How to Write a Poem Analysis Essay

How to write a poem analysis essay? Below you will find a road map to analyze a poem. Keep reading and explore infinite possibilities: 

  1. Read the poem and look for unfamiliar words in the dictionary (it is also a good idea to identify the most important words and look them up in the dictionary if they have multiple meanings). 
  2. Frame the poem in its literary context (Who wrote it? When was it written? Which literary movement does it belong to? What are the main characteristics of the piece? What is established in the poet dialogue with other poets / poems of its time or earlier?) 
  3. Analysis of the form: metrics, rhyme, accents, strophic form, etc.
  4. Identify figures (in the written analysis, this step can be included with the following point). 
  5. Explain the poem thoroughly (Who speaks? To whom? What happens in each stanza? The author repeats what? Make sure you are always thinking why? And what is the effect?) 
  6. Global interpretation of the matter of the poem. Which one(s) is/are the subject(s) of the poem? 
  7. Relate the shape and figures. Why to use a sonnet? Why the author employs a trope or a figure in particular? What is the relationship between the subject and the tropes / the most important figures of the poem? What is the relationship between individual musicality (the meter, rhythm, rhyme, etc.) and what is the subject of the poem? 

The written analysis can only be done after completing these steps and should focus particularly on #7. The best essays have an introduction with a thesis that explains the relationship between the various elements of the poem. 

Always create a title for your poem analysis essay

To create a title, you need to read the poem carefully to identify: the subject, the narrative voice, the receiver, the message and its purpose and tone. This is the most important because it will guide your writing. All in all, you need to identify stresses in the poem, the words, phrases, verses that justify this. Identify the literary language and select two that are most effective to highlight the theme, etc. 

So, how to write a good poem analysis essay? Observe the structure and identify two elements of the structure that emphasize the theme, etc. Do not talk about everything; be selective because you want to justify either. By making direct quotations (write words, phrases, verses, etc.) you have to use quotes (""). Write a conclusion about customization. For example, how would you have reacted, or think you or someone you know before situations or expressions of the poem? Avoid talking about biographical aspects of the author, unless they are relevant to the poem.

Refrain from saying whether it's a good or bad poem, whether you liked it or not. Try to write at least four paragraphs: Introduction, Literary Language, Structure, and Conclusion. 

To conclude, it is the distinction of the three parts of which the analysis must consist, introduction to adopt a direction to raise the issue, and second, the logical, orderly, with certain depth, the analysis of the poem that is the topic being discussed. This must include specific examples that support the ideas that defend or refute (figures of speech and stylistic elements, tone and structure). Finally, the conclusion, which can reveal the effect produced in the message of the poem (or the dramatic, narrative or literary criticism, that is the case). 

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