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Nov 27, 2007 · Looking at the poem’s shape, you can see whether the lines are continuous or broken into groups (called stanzas), or how long the lines are, and so how dense, on a physical level, the poem is. You can also see whether it looks like the last poem you read by the same poet or even a poem by another poet.
- Diving Into The Wreck
On "Diving into the Wreck" - Diving into the Wreckby...
- The Red Wheelbarrow
Begin with what you know, or what you think you know. First,...
- Stanzas
A stanza is a grouping of lines that forms the main unit in...
- Michael S. Harper
Michael S. Harper - How to Read a Poem - Academy of American...
- Edward Hirsch
Edward Hirsch - How to Read a Poem - Academy of American...
- William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams - How to Read a Poem - Academy of...
- Diving Into The Wreck
Aug 6, 2024 · Reading poetry can be a daunting affair. In Australian Poetry Month, an expert shows us how one poem works – and what it reveals.
First, read the poem aloud, just experiencing the sound and rhythm of the words as a kind of music. Read the poem aloud several more times, speaking slowly. This helps you attend to each carefully chosen word. Use a natural tone of voice—no need to give a dramatic reading like an actor on stage. Let the words “speak” for themselves.
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- 5
- The Title Matters
- The First Time Through
- Images and Tone
- Find Connections and Ask Questions
- Look Closely at Diction
Reading a poem, we start at the beginning—the title, which we allow to set up an expectation for the poem in us. A title can set a mood or tone, or ground us in a setting, persona, or time. It is the doorway into the poem. It prepares us for what follows. How would you describe the tone of each of the following titles?
Upon a first reading, it’s important to get an idea of what it is you are entering. Read the poem out loud. Listen for the general, larger qualities of the poem like tone, mood, and style. Look up any words you cannot define. Circle any phrases that you don’t understand and markany that stand out to you. Some questions we may ask ourselves include:...
After an initial introduction to the poem, read slowly and allow the meanings to emerge as you move from line to line, paying attention next to images and tone. Before moving ahead, ask what your emotional response is at the end of each line, as lines can create different meanings and give the poem complexity. For instance, in the following stanza,...
After moving through the poem and noting images, their effects, and the tone or places where tone changes, the next question that is helpful to ask is: What does x remind me of? Or, what associations am I making? Usually the connections I would suggest making would be within the poem itself and the patterns it creates—between lines, images, repetit...
When reading a poem, you should always look up words you do not know, but sometimes it can help to look up words that you do know when they have more than one meaning, too. The last line of the poem may seem a bit mysterious: “I did this for myself, / not for community or beauty’s sake, / yet soon it had a rhythm and a frame.” A rhythm and a frame?...
- Michelle Bonczek Evory
- 2018
Sometimes, a poem is divided into verses called stanzas. The following poem has 3 stanzas – each in a blue box. Notice the space (break) between the stanzas. That is how the reader knows one stanza is ending and another beginning. (Read the poem aloud. It is quite funny!) As you work through this lesson, you will read the following collection ...
Use the guidelines below to learn how to read a poem and understand it. Read a poem with a pencil in your hand. Mark it up; write in the margins; react to it; get involved with it. Circle important, or striking, or repeated words. Draw lines to connect related ideas. Mark difficult or confusing words, lines, and passages.
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Nov 12, 2021 · Reading poetry can be daunting if you do not have a manageable method for digesting poems on a page. Learn more about reading poetry and a five-step guide to getting the most out of poetic language.
