How do I Analyse poetry?

When conducting an analysis on a poem, you must take in to account six importanct factors: Imagery, language, tone, title, structure and rhythm. It is important to read through the poem a few times, so you get a feel of the sound and meaning of the peom. Then you will want to start your anayisis by disecting each stanza, starting from the title.

When analysing each stanza, you will consider the five factors, imagery, language, structure, tone and rhythm. A useful technique is to code each factor with a different highlighting colour, so when you are highlighting you can diffrentiate the different important factors. 

Here is an example of how to look for imagery. There are a number of different kinds of imagery; auditory imagery, kinaesthetic imagery, viual imagery and olfactory imagery. these pertain to different things, and help identify the kind of imagery you find. For example, language that refers to the sound of something is identified as auditory imagery. 

Another useful tip when analysing a poem, is to hesitate when expressing your ideas, every line can be interpreted in a number of different ways. It is helpful to brainstorm all your ideas and then narrow them down to the ones you feel best describe your poem. 

I hope this was helpful. 

With best wishes,

Maira.