09 anzueth

How to Read a Poem
How do you read a poem? Well you first start by reading the whole thing. When you’re finished, if the poem is difficult you can read the poem over. You read stanza by stanza. If you don’t understand the stanza than you can reread the stanza.

Repetition
When something repeats in a poem it is called repetition.
Repetition helps you understand the theme of the poem.Here is an example: And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep

Imagery
Imagery is when you can see, feel, hear, taste, and smell a certain part of the poem. This helps you so you feel what the author is feeling and understand the poem better.
Here is an example: On the beach at night, stands a child with her father, watching the east, the autumn sky.

Metaphor
A metaphor is something that stands for something else.
A metaphor helps you understand the meaning of the poem.
Here is an example: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rhythm/Rhyme
Regular rhythm is when you don’t stop and it flows. An irregular rhythm is when you have to stop every sentence and the images in your mind are like flash cards. When the poem rhymes it flows and you have don’t have to stop. However when it doesn’t rhyme it doesn’t really flow and you have to stop. Here are some examples:
Rhythm
•Regular
Distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, and each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
•IrregularIn the greenest of our valleys By good angels tenanted, Once a fair and stately palace-
Rhyme
•Regular
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary
•Irregular Radiant palace- reared its head. In the monarch Thought's dominion- It stood there!

Theme/Message
The theme or message in the poem is what the poem means and what it stands for. It is important because understand where the poet is coming from and it could have a lesson to learn.