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Poetry Analysis
Title
Paraphrase
Connotation (beyond
dictionary definition)
Title
Theme
Although titles are often a key to the possible
meaning of a poem, readers frequently do not
understand them before reading poetry. As a
first step in the analysis of a poem, predict
what you think the poem will be about.
Frequently, real comprehension of a poem
begins with “what’s going on in the poem.” Try
to understand the plot of the poem. Restate the
poem in your own words, not necessarily one
line at a time, but by stanzas.
This term refers o the literary devices, which
contribute to the meaning or effect of the
poem. Try to understand how these devices
enhance the meaning of the poem.
Literary devices:
 Imagery (olfactory, gustatory, visual,
auditory, tactile, organic)
 Figurative language (simile, metaphor,
personification, hyperbole)
 Sound devices (alliteration, assonance,
consonance, onomatopoeia)
Examine the title again. Knowing what you
know now after examining the poem, why did
the author give this title to the work?
In identifying theme, consider the author’s
message about the human experience or
condition suggested by the poem. Look at what
you paraphrased, then list the subject of the
poem (moving from literal subjects to abstract
concepts: death, war, discovery, etc.) Finally,
determine what the poet is saying about that
subject in a universal message.
SEE BACK FOR EXAMPLE
Mother to Son
Title
Paraphrase
Connotation (beyond
dictionary definition)
Title
Theme
By Langston Hughes
This poem may be a mother giving advice to
her son.
The mother is describing her life to her son
telling him to never give up.
Literary devices:
 Imagery: tactile-“tacks” “splinters”
 Figurative language: metaphor- the stairs
are being compared to life
 Sound devices: consonance-repetition of
the “n” sound: “climbin” “reachin”
“landin” “turnin” “goin”
The poet used literary devices to convey the
mother’s advice to her son
The poem shows the reader through literary
devices such as figurative language and
imagery that the mother has had a hard life and
is “telling” her son to never “sit down.” The
crystal stairs is the exact opposite of the
mother’s experiences. The crystal stairs
represent prestige and money
SEE BACK FOR EXAMPLE
Paragraph exemplar:
Poets use many literary devices to convey a theme to the readers. In the
poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, imagery, figurative language, and sound
devices are used to express the speaker’s experiences. The crystal stairs are a
metaphor comparing to the speaker’s life. Tactile imagery is used to describe the
stairs with “tacks” and “splinters.” These devices suggest the mother did not have
prestige and money and the speaker tells her son “life for me ain’t been no crystal
stair” suggesting that she has endured many hardships.