How to Read a Poem

I.)  Some poems are just an image meant for us to enjoy or appreciate.

II.)  The majority of poems have some kind of "process" or "story" to them.

a.)  Who is the speaker?  (e.g., the poet or not?  male or female?  young or old?  race?  class?  sane or insane?  etc.)

b.)  What is happening to the speaker at this moment?  (e.g., the "dramatic situation" the speaker is in; includes the setting)

c.)  What is the speaker's attitude?  (e.g., how does the speaker feel at this moment?)

d.)  Does the speaker undergo some sort of change?  (e.g., how does the poem "move" from beginning to end?)

e.)  What might the speaker want us to know, think, or feel after reading the poem?  (e.g., does one thing represent something else?)

f.)  What catches your eye as you read the poem?  (e.g., particular words, phrases, lines; the layout of the poem on the page; etc.)

g.)  What catches your ear as you read the poem aloud?  (e.g., general sounds, specific words, etc.)

III.)  Other "standard" literary things to think about when reading and discussing a poem:

a.)  Visual imagery and other sensory imagery -- Aural, Tactile, Gustatory, Olfactory

b.)  Repetitive imagery -- might be a "clue" to the "meaning" of the poem

c.)  Figurative language -- metaphors, similes, personification, paradox, oxymoron, overstatement, understatement, etc.

d.)  Symbols

e.)  Meter -- e.g., regular or uneven?  (Might there be a reason why?)

f.)  Rhyme -- e.g., repetitious or otherwise?  (Might there be a reason why?)