Poetry explanation involves analyzing a poem’s structure, language, and themes. Literal meaning is important, but figurative language and rhythm can also contribute to a poem’s meaning. Different schools of analysis have varying approaches, with some focusing on historical context.
Poetry explanation is a term that describes writing or presenting an analysis of the meaning, structure, and other characteristics of a poem. Poems generally have many different characteristics that lend themselves to analysis and explanation, including word choice, figurative language, meter, and imagery. Some poems also have components typically reserved for prose, such as plot, complex characters, and dialogue. Poetry analysis and explanation is generally used to show how these various features of a poem contribute to and are unified in the themes of the poem, although the methods and goals of different schools of poetry analysis can vary significantly. Some poetry critics, for example, insist that only the content and form of the poem itself should be examined, while others believe that the historical context of the poem is equally important in a valid poetic explanation.
Many poetic explanations begin with an examination of the literal meaning of the poem. A purely literal reading usually reveals an underlying theme, imagery, information about the narrator, and other characteristics important to a full understanding of the poem. This is especially important in narrative poems, which contain valuable information about the plot and characters that you need to understand in order to conduct a correct poetic explanation.
In many poems, the truly important elements that contribute to the main themes of the poem lie beneath the literal language. Effective explanation of the poem, therefore, must often be based on close examination of the figurative elements, such as simile and metaphor, contained within the poem. In some cases, the figurative language only subtly blurs the meaning or tone of the poem. In other cases, however, the figurative language can suggest completely opposite meanings to the apparent meaning of a purely literal reading. A poem that appears to be about love, for example, may actually contain strong themes of conflict or death that aren’t immediately apparent upon a literal reading.
The rhythm and structure of a poem is also an important topic in explaining poetry. In poetry, words and phrases are often very carefully chosen because of the sounds and rhythms they produce. Such sounds and rhythms often have a significant effect on the tone of a poem and can also provide clues as to how the meaning of the poem should be interpreted. Irregularities in rhythm or sound are also important and are often the subject of poetic explanation because they are almost always intentional and significant.
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