The following are questions you can ask about any poem you encounter. Remember, however, that not all of the questions will apply to every poem you read, and also that you do not have to write about every answer to every question.
1. Who is the speaker? Is it the poet or a character/persona the poet takes on? What is the tone of voice adopted? Can you detect any irony? How precisely is the speaker defined? (Note: You should refer to the speaker as "the speaker" and not as "the poet," even if the voice seems to be the poet's own.
2. Who is the speaker's audience? Does the audience help to define the speaker?
3. What is the poem's literal meaning?
4. What is the poem's theme? Is the theme stated explicitly or implicitly?
5. What is the poem's structure? Does it develop in a straightforward manner to a logical conclusion? Is there a shift or turn in its development? How is the shift indicated? Why does a shift take place?
6. How is the poem organized? How does its organization contribute to the development of the poem's subject or theme?
7. What is the poem's meter? How does it contribute to the development of the poem's subject or theme? Are there any strategic points where the poem breaks with its rhyme scheme? Why?
8. What is the poem's rhyme scheme? How does it contribute to the development of the poem's subject or theme? Is there any evidence of internal rhymes, slant rhymes, etc?
9. Do the lines end with a completion of a thought or closed punctuation (i.e., are they end-stopped)? Or do the lines the next, one to the next, etc? flow without pause, from one to the next (i.e., are they enjambed)? If enjambed, does it occur from one couplet to the next one quatrain to the next, etc?
10. How would you characterize the poem's language or diction ? What effect does this choice of language have on your response to the poem and its speaker?
11. What imagery is developed in the poem? Does the poet use metaphor, simile, personification, etc? Does he/she use symbolism ? Considering the poem's subject matter, are these images obvious ones, or are they unusual and unexpected? Do they contribute to the poem's subject or theme? If so, how?
12. Is there any evidence of re alliteration, onomatopoeia, or other sound effects in the poem? What do they
contribute?
13. Is there any significance to the placement of words in the poem? Is the rhythm of any particular words or lines noteworthy?
14. Is there any significance to the poem's punctuation or the capitalization and spelling of words? (Note: These features are often the result of modern editing and not original to the author)