house was a priest; he left behind books called The Abbot and The Devout Communicant . Near the end of the story’s second paragraph the narrator describes a “central apple tree” in the garden, under which is “the late tenant’s rusty bicycle pump.” We may begin to suspect the tree symbolizes the apple tree in the Garden of Eden and the bicycle pump, the snake which corrupted Eve, a stretch, perhaps, until Joyce’s fall-of-innocence theme becomes more apparent.
The narrator must continue to help his aunt with her errands, but, even when he is so occupied, his mind is on Mangan’s sister, as he tries to sort out his feelings for her. Here Joyce provides vivid insight into the mind of an adolescent boy at once elated and bewildered by his first crush. He wants to tell her of his “confused adoration,” but he does not know if he will ever have the chance. Joyce’s description of the pleasant tension consuming the narrator is conveyed in a striking simile, which continues to develop the narrator’s character, while echoing the religious imagery, so important to the story’s theme: “But my body was like a harp, and her words and gestures were like fingers, running along the wires.”
The concluding paragraph of your analysis should realize two goals. First, it should present your own opinion on the quality of the poem or story or play about which you have been writing. And, second, it should comment on the current relevance of the work. You should certainly comment on the enduring social relevance of the work you are explicating. You may comment, though you should never be obliged to do so, on the personal relevance of the work. Here is the concluding paragraph from Dao-Ming’s analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest .
First performed in 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest has been made into a film, as recently as 2002 and is regularly revived by professional and amateur theatre companies. It endures not only because of the comic brilliance of its characters and their dialogue, but also because its satire still resonates with contemporary audiences. I am still amazed that I see in my own Asian mother a shadow of Lady Bracknell, with her obsession with finding for her daughter a husband who will maintain, if not, ideally, increase the family’s social status. We might like to think we are more liberated and socially sophisticated than our Victorian ancestors, but the starlets and eligible bachelors who star in current reality television programs illustrate the extent to which superficial concerns still influence decisions about love and even marriage. Even now, we can turn to Oscar Wilde to help us understand and laugh at those who are earnest in name only.
Dao-Ming’s conclusion is brief, but she does manage to praise the play, reaffirm its main theme, and explain its enduring appeal. And note how her last sentence cleverly establishes that sense of closure that is also a feature of an effective analysis.
You may, of course, modify the template that is presented here. Your instructor might favour a somewhat different approach to literary analysis. Its essence, though, will be your understanding and interpretation of the theme of the poem, story, or play and the skill with which the author shapes the elements of literature—plot, character, form, diction, setting, point of view—to support the theme.
[A Model Analysis ]
Now read the short poem by Siegfried Sassoon, “Base Details,” reprinted in Project Bartleby, and then read the sample essay with comments:
Let’s have a look at Sassoon’s poem of World War I: “Base Details” .
First let’s try to determine who is the speaker, the “I” of the poem. Notice that the speaker speculates: “If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath…” Might we assume he is none of the three adjectives? So how old would he be? Start with a hypothesis and stick with it unless further details make your guess seem untenable. Then try a different hypothesis. For now let’s assume that the speaker is young. What is his rank? Is he an officer? Unlikely, probably an unlisted man, since his tone toward the majors is angry and sarcastic.
He calls them “scarlet.” What is the denotation of “scarlet”? What are some connotations of “scarlet”? What does “petulant” mean? Why are the faces of the majors described as “puffy”? What is the main meaning here of “scrap”? Are other meanings intended?
What is the purpose of the poem? Look up the brief biographical details for Sassoon on the online “ Oxford World War I Poets ” website.
After reading the poem three times (you should print a copy of the poem from Project Bartleby), have a look at the following student essay on diction in “Base Details.”
The Diction of “Base Details” (Student Essay adapted from Edward J. Gordon, Writing About Imaginative Literature , Harbrace: 1973).
Old men make and run wars; young men fight and die in them. In “Base Details,” Siegfried Sassoon reveals through his diction a bitterness toward the fact that young men die in wars while the officers live safely behind the lines. The speaker in the poem is an ordinary soldier talking about the majors at the army base. By pretending what he would be like if he were an officer, he condemns war.
Through his choice of words, the soldier expresses an attitude of contempt for the officers behind the lines who “speed glum heroes up the line to death.” He speaks with sarcasm of their fierceness and goes on to describe them as “bald, and short of breath.” If he were a major, he, too, would have a “puffy petulant face,/Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel.” The connotations of these words suggest men who are overweight and out of shape from drinking and eating too much. The reference to “scarlet Majors” recalls the red dress uniforms of British officers and the colour of blood.
[Coherence would be even better here if the student could perhaps go on to point out explicitly how the majors figuratively have blood on their hands—the blood of the young soldiers under their command. One brief sentence would do. JS]
The speaker then goes on to describe the attitude toward soldiers that is held by the officers. One speaks of losing many men in “this last scrap.” The understatement of that last word contrasts sharply with the mention in the same line of a heavy loss in battle. [ Here the student should state the other meanings of “scrap” and point out their thematic significance. JS ] In the last two lines of the poem, a further contrast is set up between “youth stone dead” and the officer who will “toddle safely home and die—in bed.” [Here the student could improve the essay by discussing the connotations of the verb “toddle” and then relating the diction to theme. JS]
When the entire poem is read, the title becomes ambiguous. The apparent meaning refers to the details of a military base. But “base” can also mean low and contemptible. “Detail” also has two meanings. It can mean a detachment of men sent out on a particular mission—”speed glum heroes up the line”—but it can also mean a minor matter, as if sending people off to die is not important to the officers. So the apparent meaning that we see as we begin reading turns into a second meaning when we finish reading the poem.
The diction, then, makes a comment on the theme of the poem: old men who direct wars at a safe distance behind the lines seem to have little understanding of what it means to die in battle and appear on “the Roll of Honor.”
English Literature: Victorians and Moderns Copyright © 2014 by James Sexton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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Poetry has always been a captivating form of artistic expression, allowing writers to paint vivid pictures with their words and evoke emotions that resonate with readers. In the realm of literary analysis, dissecting a poem requires a delicate balance between unraveling its hidden meanings and appreciating its inherent beauty. Despite its challenging nature, the process of examining and interpreting poetry is an enriching endeavor that deepens our understanding of human experiences and the power of language.
When embarking on a poetry analysis, one must embark on a journey through the intricate labyrinth of metaphors, symbols, and thematic elements. This expedition involves not only deciphering the literal meaning of each line and stanza, but delving into the poet’s intended message hidden between the lines. It is here in the space between words that the magic truly happens, as the poet weaves a tapestry of emotions and ideas that beg to be explored and understood. Immersing oneself in the world of poetry analysis is an opportunity to engage with language on a whole new level and discover the deeper layers of meaning that lie beneath the surface.
As with any intellectual pursuit, a systematic approach is key to successfully analyze a poem. It requires careful reading and rereading, scrutinizing each word and phrase for its significance and possible interpretations. This meticulous examination allows us to uncover the poet’s craft, revealing the deliberate choices in diction, rhythm, and structure that shape the overall impact of the poem. Through the process of analysis, we gain insights into the poet’s perspective, the historical and cultural context in which the poem was written, and the thematic threads that connect it to the broader tapestry of literature.
The art of poetry analysis is not only an academic exercise; it is an act of discovery and personal reflection. It challenges us to think critically, to question our assumptions, and to explore the complexities of the human condition. By engaging with poetry on a deeper level, we develop our analytical skills, expand our knowledge of literary devices, and enhance our ability to engage with complex texts. Whether you are a student, a writer, or simply a lover of words, delving into the world of poetry analysis is a journey that will forever transform the way you perceive and appreciate the written word.
Choose a Poem
Before embarking on your poetry analysis essay journey, you need to choose a poem that resonates with you and sparks your curiosity. Select a poem that speaks to your emotions, connects to your personal experiences, or explores a theme that interests you. The poem you choose will be the foundation of your analysis, so it is crucial to find one that you can engage with and delve into.
When selecting a poem, consider its form, style, and language. Do you prefer traditional, structured poems like sonnets or odes, or do you lean towards free verse and experimental forms? Are you drawn to poems with complex metaphors and imagery or ones that convey emotions through simple, straightforward language? Reflect on your preferences and choose a poem that aligns with your artistic sensibilities.
Furthermore, consider the poet’s background and historical context. Understanding the poet’s life, influences, and the time period in which the poem was written can provide valuable insights into its meaning and significance. Research the poet’s biography, read other works by the poet, and explore the literary movements or events that may have influenced their writing.
Remember, the poem you choose should be something that ignites your passion and curiosity. By selecting a poem that resonates with you, you will be better equipped to analyze its themes, explore its poetic devices, and uncover its hidden meanings. So take your time, read various poems, and choose the one that speaks to your soul.
Read and Understand the Poem
One of the crucial steps in analyzing poetry is to carefully read and fully understand the poem. This process involves immersing yourself in the poetic language, capturing the essence of the poet’s thoughts and emotions, and uncovering the underlying meanings and themes hidden within the verses.
When you first encounter a poem, take your time to read it slowly and attentively. Pay attention to the words, phrases, and imagery used by the poet. Consider the overall structure and form of the poem, as well as the rhythm and meter if applicable. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere created by the poet and let the words and emotions resonate with you.
As you continue to read and engage with the poem, keep an open mind and be willing to explore different interpretations. Poetry often offers multiple layers of meaning, allowing for various perspectives and insights. Look beyond the surface and delve into the deeper layers to understand the poet’s intention and the messages conveyed.
Understanding the context in which the poem was written can also be helpful in comprehending its meaning. Research the poet’s background, historical events, or cultural influences that may have influenced the creation of the poem. This additional knowledge can provide valuable insights into the themes and symbols employed in the poem.
Overall, the process of reading and understanding the poem is a crucial first step in analyzing and appreciating its literary value. Delve into the poet’s words, embrace their emotions, and unravel the hidden meanings to truly appreciate the beauty and complexity of the poem.
Identify the Theme
One of the key aspects of analyzing a poem is identifying its underlying theme. The theme of a poem refers to the central idea or message that the poet is trying to convey. It is the underlying concept or concept that ties all the elements of the poem together. By identifying the theme of a poem, you can gain a deeper understanding of its meaning and purpose.
When identifying the theme of a poem, it is important to look beyond the literal meaning of the words and consider the emotions, imagery, and symbols that the poet is using. Themes can range from common and universal concepts such as love, death, or nature, to more specific and unique ideas. Pay attention to the recurring images, motifs, or metaphors in the poem, as they can often provide clues to its theme.
- Read the poem multiple times to familiarize yourself with its content and structure.
- Pay attention to the use of language, word choice, and imagery.
- Consider the tone and mood of the poem.
- Look for patterns or repetitions in the poem.
- Think about the emotions evoked by the poem.
Identifying the theme of a poem requires careful analysis and interpretation. It is a subjective process that can vary depending on the reader’s perspective. As you delve deeper into the poem, consider how the theme relates to the poet’s experiences, societal context, or broader themes in literature. Remember that a thorough understanding of the theme is essential for an effective analysis of the poem.
Analyze the Poem’s Structure
When examining a poem, it is essential to take a close look at its structure as it plays a significant role in conveying the poet’s message and enhancing the overall impact of the piece. The structure of a poem refers to the organization and arrangement of its lines, stanzas, and other elements such as rhyme scheme and meter. By analyzing the poem’s structure, readers can gain insights into the poet’s intent, themes, and emotional impact.
Lines and Stanza: One aspect to consider when analyzing the structure of a poem is the arrangement of lines and stanzas. Pay attention to the number of lines in each stanza and how they are grouped together. Are there regular patterns or variations? Is there a specific rhyme scheme or consistent meter? These structural choices directly influence the rhythm and flow of the poem, which can evoke specific emotions or enhance the poem’s themes.
Rhyme Scheme and Meter: Rhyme scheme refers to the pattern of rhymes in a poem, while meter refers to the rhythmic structure created by the poet. Both rhyme scheme and meter can contribute to the overall musicality and aesthetic appeal of a poem. Identify any patterns in the rhyme scheme, such as AABB or ABAB, and analyze how they contribute to the poem’s meaning. Additionally, pay attention to the meter, whether it follows a regular pattern or varies throughout the poem. The choice of rhyme scheme and meter can highlight certain words, establish a particular tone, or create a sense of harmony or discordance within the poem.
Visual and Structural Elements: Beyond the arrangement of lines and stanzas, consider any visual or structural elements that may be present in the poem. Look for any unique formatting choices, such as the use of indentation, line breaks, or white space. These visual elements can provide additional meaning and enhance the reader’s interpretation. Moreover, examine the length and brevity of lines and stanzas, as well as the overall length of the poem. These choices can impact the pacing, intensity, and overall impact of the poem.
Analyze the Poem’s Structure with Intention: Remember that the poet’s use of structure is purposeful. Each decision made regarding the poem’s structure can serve a specific function. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the structure in relation to the poem’s themes, imagery, and language. Consider how the structure contributes to the overall meaning and emotional impact of the poem. By closely examining the poem’s structure, readers can deepen their understanding and appreciation of the poet’s craft and the power of poetry itself.
Examining the Use of Language
In this section, we will explore how language is utilized in poetry to create meaning, atmosphere, and emotion. By delving into the nuances of word choice, figurative language, and other stylistic devices, we can gain a deeper understanding of a poem’s message and the poet’s intent.
One of the key elements of poetry is the careful selection of words. Poets choose their language deliberately, selecting words that carry specific connotations and shades of meaning. By examining the chosen words in a poem, we can uncover hidden layers of significance and better grasp the poet’s intended message.
Figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, and personification, is another powerful tool in the poet’s arsenal. By comparing two seemingly unrelated things or attributing human qualities to inanimate objects, poets can create vivid imagery and evoke strong emotions. By carefully analyzing the poet’s use of figurative language, we can uncover deeper layers of meaning and appreciate the richness of the poet’s expression.
The use of sound devices, such as rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration, also plays a significant role in shaping a poem. Poets often carefully craft their works with attention to the musicality and flow of their words. By examining the patterns of sounds and the repetition of certain phonetic elements, we can better appreciate the poem’s aesthetic qualities and how they contribute to the overall effect.
Language is the poet’s medium, and by examining its use in a poem, we can gain insight into the poet’s intentions, emotions, and worldview. Understanding the choices made by the poet in terms of words, figurative language, and sound devices allows us to unravel the layers of meaning in a poem and appreciate the artistry behind it.
Interpret the Imagery and Symbols
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When analyzing poetry, it is important to pay close attention to the imagery and symbols used by the poet. These elements can add depth and complexity to the poem, as they often convey meaning beyond the literal interpretation of the words.
Imagery refers to the use of vivid and descriptive language to create mental images in the reader’s mind. It can involve the use of sensory details such as sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. By carefully examining the imagery in a poem, you can uncover hidden meanings and gain a deeper understanding of the poet’s intentions.
Symbols, on the other hand, are objects, actions, or ideas that represent something else. They can be concrete, such as a rose symbolizing love, or abstract, such as a storm representing conflict or turmoil. Symbols can be subtle and require careful analysis to fully grasp their significance.
To interpret the imagery and symbols in a poem, begin by identifying specific examples within the text. Look for recurring themes or motifs, and consider how they contribute to the overall meaning of the poem. Ask yourself what emotions or ideas the imagery and symbols evoke, and how they enhance the reader’s understanding of the poem.
Remember that interpreting imagery and symbols is subjective, and different readers may have different interpretations. It is important to support your analysis with evidence from the poem, such as specific lines or stanzas, to strengthen your argument.
– Pay close attention to the imagery and symbols used in the poem. |
– Imagery involves the use of sensory details to create mental images. |
– Symbols are objects or ideas that represent something else. |
– Look for recurring themes and motifs. |
– Remember that interpretation is subjective and should be supported by evidence from the poem. |
Craft Your Essay
In this section, we will explore the art of crafting your essay. Now that you have analyzed the poem and gathered your observations and ideas, it is time to put them together in a well-structured and cohesive essay.
When crafting your essay, it is important to have a clear and concise thesis statement that presents your main argument or interpretation of the poem. This thesis statement will serve as the guiding principle for your entire essay, so make sure it is strong and focused. As you develop your arguments, use evidence from the poem to support your claims and provide examples that illustrate your points.
Consider the structure of your essay. Start with an introduction that provides background information about the poet and the poem, and clearly states your thesis. Then, in the body paragraphs, delve into your analysis, exploring different aspects of the poem and discussing how they contribute to its overall meaning. Use topic sentences to introduce each new point and ensure a clear flow of ideas throughout your essay.
In addition to analyzing the poem itself, don’t forget to consider the broader context in which it was written. Take into account the historical, social, and cultural factors that may have influenced the poet, and discuss how these factors contribute to the poem’s themes and messages.
Finally, conclude your essay by briefly summarizing your main points and restating your thesis in a fresh and insightful way. Leave your reader with a strong impression and a deeper understanding of the poem.
Crafting your essay is an opportunity to showcase your critical thinking and analytical skills. Remember to pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation to ensure that your writing is polished and professional. With careful crafting, your essay will shine and effectively convey your interpretation of the poem.
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Poetry Analysis: How to Analyze a Poem
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Every author and poet has their own unique style that cannot be replicated. Based on how they think or what they are trying to portray, they create various poems to explore several ideas or theories that were on their mind.
By mastering how to analyze poetry, you also learn how to ask questions, see multiple meanings in simple things, and develop figurative thinking. Let’s give your brain a boost! Discover how to write poetry analysis from EssayPro service - custom dissertation writing .
What Is a Poetry Analysis?
Poetry analysis is the process of reviewing the multiple artistic, functional, and structural pieces that make up a poem. Typically, this review is conducted and recorded within the structure of a literary analysis essay.
The nature of poetry is expressing complex feelings, which usually makes multiple meanings. To understand them, you must examine not only words, but also rhythm, images, obvious meaning, and implied meaning.
Writing a poem analysis essay requires one to take a more in-depth look at both the choices that a poet made and the overall effects of those choices. These papers need a detailed analysis of all of the parts that were used to form a work of poetry.
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4 Pre-Writing Steps to Take
Read the poem carefully.
It is essential to reread the analyzed poetry several times to get a full grasp of the numerous ideas and concepts. This also gives you an opportunity to make a note of the rhyme scheme (if there is one), the type of poem (limerick, ode, sonnet, lyric, haiku, free verse, etc.) and other poetic techniques that the poet used (such as enjambment, meter, end-stopped lines, figurative language, etc.).
- Limerick: Limerick is a stanza of five lines, with the first, second and fifth rhyming with one another and having three feet of three syllables each; and the shorter third and fourth lines also rhyme with each other, but having only two feet of three syllables.
- Ode: Its structure — 10-line stanzas rhyming, with the 8th line iambic trimeter and all the others iambic pentameter
- Sonnet: A fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter. Was made famous by non-other than Shakespeare! (Shakespeare invented the word "swag"... just saying)
- Lyric: A lyric poem is a comparatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single speaker presents a state of mind or an emotional state. Rather than tell a story, the speaker talks about his thoughts using a specific rhyming style.
- Haiku: Invented by the Japanese, a haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count.
- Free-Verse: Rather simple, free verse is poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular rhythm.
All of those elements of the poem are essential to know when one is writing a poetry analysis essay because they are a part of the poem’s structure and can affect the content.
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Learn About the Background of the Poem
This means that you can find it beneficial to look up the poet, the date that the poem was written, and the cultural context of the work. All of that information typically gives the reader a more in-depth understanding of the poem, and it seems self-explanatory that one who has an enhanced comprehension of the poem would have an easier time analyzing that poem.
Define a Composition Dedicated to the Subject Matter of the Poem
This can be analyzed during the reader’s quest to determine the theme, tone, mood, and meaning of the poem. The subject matter — and the thematic elements that support the intended message behind the subject — is often an interpretive minefield.
Pick a Side Among the Various Theories That You Have Created
Often, people have different ideas about what a poet is trying to say by their use of a subject, so unless the message is implicitly stated, it is best to report multiple possibilities about what the poet may have meant and included evidence for these theories.
The amateur writer can try to elaborate on several existing ideas and theories. Be careful not to mistake this with choosing a popular opinion or biased one. They should be defending the one that carries the most weight or offers the most validation. As the essay is supposed to be an analysis, try to avoid opinions in favor of facts and conjectures that are backed by evidence from work.
How to Choose a Poem to Analyze?
A great way to choose a topic for a poetry analysis essay is to decide on one that would deal with information that you are already familiar with. For example, if the choice of the poem to analyze is up to you, then it may be beneficial for you to choose a poem that you have encountered before. If the choice is to be made between different subject areas within a poem, then you could find it easier to choose to focus on writing about an area that plays to your strengths, so that the statements made in the essay are conveyed clearly and confidently.
A poem analysis essay may seem like a daunting writing assignment at first, but if the topic, outline, and paper are composed following the steps mentioned above, the paper will no doubt, turn out very well.
Poetry Analysis Essay Outline
An outline for a poetry analysis essay can be very simple. It is merely a guideline for the writer to build upon. Put the title of the paper at the top of the page, then place the number one (1) underneath, just before the word “Introduction.” Under this, you can list brainstormed ideas for the introduction paragraph of the paper. The final portion of this section should be dedicated to the thesis statement of the paper.
Need a poetry analysis essay outline? Here is a basic structure to follow for your outline:
![how to write a literary essay on a poem Poetry Analysis outline](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e5d43546b94f97f39c228fa/65128a3b7555f7b4708c6572_Poetry%20Analysis_%20How%20to%20Analyze%20a%20Poem%201.webp)
Following an outline for a poetry research essay is recommended to make sure you organize all your thoughts and statements you want to say. No matter whether you know how to write poetry — an outline will help identify areas that need to be explored in the analysis.
Introduction
Starting with the title for the analysis can be something very basic or a clever quote, a statement from the piece. Moving onto the introduction to poetry analysis, this should open with a “hook” to get the reader's attention. Follow up with the Authors name and title for the piece. Add some interesting trivia or background info that is not known to the audience, but try to keep it short. To finish off the introduction to a poetry analysis, state your thesis.
The bulk of ideas and comparisons need to be explored here in a clear, focused way. When writing a poetry analysis, each paragraph should be devoted to one point or feature you are comparing. You can divide each point by using the corresponding letter from the outline. Try to make it a coherent and specific about what is being compared (example: when stating your ideas about what the poetic devices do to the piece check whether you state each one and do not generalize). Using transition words and phrases will keep the paragraphs flowing well and more helpful to read.
It's important when looking at how to analyze a poem to finish with a set-out conclusion. Firstly, start by restating the thesis in different words. Summarize the most important findings to prove the thesis. From this, you can draw up your own opinions and take a step back and say what it all means with one key idea. Lastly, try to leave the reader with something memorable to take away with them (a thought-provoking sentence or question about the poem).
![how to write a literary essay on a poem Poetry Analysis_ How to Analyze a Poem](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e5d43546b94f97f39c228fa/65128a594e565e74fc16ae0c_Poetry%20Analysis_%20How%20to%20Analyze%20a%20Poem%202.webp)
Tips for a Poetry Analysis
We have put together some handy tips to help you with when writing a poetry analysis essay:
- If possible, choose a poem that you would like to write about. This seems like a simple enough idea but very relevant. If you have the choice pick a poem you enjoy.
- Try reading the poem to a colleague or friend and even just out loud to yourself. This will help discover any hidden information from the sound, and it’s always good to get a second opinion or extra ideas.
- Don’t be scared to double-check the meanings of words and phrases. This is vital to know how to write a poem analysis essay and to the best, you can. Some words may have had different meanings, cultural references and places all should be looked up if only half certain.
- Check if the conclusion has one clear central idea or theme. Do not put in many confusing ideas or conclusions as this will look like you have not evaluated the work with focus. To go beyond a simple poetry analysis for middle school, try to show how it links to broader themes and the outside world.
- Always try to look beyond the words themselves. Hunt for hidden meanings and any little clues upon which to build a picture. Anybody could know how to write a poem but to explore the hidden meanings within poetry takes time, skill, and a lot of research.
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Poetry Analysis Essay Example
Read also a very fascinating article the Divine Comedy summary . Our readers find it very informative.
Ballad of Birmingham is the author of the poem that revolves around a little girl who would like to go downtown to take part in a freedom protest. Her mother, however, says that she cannot go because of the dangerous conditions outside. Her mother instead tells her to go to church despite the little girl's constant explanations that she would not be alone. Defeated and in a show of respect for her mother, the little girl gets dressed and goes to church. Her mother is contented that she would be fine at the church. Sooner her mother hears of an explosion that sets her racing downtown in search of her daughter. Unfortunately, she finds her daughters dress and shoes in the piles and rubbles. She is left wondering where her daughter is.
Have a Poem to Analyze and Feel Stumped?
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is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.
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Poem Analysis Essay Guide: Outline, Template, Structure
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Poetry analysis, which is similar to poetry review, involves analyzing the language and figures of speech used by a poet. It also entails sharing personal views regarding the poem and breaking down the poetic instruments utilized by the said poet. However, it’s not just about the words used (Headrick, 2014). It entails reading between the lines and understanding what made the poet come up with a particular poem. So it may require some background research on the author and history behind the creation of the poem.
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What Is A Poetry Analysis?
Poetry analysis may define as a critical review given on a poem, a reflection on the depth and gravity of a poem. It revolves around multiple aspects of a poem starting from the subject of a poem, its theme (meaning), tone, literary devices or speech figures, form to the feeling of the poet to how a reader feels about the poem. It is not only the analysis of techniques used in a poem, but poetry analysis provides a broader and wider picture of the poem, its reality, its hidden meanings between the lines, a study of poet’s mind, feeling and intention behind a poem. Different techniques used in poetry analysis are helpful tools in investigating and reviewing the poem. Behind every review or analysis vital research on poet (author), era (time frame), possible reasons, the background behind the conceptualization poem is vital.
If you have been asked to write a poem analysis essay, then it means to examine the piece and further dissect it into key elements including its form, techniques used and historical value. Then further appreciating the poem and highlighting to others these points, and gaining a better understanding.
It is also important to show as many ideas as possible that relate to the poem and then create conclusions on this.
To start writing a poetry analysis essay let's look at the prewriting stage.
How to Choose a Topic for a Poetry Analysis Essay?
- In the subject of the poem we mainly focus on the reasons such as why is the poem written or what is it all about?
- What is the context, the central content of the poem?
- Who wrote the poem and why?
- When and where the poet did write the poem, what or who has influenced the poet and what are the key features of the poem?
A topic should be chosen based on the theme you want to write. The theme is the message that the poem is trying to convey. You need to look therefore for concepts and notions that pop up in the poem and come up with an appropriate theme based on those perceptions or "feelings". If you can’t still figure out what topic you should choose for your analysis, it is recommended that you go through other poems similar poems and get a suitable topic for your analysis. Don’t also forget to cite your poem well. And also use in-text citations while quoting from the poem.
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Poem Analysis Essay Outline
To create a good essay, it is needed to plan out the structure of a poem analysis essay so the writing stage will be easier and faster.
![how to write a literary essay on a poem poem essay outline](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e6bef9160e290b99b7644b5/63ad8bf177d913ad2be18574_0yJZFTFtAmOpKJoB6d9J3DkqIHCmP5X9iQ-TQyaCTYeEqPmTr84HQ3E6wDyVUQeA36y8Xg8e35gy2trQSEQWQ2BqiFYBb9DZa-pyB3czxMogDrDBAVxu06OCDQs0SHViI4HOXAXCZ159YbXUufyKNcRpeqEqEAdcjRBSm6fLrTrCJU48bhA_fy6rOaa5yw.png)
Here is an outline of a poem analysis essay to use:
Opening paragraph - Introduce the Poem, title, author and background.
Body of text - Make most of the analysis, linking ideas and referencing to the poem.
Conclusion - State one main idea, feelings and meanings.
Poem Analysis Essay Introduction
To start an introduction to a poem analysis essay, include the name of the poem and the author . Other details like the date of when it was published can also be stated. Then some background information and interesting facts or trivia regarding the poem or author can also be included here.
Poem Analysis Essay Body
When writing the main body of text keep in mind you have to reference all ideas to the poem so include a quotation to back up the sentence, otherwise, it will be a wasted comparison and not count. Be clear with your statements.
Poem Analysis Essay Conclusion
Now, this is where you should take a step back from analyzing the individual elements of the poem and work out its meaning as a whole. Combine the different elements of the analysis and put forward one main idea.
What is the poet trying to say, and how is it enforced and with what feeling? Then look at the meaning and what timeframe does this evolve over?
For example, is it obvious from the start, or does it gradually change towards the end? The last few lines can be very significant within a poem and so should be included in the poem analysis essay conclusion and commented on the impact on the piece.
Remember that you can always send us a " write an essay for me " text and have your assignment done for you.
How to Analyze a Poem?
Before even thinking about your first draft, read the poem as much as possible. If it's possible, listen to it in the original form. This depends on many factors which include if the poet is still alive?
Also reading aloud can help identify other characteristics that could be missed and even to a friend or colleague will give a chance to more insight. It is important to remember that poetry is a form of art painted with only words, this said it could take time to fully appreciate the piece. So take note of any first thoughts you have about the poem, even if they are negative.
Your opinions can change over time but still mark these first thoughts down.
So that to analyze a poem properly, you have to pay attention to the following aspects:
Title of the Poem
So let's go deeper into the poem analysis essay and look at the title. The poet may have spent a lot of time thinking about naming the piece so what can be observed from this and what further questions can be asked?
- What are your expectations? For example, the poem could be titled “Alone” written by Edgar Allan Poe and from this it is natural to assume it will be sad. After reading further does the reality turn out to be different?
- What is the literature style used? So for example, the work could be called “His last sonnet” by John Keats. From appearance, it is possible to deduce that it could be in sonnet form and if not why did the poet choose to mislead the audience?
- What is the poem about? In the poem, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” by Elizabeth Barrett, it already states what could be included and what to expect but if it differs from the title what would this suggest?
Literal Meaning of the Poetry
According to our to fully appreciate a piece, it is needed to understand all the words used. So, for example, get a good dictionary and look up all the unknown words. Then go through partly known words and phrases and check these too. Also, maybe check the meaning of words that are used a lot, but remember some text may have had a different meaning a century ago, so use the internet to look up anything that is not clear. Furthermore, people and places and any cultural relevance of the time should be researched too to get a deeper look at the poet's attitude towards the piece. Patterns might become visible at this point and maybe the theme of the poem.
Structure of the Poem
When looking at the structure of the piece this will reveal more information so pay close attention to this. Look at the organization and sections, this will unlock more questions:
- What does each part discuss?
- How do the parts relate to each other?
- Can you see formal separations?
- What logical sense does it have?
- Is there emotional sense that can be evaluated?
- Does having a strict format say anything about the poet?
- Also failing to have a strict structure does this reveal something?
Once you have observed the structure, it is possible to go deeper into the poem analysis essay and investigate how the speaker communicates the poem to the reader.
Tone and Intonation of the Poetry
So now it is possible to look at the poet and see what details can be obtained from them. Is it possible to see the gender or age of the speaker? Is there some race or religious references to pick up on? Then can we see if the speaker is directly communicating their thoughts and ideas to the reader? If not, what is the character the poet has created to convey the ideas or messages? Does the poet's persona differ to the character created and what can be analyzed from this? Also the mood of the speaker could be available now, are they happy or sad, and how can you find out this from the poem?
Once the poet is understood it is possible to move onto who or what the poem is designed for. Then you can see the purpose of the poetry, what does the poet want from the reader? It is also possible that the poet does not desire a response from the audience and is simply making a statement or expressing themselves.
For example, a poem about spring could just be a happy statement that winter has ended. Looking from the other side, this could be an attempt to attract someone's attention or maybe just an instruction to plow the field.
Purpose of the Poem
The subject of the poem can help identify the purpose, as this usually will be what the poet is describing. Then the theme can be identified also, and what does it say about the work? Are there any links between the theme and the subject and what can analyzed from that? The timeframe is also an important factor to consider, for example, the poet's goal back when it was written, may have changed and why? Furthermore, has the original purpose survived the test of time and can it be said to be the best indicator of success?
Language and Imagery of the Poetry
Until this point it was only possible to analyze the literal information available which is the denotative meaning.’ Now let's look at the imagery, symbolism and figures of speech, this is the connotative meaning.
This is where you should look for pictures described within the text and analyze why they have been depicted? So for example, if the poet thas decided to describe the moon this could set the time in the work or maybe the mood of the poem. Also look for groups of images described and patterns within this, what can be deducted from that?
So when looking for symbolism within the text this could be an event or physical object, including people and places that represent non-physical entities like an emotion or concept. For example, a bird flying through the air can be seen as freedom and escaping usual conforms.
Poetic devices
In your analysis you will look at techniques like metaphors, similes, personification and alliteration to include just a few. It's important to identify the actual device used and why it was chosen. For example, when comparing something within the text using a metaphor then look at how they are connected and in what way they are expressed? Try to use all available clues to gain better insight into the mind of the poet.
Music of the Poem
Poetry and music have deep connections and can be compared together due to the history and uses throughout the ages.
Here are some things to look out for to help with those comparisons:
- Meter - This can be available to investigate in different ways, for example, iambic pentameter has a strict five beats per line just like a musical score if used what does it say?
- Rhythm - Just like with music, poem can have a rhythm but if there is no given meter, it is needed to look closer and observe what this does to the work. For example, a particular beat that is fast could make the poem happy.
- Special effects - Looking for not so obvious signs where the poet has written in a way so you take longer to pronounce words. Also it is possible to grab your attention in other ways, for what reason has the writer done that?
- Rhyme - There are many different types of rhyming techniques used within poetry, once identified look at how it impacts on the work like make it humorous for example? Be careful to look for unusual patterns for example rhymes within the lines and not just at the end of the sentences, even reading out aloud might help find these and then what does it this say about the poem?
- Sound effects - The depiction of different sounds can be powerful and also using different voices, look at what impact this has on the piece and why?
- Breaking Rules - Rhyme and meter for example can have very specific rules but what if the poet decided to break these conventional techniques and make something new, what does this add to the work and why
How to Write a Poem Analysis Essay?
Below you will find a compelling guide on how to analyze poetry with handy writing tips:
![how to write a literary essay on a poem poem analysis](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e6bef9160e290b99b7644b5/63ad8c1677d9137bdfe1c08e_iCxMEkLL9CoDcFktPXPGf6vUvaSxlIeXuSAuZuhJ6sUItSLsvXXYqAAf4VfEV4I6Z26cCX-dZeyQO1gNVN4EYxqEVdHC9o6_KagdrwjVpOgy-MOSdnG3zbyFG6jmUzacFhFR2SuqKNmwrD5HD6-g0Let-SmoWxuEqPCKasgPdtovfUcBb8TWGWvhbMoXng.png)
- Choose a suitable poem - If possible, before you start, pick the main subject of your essay, a poem that you would like to analyze. The more you find it interesting, the easier it will be to handle the task.
- Read it fully - If you are wondering how to analyse poetry, the first step you can’t go without is carefully reading the chosen poem multiple times and, preferably, out loud.
- Always double-check the meanings - When reading a poem, don’t forget to check for the meanings of unknown (and known as well) words and phrases.
- Collect all the details you need - To write a compelling essay, you need to study the poem’s structure, contents, main ideas, as well as other background details.
- Explore hidden meanings - When analyzing poem, be sure to look beyond the words. Instead, focus on finding broader, hidden ideas that the author wanted to share through his piece.
- Make an outline - Once you have analyzed poem, outline your essay and write it following the plan.
- Proofread and edit - Finally, once your essay is ready, take your time to revise and polish it carefully.
Poetry Analysis Template
To write a winning poem analysis essay, use the template below or order an essay from our professionals.
Introduction
- Name of Poem
- Name of Poet
- Date of Publication
- Background or any relevant information
Form of poem
- Structure of poem
- Rhyme of poem
Meaning of poem
- Overall meaning
- How can we relate the poem to our life
Poetic Techniques
- Literary devices
Form of the Poem
Poems are written in some ways, here one need to identify which structure the poet has used for the poem. The forms of poems broadly are stanzas, rhythm, punctuation and rhymes. Carefully analyze the length and number of stanzas , does the rhythm impacts the meaning of the poem, is there many punctuations or little, either the rhyme is consistent, or it’s breaking and what is the rhyme contributing to the meaning of the poem or is it random.
Theme, Meaning or Message of the Poem
In this part, we focus on the topic, main issue or idea of the poem. There are layers of meaning hidden in a poem.
- Meaning: surface meaning that what is actually or physically happening in the poem which a reader can sense.
- Deeper Meaning: the central idea of the poem or what is it actually about.
- Theme: in poetry, there is always a hidden meaning in every line, which depicts the message about life.
Numerous topics can be covered in poems such as love, life, death, birth, nature, memory, war, age, sexuality, experience, religion, race, faith, creator and many others.
Tone of the Poem
The tone of the poem shows attitude or mood of the language used by the poet. Analyze the different shades of the language used in the poem for example; is it formal, judgmental, informal, critical, positive, bitter, reflective, solemn, frustrated, optimistic, ironic, scornful, regretful or morbid.
Literary Device used in the Poem
Find out what the different literary devices are or what sort of figures of speech is used by the poet . Analyze these techniques and suggest their use in the poem by the poet. The poem can contain a symbol, similes, metaphor, alliteration, allegories, oxymoron, assonances, dissonances, repetition, hyperbole, irony.
Conclusion or Feel of the Poem
Lastly, analyze the emotions and feelings linked with the poem; of the poet and what do you feel when you read the poem. This is the very critical part of reviewing a poem because we analyze the inner depth of the poem, the intention & feelings of the poet, the targeted audience, does the poem reflect the poet’s persona, perspective or it does not match with the poet.
Poetry Analysis Essay Example
Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s Poem “Annabel Lee”
Written in 1849 and first published after the author’s death, Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe is a beautiful story of true love that goes beyond life. In the poem, the author is commemorating the girl named Annabel Lee, whom he knew since childhood. Despite the young age, the love between the narrator and Annabel was so deep and true that even angels were jealous, and, according to Edgar Allan Poe, their jealousy was so severe that they killed the love of his life. The poem ends with young Annabel Lee being buried in a tomb, leaving the readers with a feeling that the author kept holding on to his love for her for many years after her death.
The two evident topics in the poem are love and loss. The entire narration revolves around the author’s agonizing memory, at the same time demonstrating to the readers the purity and power of true love that makes him cherish the memory of his beloved one even after she is gone. Apart from that, Edgar Allan Poe also discusses such issues of love as jealousy and envy. The author states that the love of the two teens was so strong that even angels in heaven were not half as happy as Annabel and Edgar, which caused them to invade the teens’ romantic “kingdom by the sea” and kill the girl.
The topics discussed in the poem, as well as the style of narration itself, give the poem a very romantic atmosphere. It follows the main principles of the romantic era in poetry in the 18th and 19th centuries, which Edgar Allan Poe was representing. At the same time, the author also gives his poem a sense of musicality and rhythm. The poem’s rhyme scheme puts emphasis on the words “Lee”, “me”, and “sea”. The repetition of these words gives the poem a song-like sound.
A significant role in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem is played by imagery, which emphasizes the author’s unique style. The main imagery used by Allan Poe in Annabel Lee is the Kingdom. The author uses this imagery to set the right tone for his poem and give it a sort of a fairytale feel. At the same time, this imagery is used to take the reader to a different place, though not specifying what exactly this place is. To confirm this - the author uses the phrase “the kingdom by the sea” multiple times in his piece, never specifying its meaning. This trick enables the readers to leave this to their own imagination.
Apart from the Kingdom, the author also operates with the imagery of angels and demons. The narrator blames them for their envy for their deep love, which resulted in the death of Annable Lee. Thus, the author gives a negative attitude towards this imagery. This brings us to another big topic of good and evil discussed in the poem.
Nevertheless, even though the angels’ intervention seems to be clear to the reader from what the author says, Poe’s choice of words doesn’t directly implicate their responsibility for the girl’s death. The narrator blames everybody for his loss. However, he does this in a very tactical and covert way.
In conclusion, it becomes clear that the narrator in Annabel Lee did not only pursue a goal to share his pain and loss. He also emphasizes that true love is everlasting by stating that his love for the gone girl lives with him after all these years. With all its deep topics, imagery, and musicality, Annabel Lee is now considered one of the best works by Edgar Allan Poe.
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To learn how to write a poem step-by-step, let’s start where all poets start: the basics.
This article is an in-depth introduction to how to write a poem. We first answer the question, “What is poetry?” We then discuss the literary elements of poetry, and showcase some different approaches to the writing process—including our own seven-step process on how to write a poem step by step.
So, how do you write a poem? Let’s start with what poetry is.
How to Write a Poem: Contents
What Poetry Is
- Literary Devices
How to Write a Poem, in 7 Steps
How to write a poem: different approaches and philosophies.
- Okay, I Know How to Write a Good Poem. What Next?
It’s important to know what poetry is—and isn’t—before we discuss how to write a poem. The following quote defines poetry nicely:
“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” —Former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove
Poetry Conveys Feeling
People sometimes imagine poetry as stuffy, abstract, and difficult to understand. Some poetry may be this way, but in reality poetry isn’t about being obscure or confusing. Poetry is a lyrical, emotive method of self-expression, using the elements of poetry to highlight feelings and ideas.
A poem should make the reader feel something.
In other words, a poem should make the reader feel something—not by telling them what to feel, but by evoking feeling directly.
Here’s a contemporary poem that, despite its simplicity (or perhaps because of its simplicity), conveys heartfelt emotion.
Poem by Langston Hughes
I loved my friend. He went away from me. There’s nothing more to say. The poem ends, Soft as it began— I loved my friend.
Poetry is Language at its Richest and Most Condensed
Unlike longer prose writing (such as a short story, memoir, or novel), poetry needs to impact the reader in the richest and most condensed way possible. Here’s a famous quote that enforces that distinction:
“Prose: words in their best order; poetry: the best words in the best order.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge
So poetry isn’t the place to be filling in long backstories or doing leisurely scene-setting. In poetry, every single word carries maximum impact.
Poetry Uses Unique Elements
Poetry is not like other kinds of writing: it has its own unique forms, tools, and principles. Together, these elements of poetry help it to powerfully impact the reader in only a few words.
The elements of poetry help it to powerfully impact the reader in only a few words.
Most poetry is written in verse , rather than prose . This means that it uses line breaks, alongside rhythm or meter, to convey something to the reader. Rather than letting the text break at the end of the page (as prose does), verse emphasizes language through line breaks.
Poetry further accentuates its use of language through rhyme and meter. Poetry has a heightened emphasis on the musicality of language itself: its sounds and rhythms, and the feelings they carry.
These devices—rhyme, meter, and line breaks—are just a few of the essential elements of poetry, which we’ll explore in more depth now.
More About What Poetry Is
Learn more about what poetry is here:
https://writers.com/what-is-poetry
Understanding the Elements of Poetry
As we explore how to write a poem step by step, these three major literary elements of poetry should sit in the back of your mind:
- Rhythm (Sound, Rhyme, and Meter)
1. Elements of Poetry: Rhythm
“Rhythm” refers to the lyrical, sonic qualities of the poem. How does the poem move and breathe; how does it feel on the tongue?
Traditionally, poets relied on rhyme and meter to accomplish a rhythmically sound poem. Free verse poems —which are poems that don’t require a specific length, rhyme scheme, or meter—only became popular in the West in the 20th century, so while rhyme and meter aren’t requirements of modern poetry, they are required of certain poetry forms.
Poetry is capable of evoking certain emotions based solely on the sounds it uses. Words can sound sinister, percussive, fluid, cheerful, dour, or any other noise/emotion in the complex tapestry of human feeling.
Take, for example, this excerpt from the poem “Beat! Beat! Drums!” by Walt Whitman:
![how to write a literary essay on a poem elements of poetry: sound](https://writers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Screen-Shot-2021-05-29-at-11.26.10-AM.png)
Red — “b” sounds
Blue — “th” sounds
Green — “w” and “ew” sounds
Purple — “s” sounds
Orange — “d” and “t” sounds
This poem has a lot of percussive, disruptive sounds that reinforce the beating of the drums. The “b,” “d,” “w,” and “t” sounds resemble these drum beats, while the “th” and “s” sounds are sneakier, penetrating a deeper part of the ear. The cacophony of this excerpt might not sound “lyrical,” but it does manage to command your attention, much like drums beating through a city might sound.
To learn more about consonance and assonance, euphony and cacophony, onomatopoeia , and the other uses of sound, take a look at our article “12 Literary Devices in Poetry.”
https://writers.com/literary-devices-in-poetry
It would be a crime if you weren’t primed on the ins and outs of rhymes. “Rhyme” refers to words that have similar pronunciations, like this set of words: sound, hound, browned, pound, found, around.
Many poets assume that their poetry has to rhyme, and it’s true that some poems require a complex rhyme scheme. However, rhyme isn’t nearly as important to poetry as it used to be. Most traditional poetry forms—sonnets, villanelles , rimes royal, etc.—rely on rhyme, but contemporary poetry has largely strayed from the strict rhyme schemes of yesterday.
There are three types of rhymes:
- Homophony: Homophones are words that are spelled differently but sound the same, like “tail” and “tale.” Homophones often lead to commonly misspelled words .
- Perfect Rhyme: Perfect rhymes are word pairs that are identical in sound except for one minor difference. Examples include “slant and pant,” “great and fate,” and “shower and power.”
- Slant Rhyme: Slant rhymes are word pairs that use the same sounds, but their final vowels have different pronunciations. For example, “abut” and “about” are nearly-identical in sound, but are pronounced differently enough that they don’t completely rhyme. This is also known as an oblique rhyme or imperfect rhyme.
Meter refers to the stress patterns of words. Certain poetry forms require that the words in the poem follow a certain stress pattern, meaning some syllables are stressed and others are unstressed.
What is “stressed” and “unstressed”? A stressed syllable is the sound that you emphasize in a word. The bolded syllables in the following words are stressed, and the unbolded syllables are unstressed:
- Un• stressed
- Plat• i• tud• i•nous
- De •act•i• vate
- Con• sti •tu• tion•al
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is important to traditional poetry forms. This chart, copied from our article on form in poetry , summarizes the different stress patterns of poetry.
Meter | Pattern | Example |
Iamb | Unstressed–stressed | Ex |
Trochee | Stressed–unstressed | ple |
Pyrrh | Equally unstressed | Pyrrhic |
Spondee | Equally stressed | |
Dactyl | Stressed–unstressed–unstressed | ener |
Anapest | Unstressed–unstressed–stressed | Compre |
Amphibrach (rare) | Unstressed–stressed–unstressed | Fla go |
2. Elements of Poetry: Form
“Form” refers to the structure of the poem. Is the poem a sonnet , a villanelle, a free verse piece, a slam poem, a contrapuntal, a ghazal , a blackout poem , or something new and experimental?
Form also refers to the line breaks and stanza breaks in a poem. Unlike prose, where the end of the page decides the line breaks, poets have control over when one line ends and a new one begins. The words that begin and end each line will emphasize the sounds, images, and ideas that are important to the poet.
To learn more about rhyme, meter, and poetry forms, read our full article on the topic:
https://writers.com/what-is-form-in-poetry
3. Elements of Poetry: Literary Devices
“Poetry: the best words in the best order.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
How does poetry express complex ideas in concise, lyrical language? Literary devices—like metaphor, symbolism , juxtaposition , irony , and hyperbole—help make poetry possible. Learn how to write and master these devices here:
https://writers.com/common-literary-devices
To condense the elements of poetry into an actual poem, we’re going to follow a seven-step approach. However, it’s important to know that every poet’s process is different. While the steps presented here are a logical path to get from idea to finished poem, they’re not the only tried-and-true method of poetry writing. Poets can—and should!—modify these steps and generate their own writing process.
Nonetheless, if you’re new to writing poetry or want to explore a different writing process, try your hand at our approach. Here’s how to write a poem step by step!
1. Devise a Topic
The easiest way to start writing a poem is to begin with a topic.
However, devising a topic is often the hardest part. What should your poem be about? And where can you find ideas?
Here are a few places to search for inspiration:
- Other Works of Literature: Poetry doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it’s part of a larger literary tapestry, and can absolutely be influenced by other works. For example, read “The Golden Shovel” by Terrance Hayes , a poem that was inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool.”
- Real-World Events: Poetry, especially contemporary poetry, has the power to convey new and transformative ideas about the world. Take the poem “A Cigarette” by Ilya Kaminsky , which finds community in a warzone like the eye of a hurricane.
- Your Life: What would poetry be if not a form of memoir? Many contemporary poets have documented their lives in verse. Take Sylvia Plath’s poem “Full Fathom Five” —a daring poem for its time, as few writers so boldly criticized their family as Plath did.
- The Everyday and Mundane: Poetry isn’t just about big, earth-shattering events: much can be said about mundane events, too. Take “Ode to Shea Butter” by Angel Nafis , a poem that celebrates the beautiful “everydayness” of moisturizing.
- Nature: The Earth has always been a source of inspiration for poets, both today and in antiquity. Take “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver , which finds meaning in nature’s quiet rituals.
- Writing Exercises: Prompts and exercises can help spark your creativity, even if the poem you write has nothing to do with the prompt! Here’s 24 writing exercises to get you started.
At this point, you’ve got a topic for your poem. Maybe it’s a topic you’re passionate about, and the words pour from your pen and align themselves into a perfect sonnet! It’s not impossible—most poets have a couple of poems that seemed to write themselves.
However, it’s far more likely you’re searching for the words to talk about this topic. This is where journaling comes in.
Sit in front of a blank piece of paper, with nothing but the topic written on the top. Set a timer for 15-30 minutes and put down all of your thoughts related to the topic. Don’t stop and think for too long, and try not to obsess over finding the right words: what matters here is emotion, the way your subconscious grapples with the topic.
At the end of this journaling session, go back through everything you wrote, and highlight whatever seems important to you: well-written phrases, poignant moments of emotion, even specific words that you want to use in your poem.
Journaling is a low-risk way of exploring your topic without feeling pressured to make it sound poetic. “Sounding poetic” will only leave you with empty language: your journal allows you to speak from the heart. Everything you need for your poem is already inside of you, the journaling process just helps bring it out!
Learn more about keeping a daily journal here:
How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily
3. Think About Form
As one of the elements of poetry, form plays a crucial role in how the poem is both written and read. Have you ever wanted to write a sestina ? How about a contrapuntal, or a double cinquain, or a series of tanka? Your poem can take a multitude of forms, including the beautifully unstructured free verse form; while form can be decided in the editing process, it doesn’t hurt to think about it now.
4. Write the First Line
After a productive journaling session, you’ll be much more acquainted with the state of your heart. You might have a line in your journal that you really want to begin with, or you might want to start fresh and refer back to your journal when you need to! Either way, it’s time to begin.
What should the first line of your poem be? There’s no strict rule here—you don’t have to start your poem with a certain image or literary device. However, here’s a few ways that poets often begin their work:
- Set the Scene: Poetry can tell stories just like prose does. Anne Carson does just this in her poem “Lines,” situating the scene in a conversation with the speaker’s mother.
- Start at the Conflict : Right away, tell the reader where it hurts most. Margaret Atwood does this in “Ghost Cat,” a poem about aging.
- Start With a Contradiction: Juxtaposition and contrast are two powerful tools in the poet’s toolkit. Joan Larkin’s poem “Want” begins and ends with these devices. Carlos Gimenez Smith also begins his poem “Entanglement” with a juxtaposition.
- Start With Your Title: Some poets will use the title as their first line, like Ron Padgett’s poem “Ladies and Gentlemen in Outer Space.”
There are many other ways to begin poems, so play around with different literary devices, and when you’re stuck, turn to other poetry for inspiration. You can learn more about starting a poem here:
How to Start a Poem (When You Don’t Know Where to Start)
5. Develop Ideas and Devices
You might not know where your poem is going until you finish writing it. In the meantime, stick to your literary devices. Avoid using too many abstract nouns, develop striking images, use metaphors and similes to strike interesting comparisons, and above all, speak from the heart.
6. Write the Closing Line
Some poems end “full circle,” meaning that the images the poet used in the beginning are reintroduced at the end. Gwendolyn Brooks does this in her poem “my dreams, my work, must wait till after hell.”
Yet, many poets don’t realize what their poems are about until they write the ending line . Poetry is a search for truth, especially the hard truths that aren’t easily explained in casual speech. Your poem, too, might not be finished until it comes across a necessary truth, so write until you strike the heart of what you feel, and the poem will come to its own conclusion.
7. Edit, Edit, Edit!
Do you have a working first draft of your poem? Congratulations! Getting your feelings onto the page is a feat in itself.
Yet, no guide on how to write a poem is complete without a note on editing. If you plan on sharing or publishing your work, or if you simply want to edit your poem to near-perfection, keep these tips in mind.
- Adjectives and Adverbs: Use these parts of speech sparingly. Most imagery shouldn’t rely on adjectives and adverbs, because the image should be striking and vivid on its own, without too much help from excess language.
- Concrete Line Breaks: Line breaks help emphasize important words, making certain images and themes clearer to the reader. As a general rule, most of your lines should start and end with concrete words—nouns and verbs especially.
- Stanza Breaks: Stanzas are like paragraphs to poetry. A stanza can develop a new idea, contrast an existing idea, or signal a transition in the poem’s tone. Make sure each stanza clearly stands for something as a unit of the poem.
- Mixed Metaphors: A mixed metaphor is when two metaphors occupy the same idea, making the poem unnecessarily difficult to understand. Here’s an example of a mixed metaphor: “a watched clock never boils.” The meaning can be discerned, but the image remains unclear. Be wary of mixed metaphors—though some poets (like Shakespeare) make them work, they’re tricky and often disruptive.
- Abstractions: Above all, avoid using excessively abstract language. It’s fine to use the word “love” 2 or 3 times in a poem, but don’t use it twice in every stanza. Let the imagery in your poem express your feelings and ideas, and only use abstractions as brief connective tissue in otherwise-concrete writing.
Lastly, don’t feel pressured to “do something” with your poem. Not all poems need to be shared and edited. Poetry doesn’t have to be “good,” either—it can simply be a statement of emotions by the poet, for the poet. Publishing is an admirable goal, but also, give yourself permission to write bad poems, unedited poems, abstract poems, and poems with an audience of one. Write for yourself—editing is for the other readers.
Poetry is the oldest literary form, pre-dating prose, theater, and the written word itself. As such, there are many different schools of thought when it comes to writing poetry. You might be wondering how to write a poem through different methods and approaches: here’s four philosophies to get you started.
How to Write a Poem: Poetry as Emotion
If you asked a Romantic Poet “what is poetry?”, they would tell you that poetry is the spontaneous emotion of the soul.
The Romantic Era viewed poetry as an extension of human emotion—a way of perceiving the world through unbridled creativity, centered around the human soul. While many Romantic poets used traditional forms in their poetry, the Romantics weren’t afraid to break from tradition, either.
To write like a Romantic, feel—and feel intensely. The words will follow the emotions, as long as a blank page sits in front of you.
How to Write a Poem: Poetry as Stream of Consciousness
If you asked a Modernist poet, “What is poetry?” they would tell you that poetry is the search for complex truths.
Modernist Poets were keen on the use of poetry as a window into the mind. A common technique of the time was “Stream of Consciousness,” which is unfiltered writing that flows directly from the poet’s inner dialogue. By tapping into one’s subconscious, the poet might uncover deeper truths and emotions they were initially unaware of.
Depending on who you are as a writer, Stream of Consciousness can be tricky to master, but this guide covers the basics of how to write using this technique.
How to Write a Poem: Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a practice of documenting the mind, rather than trying to control or edit what it produces. This practice was popularized by the Beat Poets , who in turn were inspired by Eastern philosophies and Buddhist teachings. If you asked a Beat Poet “what is poetry?”, they would tell you that poetry is the human consciousness, unadulterated.
To learn more about the art of leaving your mind alone , take a look at our guide on Mindfulness, from instructor Marc Olmsted.
https://writers.com/mindful-writing
How to Write a Poem: Poem as Camera Lens
Many contemporary poets use poetry as a camera lens, documenting global events and commenting on both politics and injustice. If you find yourself itching to write poetry about the modern day, press your thumb against the pulse of the world and write what you feel.
Additionally, check out these two essays by Electric Literature on the politics of poetry:
- What Can Poetry Do That Politics Can’t?
- Why All Poems Are Political (TL;DR: Poetry is an urgent expression of freedom).
Okay, I Know How to Write a Poem. What Next?
Poetry, like all art forms, takes practice and dedication. You might write a poem you enjoy now, and think it’s awfully written 3 years from now; you might also write some of your best work after reading this guide. Poetry is fickle, but the pen lasts forever, so write poems as long as you can!
Once you understand how to write a poem, and after you’ve drafted some pieces that you’re proud of and ready to share, here are some next steps you can take.
Publish in Literary Journals
Want to see your name in print? These literary journals house some of the best poetry being published today.
https://writers.com/best-places-submit-poetry-online
Assemble and Publish a Manuscript
A poem can tell a story. So can a collection of poems. If you’re interested in publishing a poetry book, learn how to compose and format one here:
https://writers.com/poetry-manuscript-format
How to Write a Poem: Join a Writing Community
Writers.com is an online community of writers, and we’d love it if you shared your poetry with us! Join us on Facebook and check out our upcoming poetry courses .
Poetry doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it exists to educate and uplift society. The world is waiting for your voice, so find a group and share your work!
Sean Glatch
39 comments.
super useful! love these articles 💕
Finally found a helpful guide on Poetry’. For many year, I have written and filed numerous inspired pieces from experiences and moment’s of epiphany. Finally, looking forward to convertinb to ‘poetry format’. THANK YOU, KINDLY. 🙏🏾
Indeed, very helpful, consize. I could not say more than thank you.
I’ve never read a better guide on how to write poetry step by step. Not only does it give great tips, but it also provides helpful links! Thank you so much.
Thank you very much, Hamna! I’m so glad this guide was helpful for you.
Best guide so far
hey can you help me with my poems
Very inspirational and marvelous tips
Thank you super tips very helpful.
I have never gone through the steps of writing poetry like this, I will take a closer look at your post.
Beautiful! Thank you! I’m really excited to try journaling as a starter step x
[…] How to Write a Poem, Step-by-Step […]
This is really helpful, thanks so much
Extremely thorough! Nice job.
Thank you so much for sharing your awesome tips for beginner writers!
People must reboot this and bookmark it. Your writing and explanation is detailed to the core. Thanks for helping me understand different poetic elements. While reading, actually, I start thinking about how my husband construct his songs and why other artists lack that organization (or desire to be better). Anyway, this gave me clarity.
I’m starting to use poetry as an outlet for my blogs, but I also have to keep in mind I’m transitioning from a blogger to a poetic sweet kitty potato (ha). It’s a unique transition, but I’m so used to writing a lot, it’s strange to see an open blog post with a lot of lines and few paragraphs.
Anyway, thanks again!
I’m happy this article was so helpful, Eternity! Thanks for commenting, and best of luck with your poetry blog.
Yours in verse, Sean
One of the best articles I read on how to write poems. And it is totally step by step process which is easy to read and understand.
Thanks for the step step explanation in how to write poems it’s a very helpful to me and also for everyone one. THANKYOU
Totally detailed and in a simple language told the best way how to write poems. It is a guide that one should read and follow. It gives the detailed guidance about how to write poems. One of the best articles written on how to write poems.
what a guidance thank you so much now i can write a poem thank you again again and again
The most inspirational and informative article I have ever read in the 21st century.It gives the most relevent,practical, comprehensive and effective insights and guides to aspiring writers.
Thank you so much. This is so useful to me a poetry
[…] Write a short story/poem (Here are some tips) […]
It was very helpful and am willing to try it out for my writing Thanks ❤️
Thank you so much. This is so helpful to me, and am willing to try it out for my writing .
Absolutely constructive, direct, and so useful as I’m striving to develop a recent piece. Thank you!
thank you for your explanation……,love it
Really great. Nothing less.
I can’t thank you enough for this, it touched my heart, this was such an encouraging article and I thank you deeply from my heart, I needed to read this.
great teaching Did not know all that in poetry writing
This was very useful! Thank you for writing this.
After reading a Charles Bukowski poem, “My Cats,” I found you piece here after doing a search on poetry writing format. Your article is wonderful as is your side article on journaling. I want to dig into both and give it another go another after writing poetry when I was at university. Thank you!
Thanks for reading, Vicki! Let us know how we can support your writing journey. 🙂
Thank you for the nice and informative post. This article truly offers a lot more details about this topic.
Very useful information. I’m glad to see you discussed rhyming, too. I was in the perhaps mistaken idea that rhyming is frowned upon in contemporary poems.
Thanks alot this highly needed for a starter like me
Thanks for this Beautiful 🌹 step by step piece. As I dive into learning how to write poems I will probably find them helpful and refer to them later on again when needed. Thanks♥️
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- Library of Congress
- Research Guides
- American Folklife Center
Folklife and Creative Writing: Resources in the American Folklife Center
Introduction.
- Cowboy poetry
- Veterans poetry
- Living Nations, Living Words
- Brazilian Chapbooks
- Veteran Memoirs
- Plays and Novels
- Non-Fiction
- Library Blog Posts and Podcasts
- Additional Resources
- Searching the Collection
- Maggie Jones, Folklife Intern, American Folklife Center
- Melanie Kimball, Folklife Intern, American Folklife Center
- Meg Nicholas, Folklife Specialist, American Folklife Center
Created: June 13, 2024
Last Updated: August 6, 2024
Ask a Librarian: American Folklife Center
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![how to write a literary essay on a poem color image of blue ink writing scrawled on a yellowed piece of paper](https://d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/accounts/362763/images/alan_lomax_writing.jpg)
This guide provides an introduction to doing research on the topic of creative writing using American Folklife Center collections, and serves as a companion piece to an existing guide on Narrative and Verbal Arts in AFC collections. While the American Folklife Center archive contains primarily unpublished materials, in some cases a collection may include a manuscript or drafts of poems, essays or memoirs that were later published.
The Center's Collection Policy Statement lists nine areas of distinction for its collections, including "Narrative and Verbal Arts." The policy statement has this to say about this area of distinction:
Narrative and Verbal Arts encompass a wide range of genres including stories, myths, legends, jokes, fan literature, memes, proverbs, folk poetry, and cowboy poetry, as well as premier collections of American English regional dialects, plus collections of Gullah (Sea Islands Creole), Caribbean, and French-based Creole dialects.
For the purposes of this guide, "creative writing" encompasses examples of the written word found in AFC archival collections. This may refer to collections of materials written about AFC archival collections, or it may refer to a manuscript item that forms part of a donated collection. The items featured here often cross genres, including poetry, memoirs, and manuscripts for novels, essays and other non-fiction writing. To aid in navigation, collections have been grouped according to the following genres:
- Autobiography and Memoir
- Non-Fiction and Essays
Some collections may feature one creative writing style, while still others contain examples of multiple genres. In the latter case, the collection has been grouped according to the genre which best describes its contents.
In addition to these genre collections, the AFC archive also has items which pertain to the act of writing itself. These include interviews with notable authors which include descriptions of their writing process, as well as an exploration of writing for archival cataloguing.
Some of the collections and resources featured in this guide are available online. Others, including many non-digitized collections of note, require a visit to the American Folklife Center reading room. This guide is not intended to serve as a comprehensive record of all AFC archival collections relevant to this subject.
Writers Found in AFC Collections
- Maya Angelou
- Allen Ginsberg
- Stetson Kennedy
- Arthur Miller
- Toni Morrison
- Zora Neale Hurston
![how to write a literary essay on a poem Cover Art](https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/ui/en_US/images/icons/FilmVideo.png)
There is a digital presentation of this collection.
![how to write a literary essay on a poem Cover Art](https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/ui/en_US/images/icons/MusicRecording.png)
Creative Writing in the American Folklife Center
![how to write a literary essay on a poem](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:vhp:0879:087986:pm0001003/full/pct:50/0/default.jpg)
Richard Joseph Heh, author. "My Last Mission" poem written by Richard Joseph Heh. Richard Joseph Heh Collection (AFC 2001/001/87986), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
![how to write a literary essay on a poem A man stands in front of a microphone holding a piece of paper, reading a poem to an unpictured crowd.](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:afc:afc1999008:afc1999008_crf_lec09806/full/pct:100/0/default.jpg)
Lyntha Scott Eiler, photographer. John Russell, of Montcoal, reading a poem entitled "Keeper of the Forest" at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia. March 15, 1996. Coal River Folklife Collection (AFC 1999/008), American Folk
![how to write a literary essay on a poem Digital scan of a draft scene written by Alan Lomax for an unpublished script about the characters Mind and Matter](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:afc:afc2004004:ms2306:ms230606:afc2004004_ms230606_008/full/pct:100/0/default.jpg)
Alan Lomax, writer. Draft of unpublished scene from a play about the embodied characters Mind and Matter. Alan Lomax Collection (AFC 2004/004), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
![how to write a literary essay on a poem](https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/files/2017/09/Ginsberg2.jpg)
Unrealeased outtake footage of an interview with poet Allen Ginsberg . Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian Collection (AFC 2011/009), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
![how to write a literary essay on a poem](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:afc:afc2014008:afc2014008_ms2703:afc2014008_ms2703_011/full/pct:100/0/default.jpg)
Bess Lomax Hawes, writer. Bess's early writing, from 1930. Bess Lomax Hawes Collection (AFC 2014/008), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
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- Last Updated: Aug 23, 2024 3:22 PM
- URL: https://guides.loc.gov/folklife-creative-writing
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COMMENTS
Main Paragraphs. Now, we come to the main body of the essay, the quality of which will ultimately determine the strength of our essay. This section should comprise of 4-5 paragraphs, and each of these should analyze an aspect of the poem and then link the effect that aspect creates to the poem's themes or message.
Identify Key Themes and Symbols. One important aspect of crafting a poem analysis essay is identifying the key themes and symbols within the poem. Themes are recurring ideas or messages that the poet conveys through the poem, while symbols are objects, characters, or elements that represent deeper meanings. When analyzing a poem, pay attention ...
Body Paragraphs. The body section should form the main part of poetry analysis. Make sure you have determined a clear focus for your analysis and are ready to elaborate on the main message and meaning of the poem. Mention the tone of the poetry, its speaker, try to describe the recipient of the poem's idea.
Step 1: Reading the text and identifying literary devices. Step 2: Coming up with a thesis. Step 3: Writing a title and introduction. Step 4: Writing the body of the essay. Step 5: Writing a conclusion. Other interesting articles.
Poetry essay body paragraphs example. Body Paragraph 1: Identify and Explain Literary Devices. "Because I could not stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson employs various literary devices that contribute to the poem's themes. The poem employs personification, where Death is personified as a courteous carriage driver.
In order to write effectively about poetry, one needs a clear idea of what the point of writing about poetry is. When you are assigned an analytical essay about a poem in an English class, the goal of the assignment is usually to argue a specific thesis about the poem, using your analysis of specific elements in the poem and how those elements ...
The central section of a literary analysis essay is going to contain all the studies you've carried out. A good idea would be to divide the body into three or four paragraphs, each presenting a new idea. When writing an outline for your essay, determine that in the body part, you will describe: The central idea.
The final step to writing your poetry essay is to include your own insights and analysis. This is important for providing your essay with its unique voice and is essential for providing a unique argument. Using your knowledge of the poem, provide the reader with a summary of your own ideas and opinions on the poem.
A summary of the poetry analysis essay provides a concise overview of its content and structure. It helps the reader grasp the key elements of the poem before delving into the analysis. You need to: Summarize the content and structure of the poem. Highlight key events, images, or ideas presented in the poem.
Well, not really. A literary analysis essay asks you to make an original argument about a poem, play, or work of fiction and support that argument with research and evidence from your careful reading of the text. It can take many forms, such as a close reading of a text, critiquing the text through a particular literary theory, comparing one ...
Step 3: Mark It Up. There is no one correct way to mark up a poem. You can underline lines which stand out to you. You can take notes in the margins identifying poetic techniques as you see them. You can scan the poem, a method of marking stressed and unstressed syllables.
Microsoft Word - Literary analysis.rtf. The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to carefully examine and sometimes evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. As with any analysis, this requires you to break the subject down into its component parts. Examining the different elements of a piece of literature is not an ...
A good poem analysis essay example is an essential factor that can help you understand how to write an evaluative poetry essay. The poetry essay aims to test the ability to perceive and interpret the problems and artistic merits of the studied and independently read literary works, using the information obtained in studying the subject on the ...
Key Strategies for Writing a Successful Poetry Essay. 1. Close Reading: Begin by closely reading the poem multiple times to understand its structure, themes, and language use. 2. Analysis: Analyze the poem's meaning, symbolism, and poetic devices such as metaphors, similes, and imagery. 3.
The term regularly used for the development of the central idea of a literary analysis essay is the body. In this section you present the paragraphs (at least 3 paragraphs for a 500-750 word essay) that support your thesis statement. Good literary analysis essays contain an explanation of your ideas and evidence from the text (short story,
After reading the poem three times (you should print a copy of the poem from Project Bartleby), have a look at the following student essay on diction in "Base Details." The Diction of "Base Details" (Student Essay adapted from Edward J. Gordon, Writing About Imaginative Literature, Harbrace: 1973).
Guide for Analyzing Poetry Step Two The second step to analyzing a poem is to read it: once in yo. head and then a second time out loud. If the poem is particularly complex or long, you may find that reading it aloud several times helps you to better comprehend and identify formal elements such as rhythm or enjambment, s.
Pay attention to the use of language, word choice, and imagery. Consider the tone and mood of the poem. Look for patterns or repetitions in the poem. Think about the emotions evoked by the poem. Identifying the theme of a poem requires careful analysis and interpretation.
Example: Sample essay written on a Langston Hughes' poem. The following essay is a student's analysis of Langston Hughes' poem "I, Too" (poem published in 1926) I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen. When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Poetry analysis is the process of reviewing the multiple artistic, functional, and structural pieces that make up a poem. Typically, this review is conducted and recorded within the structure of a literary analysis essay. The nature of poetry is expressing complex feelings, which usually makes multiple meanings.
Here is an outline of a poem analysis essay to use: Opening paragraph - Introduce the Poem, title, author and background.. Body of text - Make most of the analysis, linking ideas and referencing to the poem.. Conclusion - State one main idea, feelings and meanings.. Poem Analysis Essay Introduction. To start an introduction to a poem analysis essay, include the name of the poem and the author.
Nonetheless, if you're new to writing poetry or want to explore a different writing process, try your hand at our approach. Here's how to write a poem step by step! 1. Devise a Topic. The easiest way to start writing a poem is to begin with a topic. However, devising a topic is often the hardest part.
Poetry; Autobiography and Memoir; Plays and Novels; Non-Fiction and Essays; Some collections may feature one creative writing style, while still others contain examples of multiple genres. In the latter case, the collection has been grouped according to the genre which best describes its contents.
1 Decide what you want to write about. Unless you've been assigned to write a poem about a specific topic, the first step in writing a poem is determining a topic to write about. Look for inspiration around you, perhaps in nature, your community, current events, or the people in your life.
The Literature Essay is an analysis of a specific literary piece. The Literature Review is about the survey of scholarly sources and forms part of a dissertation. The Literature Essay is more honed in on your literature as a reviewed piece based on the actual literature. The Literature review is an overview of a collective of information for ...