This document provides guidance on how to read and understand poetic verse. It explains that poetry originated from the Greek word for "created artifact" and can have different structures expressed rhythmically. The best way to experience poetry is to interact with it by reading it aloud, studying it, and comparing it to other poems. When reading a poem, it is important to consider elements like the title, speaker, details, form, and how the meaning may change from beginning to end.

1. H O W T O R E A D A N D U N D E R S T A N D P O E T I C
V E R S E
Poetry

2. Poetry
 Poetry (poem)- originally derived from Greek
poiein
 A created artifact with different structures,
expressed rhythmically.
 We experience poetry best when we interact with it
 Speak it aloud
 Study it
 Compare it to others
 Poetry Slam Video-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAx845QaOck

3. “Schoolsville”
 1. What recognizable experience does the poem
mention? Why is “Schoolsville” the title?
 2. Describe the speaker.
 3. What details indicate the poem is fantasy and not
reality?
 4. How does this poem “follow the rules” of poetry?
If you had to make a definition of poetry based on
this poem, what would you say?

4. Poetry
 How to read a poem:
 Often, the author of a poem is trying to convey very intense
feelings about things their readers may not have experienced
“Here a pretty baby lies
Sung asleep with lullabies;
Pray be silent, and not stir
Th’easy earth that covers her.”
 What situation is described? Is it usual/ unusual?
 How does the final line change the first three lines? How does it
change your response

5. Poetry
 There’s no single technique for reading a poem
 Read straight through to get a general sense of the poem
 Do not pause to wonder t words or phrases
 As you reread the poem, study the different elements:
 Title- what does it indicate about the poem?
 Speaker- poems are dramatic and have POV just like prose
 The meanings of ALL words- look up those you don’t know…they
may reference specific historical events or places
 Setting and Situation- some settings are very vivid and add to the
“feeling” of the poem
 Basic form an development- take note of how the poem progresses
and the different lines grouped into the stanzas

6. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening
 1. What do we learn about the speaker? What is he
doing? Where is he?
 2. What is the setting? (be specific)
 3. Why does he want to watch the “woods fill up with
snow”?
 4. Reread lines 2-5- what evidence is there that he is
self-conscious about where he is?
 5. The last stanza includes two courses of action.
What are they, and which does the speaker chose?

7. “On My First daughter”
 1. What is the situation of this poem?
 2. Compare it to “Here a Pretty Baby Lies”.
 How do the differences change our perception of either poem
 What similarities are there?
 Why would one author write such a brief poem and another
take longer to write about his topic?