Poetry requires close reading of every word and syllable to understand the meaning conveyed through rhythmic patterns. A poem's overall meaning is not obvious and requires multiple readings to understand the nuances. When analyzing a poem, one should consider its tone, structure, imagery, language use, and perspective of the poet to interpret the full meaning across its various elements. Close examination of poetic techniques like rhythm, meter, and form provide insight into the content and intent of the work.

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Close Reading Poetry
Arguably, poetry requires the closest level of close reading: that is, careful attention to all aspects of language and
meaning. If in prose every word counts, in poetry every syllable counts – forming part of the metrical pattern and
rhythm that underlies it and shapes its meaning. For this reason close reading theories often focus upon poetry as a
form, over other kinds of writing or text. A small change can have significant effect.
Overall Meaning
The overall meaning of a poem is NOT necessarily going to be immediately obvious. In fact that is part of the point
of poetry. Since it is about sound and form as well as content, and since it has a very high awareness of language and
its full richness and ambiguity it is capable of playing with its readership, of asking a lot of the reader. A poem
EXPECTS to be read many times before it is understood. Always respect this, don’t be scared by it. Read, get the gist,
identify areas that you can’t understand to return to. Read the poem AT LEAST 4 TIMES.
START by thinking about the larger meaning of the whole poem – then work into details that are central to it – then
pull back and return to the overall meaning.
Tone/Mood
It is always essential to read the mood of the poem correctly (otherwise you are liable to misread it). There might
well be shifts in mood within a poem. Work through it thinking about the feelings and attitudes embodied by the
poetic voice. Note any points where this seems to change and think about why and how. If you come up with a
theory always double-check that it is supported by evidence in the text.
Structure and Form
Look at the overall structure and form of the poem. Think about the internal organisation of the poem. How does
the rhyme scheme work? Look at it on the page with your eyes half-shut. How do stanza breaks affect meaning?
Rhythm and Metre
This is tricky if you don't have an ear for it. You can do a metrical reading of any line of poetry: mark out the
stressed and unstressed syllables and see what is revealed. Metre (the pattern of stresses and non-stresses) and
rhythm (the overall movement created by metre) form the backbone of a poem. If you are aware of them they will
reveal to you points where interesting things are happening in terms of content meaning. At a more basic level you
can be aware of whether the poem tends towards strong metrical regularity – song-like – or whether it feels more
like prose (free verse).
Imagery
Perhaps the easiest element to identify in poetry is the imagery. But don't just locate it, THINK about it. What kind
of poetic images or language are being used? Why? If there isn't any imagery why isn't there? DON'T be content
with simply generalising. Look at each example and think about how it works, what it does. Does the poem use
metaphor or simile? What is the different in effect? Does it use symbolic images or grounded ones?
Diction/Syntax

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Look at the kind of language used and the intended effects. Is the diction plain and simple or flowery. What kind of
words are used? What difference do they make? Long words or short words? Why?
Look at the kinds of sentence and punctuation within the poem. Where do sentences end? Where do line-breaks
occur? Does it affect meaning? Does the sense run on across lines or not?
Poet in the Poem
Think carefully about voice in the poem. Is it lyric (personal, self-reflective, "I") or narrative? Is it sincere or ironic?
What degree of distance does the poet have? If the poem involves an obvious persona how does the poet
manipulate our sympathies towards him or her?
Once you’ve thought about all of these elements, and decided which are more significant for a particular text, then
return to your original thinking about the overall meaning of the poem and decide what it is really “ABOUT”.
Remember to focus upon areas of difficulty, rather than avoiding them. Remember that these kinds of “ambiguity”
are what poetic meaning is really all about. You don’t have to find a single “right” answer, just explore the
possibilities!