What is poetry?

Poetry is language organized by rhythm (vast majority)

What do poems do?

• They entertain people
• They help learn and remember things
• They can sell things
o Ideas or products
o Arguments
o Values

Is there always a deep hidden meaning?

No, sometimes poems can be riddles but that is, by no means, always true! Some poems are easy reading and some
others take some thought to fully understand. One must remember that complexity and quality are not the same.

Steps to read (not analyze) any poem:

1. Read through the poem to get a sense of it
2. Identify sentences and independent clauses (note the punctuation)
3. Find out how many stresses are in a typical line
4. Note the rhyme scheme and look for a pattern
5. Read the poem out loud
6. Look up any words that you don’t understand
7. Re-read the poem out loud
8. Note the sectional separations in the poem
9. Re-read the poem
10. Deduce the emotional tone of the poem
11. Re-read the poem