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Writing Handout L-
Understanding Poetry
When reading poetry, it is important to evaluate and interpret the message of the poem.
ļ· An evaluation is a judgment, a set of opinions about a literary work based on a thoughtful consideration of it. Your evaluation of a poem is based upon how good you think the poem is and how much significance the poem has for you. Your opinion or evaluation of any poem also depends upon your interpretation of it. Evaluation depends upon interpretation, for your judgment of a poem depends on how you understand it. ļ· An interpretation is an explanation of the meaning or significance of something. When interpreting a poem, you should identify the elements of the poem by asking yourself the following:
Who is the speaker? Why did the poet choose those specific words? How are those words used? What images are conveyed through those words?
Elements of Poetry Structure ā the formal pattern of organization Speaker ā the voice we hear in it Diction ā the selection of words Tone ā the voice we hear in it and its implied attitude toward the subject Syntax ā the order of the words Imagery ā the details of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch Figurative language ā nonliteral ways of expressing one thing in terms of another Rhyme, assonance, and alliteration ā the sound effects Rhythm ā the pattern of accents we hear in the poemās words, phrases, lines, and sentences Theme ā the controlling idea or implied meaning within a work
When interpreting a poem, you should focus on the following elements:
ļ Structure A poem is typically made up of lines and stanzas. The lines of the poem create stanzas, a group of lines of verse forming a separate unit within a poem. In many poems, each stanza has the same number of lines and the same rhythm and rhyme scheme. As you read each stanza, look for the different elements of poetry which are discussed in this handout. Analyzing a poem stanza by stanza makes the task of interpretation less daunting.
Robert Frost Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.
1 st^ Stanza
My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other soundās the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
ļ Speaker, Diction, and Tone The speaker is who we hear when we read or hear a poem. The words the speaker uses (diction) set the tone of the poem. The tone is the speakerās implied attitude toward the subject. The tone of the poem is determined by analyzing the words the author chooses. You must consider the denotation and connotation of each word. Denotation is the basic, most specific meaning of a word. Connotation is an implied additional meaning of a word.
For example, in Robert Frostās āStopping by Woods on a Snowing Evening,ā the denotation of the word sleep in the last two lines is āthe natural, periodically recurring physiological state of rest.ā However, sleep also carries the additional connotation of death. When reading a poem, you must consider both the connotation and denotation of the words.
ļ Syntax A poet uses syntax, the arrangement of the words, to express meaning and convey feeling. Speakers who repeat themselves, break off abruptly in the midst of a thought, or reverse the standard order of the words, for example, reveal something about how they feel.
For example, in Robert Frostās āStopping by Woods on a Snowing Evening,ā the word order of the first line is inverted: Whose woods these are I think I know.
The normal order would be: I think I know whose woods these are. In the normal order, emphasis falls on what the speaker knows or thinks he knows.
However, in the word order used by Frost, emphasis falls on āthe woods,ā which are more important than what the speaker knows or thinks he knows. Additionally, Frostās arrangement of words (syntax) has more rhythm than the normal word order, which reads like a casual statement.
2 nd^ Stanza
3 rd^ Stanza
4 th^ Stanza
Rhyme is present in lines one, two, and four. Assonance is clearly audible as the long e of āsweepā is echoed in āea-syā and ādown-y,ā and the ow of ādownyā echoes the same sound in āsoundās.ā Alliteration is present in Frostās use of s as a beginning sound: āSome,ā āsound,ā and āsweepā and also as an ending sound: āGives,ā āhis,ā āharness bells,ā and āis.ā
ļ Theme A poet develops the theme of his or her poem by using sets of key words that identify the subject and his or her attitude or feeling about it. The controlling idea of a poem is the idea continuously developed throughout the poem. When determining a poemās theme, you should be careful not to oversimplify the poem or distort its meaning. A poem may have multiple themes because poems can be interpreted from more than one perspective, and there is more than one way to state or explain a poemās meaning.
In āStopping by Woods on a Snowing Evening,ā one theme is the necessity to face the responsibilities inherent in adult life. Another theme is the ability of man to appreciate beauty, particularly the beauty of nature.
NOTE:
ļ· Background information can extremely useful when interpreting poetry. Knowing when the poem was written or specific historical information can reveal a lot about the meaning of the poem. ļ· When a poet uses repetition, the repetition is usually significant. Focusing on the repetition will be useful when making an interpretation. ļ· It is useful to notice symbolism when reading poetry. Seasonal symbolism is often used. For example, winter represents death; spring represents a new beginning; summer represents growth; and fall represents aging. ļ· Poetry is not meant to be literal. A poet chooses to write a poem so he or she can express an idea in a creative, nonliteral way.
Read the following poem without annotations; then read it again with the annotations. Read the interpretation that follows.
Theodore Roethke [1908-1963]
My Papaās Waltz The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My motherās countenance Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt [1942]
My Papaās Waltz
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My motherās countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
Interpretation for My Papaās Waltz
My Papaās Waltz has four stanzas; each stanza has four lines. The speaker is the son. A father and son are wildly dancing, not literally waltzing, around the house as the mother looks on. She has a frown on
Papa has been drinking; is this a concern to the son?
Does this mean the waltzing was not enjoyable? Or was it fun even though it was not easy?
ārompedā = boisterous play; why not āwaltzedā or ādancedā?
ācountenanceā = facial expression; is the mother happy, angry, approving, disapproving?
ābatteredā = result of violence or just well-worn from a manual labor type job?
ābeat time on my headā = painful, affectionate, or just a way of keeping the musical beat?
ācaked hard by dirtā = father has a blue-collar job? Just came home from work?
āClingingā how? ā Fearfully? Joyfully? Lovingly?
āUnfrownā says something about momās feelings. Is she angry or is she simply being tolerant because she sees her son having fun?
Dadās clumsiness (due to drinking or boisterous play?) results in sonās ear rubbing against his belt buckle. Accidental or intentional? (Son is only a small boy. Perhaps he is waist high, and his ear is at his fatherās belt buckle.)
āpapaā = an affectionate term for the speakerās father
- āpapaā āWaltzā = a slow, smooth dance
Was the son afraid or enjoying himself?
The fatherās way of ātuckingā his son into bed at night?
āslidā = why not ācrashedā or āfellā?
- How many stanzas are in this poem? a. 1 c. 18 b. 2 d. 3
- Which line from the poem is an example of personification? a. It is pink with speckles. b. I think it is a part of my heart. c. I am important to her. d. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
- What is implied by the line āin me she has drowned a young girl?ā a. The womanās daughter has died. b. The woman has committed a murder. c. The woman has died. d. The woman has lost her youth.
- Which line from the poem indicates that a mirror does not make judgments? a. I am not cruel, only truthful. b. Now I am a lake. c. Whatever I see I swallow immediately. d. I am important to her.
- āI am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.ā Preconceptions are a. unbiased facts. b. reflections. c. opinions formed in advance. d. mistaken ideas or views.
