Exploding a poem



Exploding a poem:

Questions to help students analyse and deconstruct poetry

Subject matter

What is the poem about? Does it tell a story? This is the literal or surface level meaning.

Who is the poem about (i.e. who are the characters in the poem)? Is there a protagonist or an antagonist?

Who is speaking in the poem? Is there a narrator? To whom are they speaking? Why do you think the poet chose this perspective?

What is/are the idea/s or theme/s of the poem? For example, the futility of war is a theme often explored in war poetry. Another is the glory and heroism of soldiers who give their life in battle.

Tone / mood

Poets and authors set a TONE or MOOD in literature by conveying an emotion or emotions through words.

Tone often reveals the poet’s attitude towards the subject matter, characters and situations.

Tone is created by the setting, diction and other choices.

What words best describe the tone of the poem? Is there a shift or change in the tone of the poem at any point? What effect does that change have?

Mood is the overall atmosphere or feeling the reader gains from a text. It is the feelings the reader experiences as they read the poem or text. Writers use many devices to create mood, including images, dialogue, setting and plot.

What words best describe the mood of the poem? What feelings does the mood cause the reader to adopt, experience? Do these emotions help the reader to adopt certain attitudes or beliefs about the subject matter?

How do the tone and mood help to convey the poem’s message?

Words to help you describe the mood or tone of a poem:

|melancholy |relaxed |cautious |

|depressed |accepting |mournful |

|passionate |disbelieving |sorrowful |

|dramatic |disappointed |gloomy |

|humorous |sceptical |mournful |

|tragic |optimistic |anxious |

|adventurous |restless |sympathetic |

|romantic |sombre |heartbroken |

|heroic |angry | |

Form/structure

How does the poem look on the page? How many stanzas and how many lines in each stanza? How does structure help communicate the meaning of the poem? Do stanzas help communicate changes in ideas, time or sequence, tone or points of view?

Do structural techniques such as line breaks, enjambment, line length, indentation, punctuation and syntax/sentence structure impact the pace of the poem or serve to emphasise certain ideas and word choices?

Structure continued - Title, opening lines and final lines

What is the poem’s title? Does the title match the subject matter or not? Often this is can be a clue about the subject matter or use of metaphor or symbolism within the poem.

Pay particular attention to opening and final lines of poetry. If the poem is about an issue or conflict, is it resolved in the poem or reinforced in the final lines?

Is there a climax or most dramatic point in the poem? How does this climax impact the reader?

Visual devices / Figurative Language

When you read the poem do you get a picture or image forming in your mind? What does this image look like? What imagery and visual devices does the poem contain? What is the purpose of each visual device? What idea or emotion does it emphasis to the reader?

Visual devices include: simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism, descriptive language and the different types of imagery (visual, gustatory, olfactory, auditory and tactile / kinaesthetic).

Sound devices

What does the poem sound like? What sound devices does it contain? What is the purpose of each sound device? What idea or emotion does it emphasise to the reader? Does the sound of the poem contribute to the poem’s tone or mood, for example, sharp, discordant sounds might be used to make the reader feel uncomfortable whilst smooth, harmonious sounds might give a pleasant, calm feeling.

Sound devices include: rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, repetition, anaphora, cacophony, euphony, sibilance. Try reading the poem out loud if you are having trouble identifying sound devices or their effects.

Language choices

How do the poet’s deliberate word choices reveal the theme and the message of the poem? Remember, words have connotations and choosing several similar words or lexical chains in a poem can help to develop a powerful message about the subject matter and themes. Pay attention to emotive language, modality, paradox, allusion.

What tense is the poem written in, past, present or future? What effect does the choice in tense have on the reader?

For example, reflective poems that recount a story or event might be written in past tense to communicate regret or remorse. Poems that convey action and current issues might be written in present tense to communicate the immediacy and urgency of the situation. Questions about social issues and future actions might be written in future tense to help readers question the future impact. These choices help to indicate the poet’s attitudes towards the subject matter and the intended effect on the reader.

Personal response

How do you feel about the poem? Did you enjoy reading it? Why or why not? Do you agree/disagree with the poem’s message? Why? Do you think it is an effective/ineffective poem in terms of communicating its message to the intended audience? Why?

|Poetry Analysis Table |

|– Use the ‘Exploding a poem questions to help you complete this table to |

|acquire and integrate knowledge about the poem you are analysing. |

|Poet’s name: |Poem’s title: |Date of publication (if known): |Relevant historical, social, political |Relevant biographical information (if known): |

| | | |contextual information (if known): | |

| | | | | |

|Subject matter / surface level meaning: |Identify the voice, narrator of the poem (this |Tone and mood: |Form / structure: |Deeper philosophical meaning? Cultural links / |

| |may be different to the characters): | | |human discovery / comment on life. |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Visual Devices: |Sound devices: |Diction / language choices: | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|What effect does all of the above have on the reader? |

| |

| |

|How effective is the poem at conveying its mood and meaning to the intended audience? |

| |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download