To Enjoy the Poet’s Craft
If you try a paraphrase, you will learn much about the skill of the poet, about his ability to say much in a few words, and about his methods of suggesting meaning by stirring up your memories and your imagination. The following questions will help you seek out important devices of the poet, heightening your enjoyment and understanding.
- Is the language of the poem simple or difficult? Is it in dialect or old English? Are there any strange and unusual words? Which words are especially effective? Watch especially for strong, active verbs and exact nouns.
- What words does the poet use to give clear, sharp impressions? Point out the words of sound, color, smell, and touch.
- What figures of speech does the poet use to clarify his meaning? You should be able to recognise the following figures of speech: simile, metaphor, personification, metonymy, paradox, overstatement, understatement, and irony.
- What devices does the poet use to create sound effects? You should be able to recognise onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, and alliteration when the poet uses them. Do the sounds fit in with the sense of the poem?
- What is the form or pattern of the poem? You should know ballad forms (traditional and literary), and several kinds of lyrics – quatrains, couplets, sonnets, odes, and free verse.
- Does the poem contain any allusions? Are they historical, literary or biblical? Why does the poet use them?