POETRY ANALYSIS WHO IS THE SPEAKER?

Is the voice dramatised? How is the speaker related to what is happening in the poem? How involved is he? (Check the tone) What is the point of view he offers is it social, intellectual, political, cultural or religious etc.?

ANALYSIS: POINT OF VIEW & CHARACTERISATION

How does the background of the speaker affect his perspective of the situation? What do the speakers thoughts and feelings towards the situation reveal about his character? Is he reliable as a speaker? (Does his personality, character or intellect affect his ability to interpret the situation or others correctly?) What do you think is the speakers function in this poem? How does the poets representation of the speaker colour your perspective of and feelings towards him?

WHAT IS THE SITUATION?

What is the historical / social / psychological / emotional setting? What is happening at this setting? Is there an external or/and internal conflict? What is the nature of the conflict (ethnic, social, cultural, psychological, emotional, spiritual etc.)?

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE POEM?

What are the central ideas raised? What areas of human experience are seen as important? What aspects of the human condition are foregrounded or suppressed? Can you see any ways in which the poem refers to, uses or relies on other texts, myths, symbols, famous figures, historical events, quotations etc. to convey its meaning? (i.e. does he use allusions?)

ANALYSIS: THE SITUATION & THE SETTING

How is tension created and how is the climax produced (through the use of contrasts, through incremental repetition of diction, through the variation or development of imagery, through question and answer etc.)? Is there a resolution to the conflict? What is significant about the way the conflict is created and resolved? What is the significance if there is no resolution of conflict? What are the fundamental causes of the conflict? What is the function of the setting: background for action/ antagonist/means of creating atmosphere/means of revealing character/means of reinforcing theme? How are the functions of the setting fulfilled in this poem?

ANALYSIS: THE THEME

Is the meaning of the poem explicitly or implicitly conveyed? Are there different levels of meaning in the poem (literal and symbolic)? What is the value of the allusions used? What generalisations about life or human experience are made in this poem? What elements of the poem contribute most heavily to the formulation of the theme? What is the value or significance of the poems theme? Is it topical or universal in its application?

GEB/LIT WORKSHOP 2/DEVELOPING RESPONSE TO POETRY

HOW IS THE MEANING OF THE POEM CONVEYED?

FORM & STRUCTURE

Is the poem a sonnet, ode, ballad, villanelle, dramatic monologue, narrative, epic etc.? Is blank or free verse used? What is the layout of the poem? What kind of metre is used? Is there a noticeable rhythm which falls into a pattern? Where are the pauses?

LANGUAGE
What kind of figurative language (imagery, metaphor, simile, symbol, personification, hyperbole, metonymy, motifs, conceits etc.) is used? Is the diction used technical, flowery, colloquial, cerebral, obscure, ironic, childlike etc.? Is the language explicit or implicit (e.g. is there the use of understatement / ambiguity / puns / paradoxes)? Is the word order straightforward or unconventionally crafted? Is there experimentation with language (i.e. is there any unusual word collocation / innovative use of words / breaking of grammatical rules etc.?) Is there repetition of or emphasis on certain words?

ANALYSIS OF FORM
How does the poet fulfil or subvert the conventions of the poetic form to convey his meaning? How does the poetic form develop the line of argument or enhance the meaning of the poem? How does the structure emphasise significant features (e.g. is a particular line isolated for emphasis? Does repetition reinforce an idea or emotion? Is there an emerging argument which relies on the structure for its effect?) Does the rhythm emphasise a particular idea or emotion? Does the use of pauses call attention to significant words in the poem and isolate particular ideas?

ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE
How effective is the poets use of language in conveying the meaning of the poem? Are there shifts in the use of language? What functions are served by these shifts? Is language used to reveal, distort, embellish, conceal, subvert the truth?

SOUNDS
What kind of sounds are in the poem (e.g. end rhyme, internal rhyme, masculine rhyme, feminine rhyme, half rhyme, eye rhyme, alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia etc.)?

STYLE & TONE

Is the poetic style comic, lyrical, ironic, scholarly etc.? What kind of humour is used? What kinds of irony are used? What is the tone of the speaker? Is there a discrepancy between the speakers tone and the tone of the poem?

ANALYSIS OF SOUNDS
How does the use of sounds relate to the meaning of the poem?

ANALYSIS OF STYLE AND TONE

Is the style adopted appropriate for the discussion of the concerns in the poem? How does the style enhance the meaning of the poem? How does the tone adopted affect the mood of the poem and reveal the attitude of the speaker / poet? How is the meaning of the poem enriched with the use of irony? What are the functions served by humour?

GEB/LIT WORKSHOP 2/DEVELOPING RESPONSE TO POETRY

Personal Response to the Work What qualities does the poem evoke in you as a reader?
What learning, experience, taste, interest, values have you acquired as a result of your reading of this poem? What are the feelings and thoughts evoked in you after reading this text?

What is your historical and cultural distance from the poem?

What can you say about the difference between your cultures views of the world, your own experiences, on the one hand, and those of the voice, characters, and the world of the poem on the other? What is it that you might have to understand better in order to experience the poem the way someone of the same time, class, gender and race might have understood it? Is it possible that your reading might be different from theirs because of your particular social / racial / gender / class and historical context? How does your world govern the way you see the world of the text? What does the text tell us about the world of its making?

Reference used: Critical Analysis of Poetry by John Lye

GEB/LIT WORKSHOP 2/DEVELOPING RESPONSE TO POETRY