I don't really "get" poetry. How am I supposed to analyse it?

When analysing poetry, there are a number of simple things that we can pick out and look at in detail to discuss the poem. Firstly, the poet's choice of words is very important in displaying their intentions, and what they are trying to get across in the poem. We can look for word types such as adjectives, similies and metaphors which we can often use to discuss why the poet chose this particular word, and what image they wished to convey with it. Secondly, we can look at the form and structure of the poem. Has the poet used a rhythm to place emphasis on particular words? Does the poet use rhyme, and if so in what structure? In addition, it's also important to consider the context of the poet and their work. For example, when looking at the poetry of World War One, we have to bear this context in mind when closely analysing poetry. Is the brutality of war conveyed in the poet's choice of words? Is the military context reflected in the writing style, or the message of the poem? While we can always look at things like word choice and structure, even if we don't know anything about the poet or the background to the poem, context can act like the final piece of the puzzle and tie everything together.