Have you ever thought reading poetry wasn't
for you?
We're here to help.
Reading poetry well takes practice. Understanding a poem requires focus, patience, and attention to detail. Using the steps below, however, can help you become a better reader of poetry and enjoy a poem’s beauty.
Step 1: See The Poem As Art
- When you go into an art gallery, you interact with its paintings and sculptures in a specific manner.
- For instance, if I’m looking at a portrait, I’m going to try and notice all the small details the painter has put into the subject’s face, hair, clothing as well as the background the painter placed the subject in.
- In order for me to notice all these small details, I have to stare at the painting for a long time. Rushing past the portrait with a single glance will not give me the same understanding of the painting that I would get from standing in front of it for twenty minutes.
- Just like a portrait, a poem is a work of art. I must give the poet the same respect I would give a painter in an art gallery by taking the time to process their art well.
Step 2: Read It Out Loud
- Poetry is meant to be read out loud.
- One cannot appreciate or notice all the musical features of rhythm and meter that a poem offers unless we read it out loud.
- Additionally, reading the poem out loud helps us understand how the syntax of the poem works: how the grammar and organization work together to convey an idea or a feeling.
- Therefore, it is wise to read a poem out loud, not once, but several times, as it will take a couple of readings to understand how the tone and rhythm of the poem function. The more you read the poem out loud, the better you’ll understand the poem.
Step 3: Look At The Structure
- Identifying what kind of poem the author’s written can be helpful.
- The meter and the feet of the poem will indicate if the poem is a sonnet, a villanelle, an ode, free verse, a ballad, and the list goes on.
- Count out the number of syllables in each line and determine whether a poem is iambic or trochaic: whether the first of the last pair of syllables is stressed.
- The poet communicates their thought or feeling in a specific form for a reason, so paying close attention to the structure of a poem can help you determine what a poet is trying to say.
Step 4: Focus On The Images
- Poets are very intentional about the images they use in their poetry.
- Each image is often meant to give the reader a specific idea of what the feelings or ideas in the poem look like.
- Identify the images in the poem, and then try to imagine what the image would look like: draw a picture if it’s helpful. Let them come to life as much as possible.
Step 5: Go Through Stanza by Stanza
- Just like a painter picks very carefully the colors they use, so a poet puts a lot of thought into the words and the way he or she arranges them.
- Read each stanza slowly and meticulously so as not miss any details.
- If you are unfamiliar with the words in the poem, look them up.
- Ultimately, your goal is to discover the message of each stanza by closely reading its diction and phrases paired alongside the images the poet creates.
Step 6: Unpack It
Unpacking the poem can be the most difficult part of reading poetry.
For instance, Rachel once wrote a poem about a mailman at work. She talked about how the mailman was like a messenger, delivering both sorrow and joy to all.
However, her professor, who was quite a bit older than her, was reminded of a news story when a mailman had put bombs in several postal customers’ boxes. His perspective completely transformed the way he saw her poem, and changed the meaning of her poem into something entirely different than she had intended.
Unpacking the poem can be the most difficult part of reading poetry.
For instance, Rachel once wrote a poem about a mailman at work. She talked about how the mailman was like a messenger, delivering both sorrow and joy to all.
However, her professor, who was quite a bit older than her, was reminded of a news story when a mailman had put bombs in several postal customers’ boxes. His perspective completely transformed the way he saw her poem, and changed the meaning of her poem into something entirely different than she had intended.
- Trying to determine the multiple feelings and ideas a poem is conveying at once is the trickiest part of reading a poem.
- Here, you will be tempted to project your own or society’s way of understanding the topics and images in the poem instead of focusing solely on what the poem is communicating by itself.
- It is completely worthwhile to do a little research to determine the history behind or meaning of the words or images the poet uses if he or she lived in a different time than you. Otherwise, you may warp what the author is trying convey.
Step 7: Reread It
- After completing all these tasks, read the poem out loud once again.
- Likely, you’ll have a better understanding and appreciation of what the poet is orchestrating in their work of art.
- Rereading it one or two more times will help you solidify the understanding of the poem you’ve worked so hard to create.
Step 8: Return To It
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December 2013, by Rachel Thompson and Caitlin David
Thanks to Dr. Janelle Aijian, Dr. Monica Cure, Professor Chris Davidson, Dr. Marc Malandra, and Dr. Diane Vincent.
- What’s amazing about poetry is that if you go year without rereading the poem, and then come back to it after a year, you will see new things in the poem.
- Because you have changed – your mind may be focused on different pursuits than when you first read the poem, or you may have gained a new understanding about a topic in the poem – your understanding of the poem will likely change, sometimes in small way or a big way.
- Maybe this idea scares you, because such an experience will show you that you can’t understand everything about a good poem the first time you analyze it.
- A poem is full of so much depth, and, like a scuba diver, you’ll have to keep diving into the poem and exploring it in order to gain a more holistic understanding of what a poem communicates.
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December 2013, by Rachel Thompson and Caitlin David
Thanks to Dr. Janelle Aijian, Dr. Monica Cure, Professor Chris Davidson, Dr. Marc Malandra, and Dr. Diane Vincent.