Reading the Poem

1. Reading the Poem Chapter Two

2. Suggestions for Reading • Read a poem more than once • Will not yield full meaning on a single reading • Use a dictionary • Other references such as a mythology book or Bible may also be useful • Read so as to hear the sounds in your mind • Meanings are conveyed through sound as well as print; try lip-reading (good habit with poetry) • Every word is important; read slowly

3. Suggestions for Reading • Pay careful attention to what the poem is saying • Don’t let sound overwhelm meaning; note full implications • Determine subjects of verbs, antecedents of pronouns, and other grammatical facts

4. Suggestions for Reading • Practice reading poems aloud • Read affectionately (not without expression like a tax report; avoid monotone), not affectedly (no artificial flourishes); the poem has emotion—you don’t have to add it • Don’t read too fast • Read so that rhythmical pattern is felt but not exaggerated (sentences probably still present; use punctuation); don’t pause at every line without punctuation (may linger longer on end word because it is part of a rhythmical unit)

5. Paraphrase • Barest, most inadequate approximation of what the poem “says” (like a corpse for a person) • Put it into different language to make it as plain as possible (prose) • May be longer or shorter than the poem • Figurative language gives way to literal • Replace inverted syntax with normal order • Retain use of 1st, 2nd, 3rd person and verb tenses • Use plain, direct diction

6. Identify • Who is the speaker? • Don’t assume 1st person narrator means he/she is the poet • What is the occasion? • What is the central purpose of the poem? • By what means is that purpose achieved? • Keep in mind end vs. means