Section One: Paraphrase the poem. Put it in your own words. This paraphrase should be easy to read and understand using contemporary language. You do not have to mimic the phrasing of the original poem but can write your paraphrase in paragraph form if this is easier for you. Remember that a paraphrase is not an interpretation or place to talk about meaning.
Section Two: (Each of these should be a paragraph. Some might be shorter; others, longer. Some may not apply to your poem.)
1. Who is the poet? What can you learn about him or her that is helpful in understanding the poem? Look at his or her age, nationality, time he or she lived and wrote, beliefs, habits, etc. You can find some of this in the Literature Resource Center database in the Library’s list of specialized databases. We’ll talk about how to find this in class. (You will need to include this resource and any other sources you use in your works cited list as well as use proper citation through quotation sandwiches in the essay itself if you borrow information from sources.)
2. What are the subject and situation of the poem? Look at the title. What does it tell you, if anything? What is this poem about? Who is speaking? Why? What are the circumstances? Is there a comparison or analogy at work? What is the author’s attitude towards the subject? Is this poem supposed to make you feel something? Think something? What? What mood comes through in the poem? How? What is significant about what you find?
3. Think about the sound and rhythm of the poem. Is there a meter? Is there rhyme and/or a rhyme scheme? Alliteration or assonance? What other sounds are important? What is significant about this?
4. How is the poem organized or divided? Are there stanzas? Different speakers or subjects or metaphors? How does the poem progress? Simple to complex? Abstract to concrete? Outer to inner? Present to past? Place to place? What is significant about this?
5. Does this poem have a particular form or genre like sonnet, elegy, epic, lyric poem, ode? How does that work, and why is it significant?
6. Examine the use of word choices, symbols, and figurative language like metaphors, similes, personification. Which of these do you find and how do they work?
OVER
Section Three: (Two Paragraphs)
In the first paragraph, discuss what seems to be most important about this poem to you as a reader. Is it the poem’s theme? The language? The imagery? The way it takes your breath away? The way you see the subject differently after you’ve studied the poem?
In a second paragraph, answer the “so what” question: Why does this poem matter? Why should we pay attention to it?