This document provides guidance on analyzing poetry based on metrics and rhyme schemes. It explains that analyzing a poem's rhythm involves scanning the text to identify the meter, stanza, and rhyme scheme. It is also important to explain how the rhythm contributes to the meaning, beauty, and significance of the poem. Examples of common metric units or "feet" are provided, including iambic, anapestic, trochaic, and dactylic feet. Analyzing a poem's rhythm and poetic devices is the first step in understanding its structure and interpreting its meaning.

1. Analyzing Poetry

2. TEKS ELA 4.3A

(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary
Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences
and draw conclusions about the structure and
elements of poetry and provide evidence from text
to support their understanding. Students are
expected to analyze the effects of metrics, rhyme
schemes (e.g., end, internal, slant, eye), and other
conventions in American poetry.

3. Objective

We will analyze poetry in terms of the
effects of metrics and rhyme schemes.

4. Product

I will show examples of meter and
rhyme scheme from the text provided.

5. How does rhythm contribute to meaning
and beauty of a poem?

Scanning a poem and identifying the meter, stanza,
and rhyme scheme are only the first steps in
analyzing its rhythm. The most important part of the
analysis is explaining how this rhythm contributes to
the meaning, beauty, and significance of the poem.

6. Start with breaking the words
into syllables, mark the stressed
and unstressed syllables, and
identify the most common type
of metric unit (“foot”);
determine whether the poem
uses a “rising” or “falling”
rhythm.

7. Rising meters are predominantly iambic or
anapestic:
iamb: 2 syllables (unstressed, stressed): to-day.
anapest: 3 syllables (unstressed, unstressed,
stressed): in-ter-vene.
Falling meters are predominantly trochaic or
dactylic:
trochee: 2 syllables (stressed, unstressed): dai-ly.
dactyl: 3 syllables (stressed, unstressed,
unstressed): yes-ter-day.

8. Enjoy analyzing poetry!