Poetry: "First Reading"
Questions
Summary
What is the poem about
(in a rough paraphrase)?
What is its story?
What is happening, to whom,
where. when, and how? (whatever applies)
Free Association
What personal associations
come to your mind as you read?
What literary associations?
What words, images or phrases
stand out to you?
What do you identify most
with? what do you "recognize" as parallel to your own experience?
What do you most like or
dislike about the poem?
First Questioning
What seems to be unclear?
Are there lines you have to re-read to untangle the syntax? Any words
you can't define easily? Any allusions you don't understand? Any words
or phrases which don't seem to fit or are surprising in the context?
Are there gaps in the story
you reconstructed?
Is there anything you would
like to know that you think would help in understanding what the poem
is saying?
Preliminary Interpretation
What (in fairly simple
terms) do you think the poem/poet is trying to say?
Re-read the poem several
times. Now consider the re-reading
strategies |