How to Analyze Poetry英美文学--新.docVIP

How to Analyze Poetry American Poets of the 20th Century Poetry is a compact language that expresses complex feelings. To understand the multiple meanings of a poem, readers must examine its words and phrasing from the perspectives of rhythm, sound, images, obvious meaning, and implied meaning. Readers then need to organize responses to the verse into a logical, point-by-point explanation. A good beginning involves asking questions that apply to most poetry. Context of the Poem Clear answers to the following questions can help establish the context of a poem and form the foundation of understanding: Who wrote the poem? Does the poets life suggest any special point of view, such as a political affiliation (联系), religious sect, career interest, musical talent, family or personal problems, travel, or handicap — for example, H. D.s feminism, Amiri Barakas radicalism, T. S. Eliots conversion to Anglicanism, William Carlos Williams career as a physician, A. R. Ammons training in chemistry, Amy Lowells aristocratic background, John Berrymans alcoholism, or Hart Cranes homosexuality? When was the poem written and in what country? Knowing something about the poets life, times, and culture helps readers understand whats in a poem and why. Does the poem appear in the original language? If not, readers should consider that translation can alter the language and meaning of a poem. Is the poem part of a special collection or series? Examples of such series and collections include Edna St. Vincent Millays sonnets, Carl Sandburgs Chicago Poems, or Rita Doves triad, Adolescence — I, II, and III. Does the poem belong to a particular period or literary movement? For example, does the poem relate to imagism, confessional verse, the Beat movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights era, the American Indian renaissance, or feminism? Style of the Poem Into what category does the poem fit — for example, Carl Sandburgs imagism in Fog or Gwendolyn Brooks epic The Anniad? Readers should