Poetry Analysis

What Makes Poetry Different?

Poetry is a form of writing that uses language in concentrated, musical ways to express emotion, ideas, and beauty. Unlike prose, poets choose exactly where to break lines, how many syllables appear in each line, and which sound patterns to use — every choice is deliberate and meaningful.

Analysing poetry means examining not just what a poem says, but how it says it — and what effect those choices create in the reader.

Key Terms

Term	Meaning
Stanza	A grouped set of lines in a poem (like a paragraph)
Line break	Where the poet ends one line and begins the next
Speaker	The voice narrating the poem (may not be the poet)
Rhyme scheme	The pattern of rhyming line endings
Metre	The formal rhythmic pattern of a poem
Imagery	Language appealing to the senses
Tone	The speaker's attitude toward the subject
Mood	The emotional atmosphere the poem creates for the reader

Structure

Line

A single row of text in a poem. Unlike prose sentences, lines end where the poet decides — and the line break itself can carry meaning.

Stanza

A group of lines separated by a blank line. Common stanza types:

Name	Number of lines
Couplet	2
Tercet	3
Quatrain	4
Sestet	6
Octet	8

Form

Some poems follow strict, named forms:

• Sonnet — 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter; explores love, beauty, or mortality
• Haiku — 3 lines (5-7-5 syllables); traditionally captures a moment in nature
• Ballad — tells a story, often in quatrains with an ABCB rhyme scheme
• Ode — a poem of praise or celebration
• Free verse — no regular rhyme or metre; the poet has maximum freedom

Rhyme

The rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming words at line endings, labelled with letters (A for the first rhyme, B for the second, and so on):

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (A) Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (B) Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A) And summer's lease hath all too short a date. (B)

This is an ABAB scheme. AABB means consecutive rhyming couplets. Free verse has no regular rhyme.

Internal rhyme occurs when words within the same line rhyme: "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew."

Rhythm and Metre

Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a poem its musical quality.

Metre is the formal measurement of this rhythm. The most common in English poetry is iambic pentameter: 10 syllables per line, alternating unstressed and stressed (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM).

Example: "Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?"

When a poet breaks the expected rhythm, it draws attention to that moment — so deviations from the pattern are always significant.

Sound Devices

Device	Definition	Example
Alliteration	Repetition of the same initial consonant sound	"silver, silky, shimmering streams"
Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds within words	"the moan of doves in immemorial elms"
Consonance	Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words	"pitter-patter"
Onomatopoeia	Words that sound like what they describe	buzz, crash, whisper, sizzle

Sound devices create musicality, reinforce meaning, and make lines more memorable.

Imagery

Imagery is language that creates vivid mental pictures by appealing to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

• "The golden daffodils fluttered and danced in the breeze." (sight, movement)
• "The fog comes in on little cat feet." (movement, texture — a metaphor creating tactile imagery)
• "The smell of rain on hot concrete filled the air." (smell)

Poets use simile, metaphor, and personification to intensify imagery.

Tone and Mood

• Tone = the speaker's attitude toward the subject (melancholic, celebratory, ironic, angry, reverent)
• Mood = the emotional atmosphere the poem creates in the reader (eerie, joyful, nostalgic, tense)

Tone and mood are often similar but not identical — a poet might have a bitter tone (speaker's attitude) that creates a sad mood in the reader.

The Speaker

The speaker is the voice in the poem. The speaker is not necessarily the poet — they may be a fictional character, a historical figure, or an abstract voice.

Always ask: Who is speaking? To whom? From what position or perspective?

How to Analyse a Poem (SMILE)

A useful framework for poetry analysis:

• Structure — stanza form, line breaks, overall shape
• Meaning — what is the poem about? What does it say?
• Imagery — what pictures does it create? What senses does it engage?
• Language — what specific words and devices are used?
• Effect — what feeling or idea does all of this create in the reader?

Worked Example

Poem extract: "I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high o'er vales and hills" (Wordsworth)

• Imagery: The speaker compares himself to a cloud — vast, drifting, aimless.
• Simile: "as a cloud" — creates a sense of isolation and lightness.
• Mood: Peaceful but lonely; the speaker is detached from the world below.
• Effect: The image immediately establishes both the physical setting (an elevated, open landscape) and the speaker's emotional state (solitary wandering).

Common Mistakes

• Ignoring the speaker: Assuming the poem is always autobiographical — it may be a persona.
• Describing without analysing: "The poet uses alliteration" tells us nothing. Explain the effect of the alliteration.
• Ignoring punctuation and line breaks: These are deliberate poetic choices, not random.
• Rushing past ambiguity: Poems often have multiple valid interpretations. Do not force a single meaning.

Tips and Tricks

• Read the poem at least twice before analysing — once for overall impression, once for detail.
• Read it aloud to hear the rhythm, rhyme, and sound devices clearly.
• Annotate as you go: underline interesting words, note devices, jot down first impressions.
• When quoting, embed short quotations in your own sentence: Wordsworth presents the speaker as isolated, "wandering lonely as a cloud."