Welcome to Mrs. Traub's 8th Grade ELA Class

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN READING POETRY

Try to answer at least 5 of these questions for each poem.

What significance, if any, does the title of the poem have?
Who is the speaker in the poem?
Who is the speaker addressing?
What is the literal meaning of the poem? (in this case, describe only what you know is happening…not what you think might be happening.)
Does the poem rhyme? How do you feel about the rhyme?
Does the poem follow the traditional conventions of poetry?(i.e. does each line begin with a capital letter? Is there a rhyme scheme in the poem?) Are there quatrains, couplets, etc?
Try to identify the noun reference for any pronouns in the poem.
Can you identify any figures of speech or figurative language in the poem? What are they? What significance do you think they have to the total poem?
Are any words capitalized? Why might they be?
Are there any unusual or unexpected punctuation marks? What suggestions can you make about the meaning of these?
How many lines are in the poem? Is it a sonnet or other established poetic form? Does each line have the same number of syllables?
Can you identify the line and meter of the poem? Is there any significance to the stressed and unstressed syllables?