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A little learning poem analysis
Poems and their analysis
Poems and their analysis
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Poetry is a compact language that expresses complex feelings. To understand the multiple meanings of a poem, readers must examine its words and phrasing from the perspectives of rhythm, sound, images, obvious meaning, and implied meaning. Readers then need to organize responses to the verse into a logical, point-by-point explanation. A good beginning involves asking questions that apply to most poetry.
The Context of the Poem
Clear answers to the following questions can help establish the context of a poem and form the foundation of understanding:
-Who wrote the poem? Does the poet's life suggest any special point of view, such as a political affiliation, religious sect, career interest, musical talent, family or personal problems, travel, or handicapfor example, H. D.'s feminism, Amiri Baraka's radicalism, T. S. Eliot's conversion to Anglicanism, William Carlos Williams' career as a physician, A. R. Ammons' training in chemistry, Amy Lowell's aristocratic background, John Berryman's alcoholism, or Hart Crane's homosexuality?
-When was the poem written and in what country? Knowing something about the poet's life, times, and culture helps readers understand what's in a poem and why.
-Does the poem appear in the original language? If not, readers should consider that translation can alter the language and meaning of a poem.
-Is the poem part of a special collection or series? Examples of such series and collections include Edna St. Vincent Millay's sonnets, Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems, or Rita Dove's triad, "AdolescenceI, II, and III."
-Does the poem belong to a particular period or literary movement? For example, does the poem relate to imagism, confessional verse, the Beat movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights era, the American Indian renaissance, or feminism?
The Style
Into what category does the poem fit for example, Carl Sandburg's imagism in "Fog" or Gwendolyn Brooks' epic "The Anniad"? Readers should apply definitions of the many categories to determine which describes the poem's length and style:
Is it an epic, a long poem about a great person or national hero?
Is it a lyric, a short, musical verse?
Is it a narrative, a poem that tells a story?
-Is it a haiku, an intense, lyrical three-line verse of seventeen syllables?
-Is it confessional? For example, does it examine personal memories and experiences?
From the very first word of the poem, there is a command coming from an unnamed speaker. This establishes a sense of authority and gives the speaker a dominant position where they are dictating the poem to the reader rather than a collaborative interacti...
poem. The tone used by each poet is critical because it indicates to the reader their
Poetry is a distinct form of literature that is widely known for its ability to skillfully use words to paint an image in the minds of readers. Poetry often has great depth encouraging readers to look beyond the lines to reveal a hidden message. This style of writing is intended to convey an intense emotional response using repetition, rhythm, sound, and structure sometimes producing a music like quality. Lyrics similarly use repetition, rhythm, sound, and structure but are intended to be sung and heard through music. Song lyrics often lack a similar emotional depth, however, some lyricists have produced music that is able to capture the same components as poetry.
You must analyse at least six poems, ensuring you include at least one pre-1914 poem.
The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.
In any discussion of poetry vs. prose worth it's stanzas, questions regarding such tools as meter, rhyme, and format must come into play. These are, after all, the most obvious distinguishing features of poetry, and they must certainly be key in determining the definition, and in fact nature, of poetry.
of the difficulty in acceptance. In the first few stanzas the poet creates the impression that she
On the surface the poem seems to be a meditation on past events and actions, a contemplative reflection about what has gone on before. Research into the poem informs us that the poem is written with a sense of irony
"Characteristics of Modern Poetry - Poetry - Questions & Answers." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. .
Some poems, such as a sonnet, are written in a rhyme scheme and contain a total of 14 lines which are known as stanzas. William Shakespeare is very know for his collection of sonnets, 154 of them to be precise. In Shakespeare 's sonnets he told stories about love and mystery using rhythm of words usually in abab cdcd rhyming form. Not all poems have to rhyme though, free verse poems have no rhyme scheme and no specific form in which they should be written, such as the poem "Directive" by Robert Frost. There are 55 different forms of poetry, so choosing which type to write is all up to your preferences weather you want short, long, rhyming, free write, or
The article stated, “This poem was written dactylic hexameter, a form of rhythmic scheme in poetry”. Emily Dickinson was another famous writer at this time who had a huge impact on poetry. She was one of the first poets who wrote their poems in the first person. She created a different style of poetry, language expressing it through her work. Most of Emily’s work was about something she enjoyed about life. The article stated, “She used pictures from nature, religion, law and various others for her themes most of Dickinson poems are lyrics like short stories, poems which are compressed through thought and feeling”. One major difference between all the poets, was that Emily Dickinson did not title her work. Most of her writing was described by the first stanza. One of her special gifts as a poet is her ability to describe abstract concepts with concrete images. The article stated, “Most of her abstracts, ideas and material things are used to explain each other, but the relation between them remains complex and unpredictable”. She mainly focused on word of choice rather than a tryout with form or structure. Walt Whitman was a free verse poetry style writer. He was also
In relation to structure and style, the poem contains six stanzas of varying lengths. The first, second, and fourth stanzas
Poetry is a form of written word which has experience created by sound and meaning. It integrates various elements: Imagery; a figurative language which prompts the reader as well as the listener of the poem to create mental images. Poetic choice of words; this is based on the sound that is, denotation and connotation. Denotation refers to the accurate meaning of the word while connotation refers to the intended meaning of a word. The sound is another element of poetry which about the rhyme; words that sound similar or exactly alike in the poem. It employs metaphor which expresses something new and meaning way by way of comparison on unlike things. The theme as the main element is the purpose of the poem. Poetry is tied as an art because of
meaning of the poem is greatly enhanced by its form, and for a variety of
sense of closeness to the topic of his poem. In the very beginning of the poem we