Questions about Poetry
The following are some useful questions to keep in mind when trying to interpret a poem.
- Where does the poem take place?
- What is the poem trying to say?
- What is the overall feeling or mood? How does the poem make me feel?
- What kinds of words does the author use?
- When was the poem written?
- Who is the narrator addressing?
- What is my first impression of the poem?
- What is happening in the poem?
- How does the poem apply to life?
- What do the individual words mean?
- Who is the narrator? Who speaks? Who sees?
- What relationship does the title have to the poem?
- What do I know about the author?
- What are the patterns within the poem? What is its structure? What form of poem is it (sonnet, haiku, etc.)?
- What moral statement does the poem make? What is its moral value?
- Who or what influenced the poet to write this poem?
- Is it possible to see more than one pattern within the poem?
- What is the general idea of the poem?
- Is the poem about the poet or about someone else?
- Does it rhyme? What is its rhyme scheme? How does the rhyme or lack of rhyme contribute to the meaning of the poem?
- Is it interesting enough to analyze?
- Is there a story to the poem?
- Where does it take place?
- What is the mood?
- What kinds of words does it use? What is the level of diction?
- When was the poem written?
- What is the subject of the poem?
- What figures of speech does the poem contain?
- What effects are produced by various words within the poem?
- What is the poem written in response to?
- What does the writer intend to convey?
- What critical theories seem useful in understanding this poem?
- What contrasts exist in the poem?
- What significance do the line breaks/stanza breaks have?
- What do the elements of the poem suggest?
- What images does the poem contain? How do these images work together? Are there any conflicting images?
- Are there any symbols, allusions, or archetypal images within the poem? How do these work within the poem and what do they seem to mean?
For more on how to understand and analyze poetry, see
The Oregon State Guide to Poetry, OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film
and
Poetic Devices by Oxford Comma
The Oregon State Guide to Poetry, OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film
and
Poetic Devices by Oxford Comma
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