Learn how to study English poetry

1. How to study poetry
By Muthanna Makki University of Karbala'a
English Department
1. Read the poem. Enjoy it! And
familiarize yourself with the general
meaning and atmosphere of the poem.
Search for a recorded audio version of
the poem on www.librevox.com Or
search www.YouTube.com to find a
video version.

2. 2. Search for information about the
poet’s life and time period.
Ask questions like:
What life events helped shape the poet’s
attitude?
What are the main characteristics of his
poetry in general?
Does he follow a certain school of poetry?
Use the Internet, Encarta Encyclopedia,
Britannica...etc.

3. Ozymandias
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert…… Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

4. 3. Use your dictionary to find out the
meaning of difficult words (denotation):
Traveler: Explorer
Antique: Ancient
Vast: Huge
Trunkless: Having lost the upper part of the body
Sunk: Disappear:
Shattered: Devastated; destroyed
Visage Face
Now you know the general meaning of the
poem.

5. 4. Read the poem a second
reading trying to find out the
suggestions and implications
of the words (connotations).
Pay attention to the symbolism
of the words. Write down your
ideas. This is called the
detailed meaning of the poem.

6. 5. Theme(s):
Write down the main idea(s) discussed in
the poem (major and minor themes).

7. 6. Technical and stylistic aspects:
Technique, figures of speech (metaphor,
metonymy, personification, simile,...etc).