19 Christian--How to Read a Poem

Introduction
First you have to look at the title and then the headings. After you read the poem you have to re-read and re-read again. The paragraph in each poem is not called a poem, it’s called a stanza.

Repetition
Repetition is when something repeats again and again. A poem helps you understand a poem by repeating because when something repeats it helps you remember. For example,

I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human body in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln wentdown to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Imagery
Imagery is when you can see an image in your head that you get from either hearing something or reading something. Imagery helps you understand a poem by giving you images of the poem so you can see a little movie in your head and have the script in your hands.

I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human body in human veins.

My soul soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids abive it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln wentdown to New Orleans, and I've seen it's muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison of the real thing. Also a metaphor is something that says something but means something completely different. for example,"I have you rapped around my finger."Metaphors help you understand a poem by seeing what the metaphors mean in the poets perspective.

I would liken you
To a night without stars
Were it not for your eyes.
I would liken you
To sleep without dreams
Were it not for your songs.

Rhyth, rhyme
Regular rhyme makes the poem flow and irregular makes the poem choppy. No rhyme doesn’t make the poem bad, but it doesn’t make it better either. The rhythm and rhyme make the poem flow because a poem without rhythm is like a song with out a beat.

Theme/message
The theme/message in a poem is like the whole poem summarized. which is kind of like a metaphor turned into a literall thing. It's important because if you don't have the them/message then you don't get the poem at all.