How to study poetry - language

Poetry might seem intimidating to study at first, but it’s like any other kind of writing that we analyse – it uses language and other techniques to create an effect for the reader and convey what the writer is trying to say. Don’t worry about not ‘getting’ it, especially at first – just work with what you can find and often you’ll get an understanding of what the poet is doing.

You probably already know that poems don’t have to rhyme or follow a certain pattern or rhythm to be classed as a poem. They can also be about anything, from a small feeling to a huge war. There are lots of examples of poems where people disagree about what it means or what it is about – even the poet! – so don’t get too worried about making sure you have the 'right' idea about a poem you study.

If you don’t feel confident, start small: you can look for clues in the language or shape of the poem and work from there. Sometimes even just the title can give you a sense of what the poet is trying to say, so keep an open mind.

Here are some good ideas for approaching any poem you study:

1. Read it out aloud to get a sense of what the rhythm is and where the rhymes are, if there are any.
2. Read it again and see if you can tell what kind of person is speaking.
3. Is the person angry? Confused? In love? Descriptive? Is there anything in the poem that tells you what they feel about the things they’re talking about?
4. Look at the language. Underline any words that seem important. What do those individual words make you think of?
5. If you feel a bit stuck or can’t see any language that looks significant, try looking for words that are positive and words that are negative. Underline or ring them in different colours and then look at where they are. Are there more positive or negative words? Are they mixed throughout the text or does one change into the other?
6. Look at the title. What does it make you think of? What could it be adding to the poem?
7. Half-close your eyes and look at the shape of the poem. Is it even? Uneven? Long? Short? Thick? Thin? Square? Scattered? Does it look like anything in particular?
8. Look at the punctuation. Is there any? Are there questions? Exclamations? Lots of pauses or dashes or interruptions?
9. Is the poem in one section or broken up? Where do the breaks happen? What might they be showing?
10. Are there any words or parts of the poem that confuse you? Mark them out so you can see them clearly. Do the bits that confuse you match up in any way?

Once you’ve made these initial observations you should have at least one or two ideas about what is happening in the poem. These ideas are important because you came up with them yourself based on what the poem was telling you, so make a quick note of them before you try to find out what other people thought of the piece!

It can be difficult to begin analysing language in a new poem when you aren’t sure what it is about. The trick is to start with the language itself and see if that helps you figure out what is going on in the poem. You can find your own tricks for doing this, but some helpful things to look out for when you first read the poem are:

• colours
• adjectives
• strong verbs
• onomatopoeia
• dialect and slang
• direct speech
• jargon (technical words related to particular field, eg: specialist boat terms for sailors)
• oxymorons and contrasts

As with any other type of analysis, don’t just underline the words – make sure you annotate them too, to say what the individual word makes you think of. This can really help you understand the poem. In ‘Island Man’, Grace Nichols refers to a “small emerald island”. The word “emerald” not only helps us imagine how bright and green the island is, but an emerald is also a precious stone, so this word helps us also understand how precious and valuable the island is to him.

If you are a bit stuck, take a step back and look for simple positive and negative words. Don’t reach too far for them – positive words might be things such as ‘happy’, ‘love’, ‘light’, ‘soft’ or ‘sun’, negative words could be references to darkness, loneliness, unhappiness, violence or anger. Underline positive in one colour and negative in another, then look at the pattern.

Are there more of one kind than another? Maybe this gives us a sense of how the poet feels or wants us to feel.Does the poem start with more negative words but turn positive, or vice versa? Maybe this shows something that happened over time, getting worse or better.

Use the clues to help you see what might be happening in the poem, and from there you can look at the language in more detail.