ENGLISH LITERATURE

UNDERSTANDING POETRY
WHO?
• Who is the persona speaking?
• Who are the characters? (human or non-human)
• Are the characters mythical or realistic?
• Is the speaker present in poem?
• Who is the main character?
WHAT?
• What is the subject matter/content?
• What are the sensory images the writer uses?
• What are the poetic/figurative images thewriter uses?
• What is the poetic form (lyric, dramatic monologue, sonnet etc)?
• What is the setting (time, place, weather conditions, culture
conditions, atmosphere)?
• What is the theme?
• Which point of view does the poet use?
What (cont'd)
• What are the symbols used?
• What kinds of allusions are used?
• What lessons have you or the speaker learned?

• When?
• When was the poem written?
Why?
• Why is the symbol effective?
• Why is the allusion effective?
• Why are the sensory and poetic images effective?
• Why do you feel sympathetic/unsympathetic towards the main
character?
• Why did the poet write this poem?
• Why is the choice of speaker effective>