Questions to Ask About the Poem

1. Read the poem carefully, making sure that you understand the denotative meaning of each word.

2. Who is the speaker? What kind of person does he or she seem to be? To whom is he speaking and what are his point of view and his relation to the subject?

3. What is the general mood or tone of the poem? Is the tone consistent throughout, or is there a shift?

4. Does the poet manipulate the meanings of words using any of the following devices: connotation, allusion, repetition, ambiguity, punning, paradox, irony? How do these devices add to the resonance and significance of the denotative meaning?

5. What is the meter and rhyme scheme of the poem? What other significant repetitions of sounds (alliteration, assonance, consonance) occur in the poem? How do they contribute to the effect of the poem? What is the form of the poem (sonnet, ode, lyric, dramatic monologue, etc.)?

6. Examine the poem’s imagery. Are any images repeated or otherwise emphasized? Does the imagery in the poem developed according to a logical pattern? Can you determine why the poet uses the images that he or she does?

7. What forms of poetic comparisons are used and what do they add to the poem’s imagery and meaning?

8. Does the poem make use of symbol or allegory?

9. W hat is the situation or occasion of the poem? What is the setting in time and space?

10. Paraphrase or summarize the poem. What is the poem’s theme, argument, or central idea and how is that theme developed?