SOAPSTone Poetry Analysis Worksheet
Author:
Title of poem:
SPEAKER Whose voice The poet is not necessarily Your Answer:
is speaking the speaker. Based on the
the poem? details of the poem, who
does the speaker seem to
be?
OCCASION What is the Identify the event or life Your Answer:
time, place, experience that led the poet
or context in to write this poem (example:
which the a birthday, a death, the end
poet is of a relationship, war, etc.)
writing?
AUDIENCE Who is the At whom is this text Your Answer:
intended directed? It’s not enough to
audience for say “Anyone who reads it.”
the piece? Identify the group you think
it may have been written
for--the target audience..
PURPOSE Why is the Why did the author write Your Answer:
author this poem? The purpose
writing? could be a desire to
persuade an audience,
entertain them, educate or
inform them about
something, inspire them to
take action, complain to
them, seek sympathy, cast a
spell, etc.
SUBJECT What is the This is the main idea or Your Answer:
subject? subject of the poem.
TONE What is the Some poems have one tone Your Answer:
speaker’s throughout, while others
tone of voice move from tone to tone
(how do they (each stanza may have a
seem to feel different one, for example)
during the
Examples of words that
poem)?
describe tone: joyful,
frightened, angry, tense,
anxious, sympathetic, sad,
weary, hopeful, bitter,
aggressive, inspirational, etc.
