Poem Studying Strategies
Analyzing a Poem
We begin the study of a poem with two or more readings by myself or volunteer students, followed by a brief discussion of the surface meaning: What does the poem say on initial reading? The second question for discussion of each poem is, What is the poet really saying? Here we look for added understanding, for example questioning whether the poet is perhaps speaking ironically. We may also look at the historical context of the poem, whether the poet is speaking from a persona, what other poems we might compare this poem to, etc. Last we look at craft, asking how the poet creates the overall impression of the poem, visual and auditory, and how that impression relates to the subject matter of the poem. We may also talk about how students might use techniques in their own poems.
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. An example occurs in lines three and four of Natasha Trethewey's poem, with the 'o' vowel sound, "the pine woods roll by, and counts on one hand / dead possum along the road, crows in splotches" [underlining mine]. The lines also illustrate the difference between visual and audible assonance; though all the words contain the letter 'O,' the sound of the vowel changes. ESOL students need to be especially alert to enunciation, and these two lines can lead to a whole discussion on varying vowel sounds in English. Recognizing, writing about, and utilizing assonance will lift student papers and poems above the norm.
Alliteration and Consonance
Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound in close proximity. A less familiar but highly effective device is consonance, the grouping of similarly formed consonant sounds. Poetic Designs by Stephen Adams offers a clear explanation of how our mouths make sounds. The consonants can be grouped according to the location of lips, teeth and tongue as they are said aloud. A partial list includes: plosives ñ P and B; dentals ñ T and D and TH; sibilants ñ S and SH and Z; nasals ñ M and N and NG; fricatives ñ F and V; and gutturals ñ G and K. Poets often use consonants from the same group to create euphony (harmony) or from different groups to create cacophony (dissonance). Here's an example of euphony from Shakespeare, using fricatives to suggest pathos. Note also the assonance with 'O.'
- I am a very foolish fond old man,
- Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less;… [underlining mine].
- Here's an example of cacophony, also from Shakespeare, suggesting turmoil,
- Were they not forc'd with those that should be ours,...
Rhythm and Meter
Normally, the heart beats at a casual iambic pace. Iambic is soft-HARD-soft-HARD-soft-HARD and is the natural pacing of speech and thinking. In times of stress, the heart can pound with a spondee beat. Spondee is HARD-HARD-HARD-HARD. Iambic pentameter, a familiar poetic meter, consists of five iambic feet per line, often explained as the length of a comfortable breath. You can find a good discussion of all the different feet and their combinations into lines in Chapter 4 of The Art of Writing Poetry by William Packard. The ballad stanza is examined with the Dickinson poem in this unit.
Poets move in and out of meter in order to create rhythm. Poets using a specific meter for reference often begin with a line or two that exactly fit the meter, to let the reader know the pattern they will be deviating from and returning to. Then they begin to vary the pattern. Why not stick with a steady meter? Songs stick pretty much to meter, why not poetry? Music has variations in pitch and tone and instruments, and poems just have a few vowels and consonants to play with… plus rhythm! Just as with rhyme, the poet may also use a deviation from strict meter to call extra attention to a particular word.
You may want to give students a double-spaced copy of a poem from the unit and have them work through the metrical patterns line by line. Be aware that this isn't easy even for graduate students in creative writing (!), and that different interpretations are natural. Students may find it easier to clap out the meter and listen to how the words weave around the hand claps. The main point here, and I'm happy if students get this much, is that meter is the pattern, and rhythm comes from moving in and out of the meter. For a full discussion of meter and rhythm, see Poetic Designs.
Rhyme
Various types and reasons for rhyme are covered in Lesson Plan 1, using the example of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "I Am an Exile from my Home; Heavily." Poetic Designs also offers an extensive explanation of rhyme.
End Stopping and Enjambment
A poet end stops a line by finishing a thought, phrase, or sentence, at the end of the line. Enjambment involves carrying the thought over the line end. A full discussion occurs in Lesson Plan 2, using the example of Judith Ortiz Cofer's "El Olvido (Según las Madres)." You can find a clear explanation of line break traditions and rationale in Poetic Designs.
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