hire a writer
Home / Blog / Literature Essays / Poetry Evaluation

Poetry Evaluation

Published 21 Jun 2017

There are several ways to analyze and evaluate the thought of a certain poem. Tools such as use of language, metaphors, figurative language and word of choice are some of key components to unravel the mystery of the poem. Poetry is the expression of one’s thought or experience mixed up with drama and alchemy of words. Since these components are the key to decipher the poem, let us first define what these tools are. First, the use of language, this refers to the way the poem was written.

Language usage is the syntax or the sentence construction used by the poet to make his work dramatic and exceptional. The use of language varies from the different experiences of the poet. Most of the time, poems are wrote based on the actual experience of the writer regardless of the severity of the event. Some write about pain and despair while others write about mundane activities. Also the use of language provides style and originality to one’s work. Second are the metaphors. Metaphors refer to the comparison of two things which are in nature not alike but are similar to one another (RHL School, 1999). They are used to provide mystery and make the readers use their imagination into fully understanding the poem.

Metaphors are sometimes used to make a rhyme out of the lines and the syllabication of the poem. Also it does not give out what is the actual thing being described but it has the same thought of the intended object or idea to be projected. Third, figurative language, it is the direct description of a certain idea or object. Words under the figurative language are used to define something that is relevant or climatic in the poem. Figurative language is the subtle way of putting metaphors in the words of a poem but also it provides the same effect of mystery. Lastly, the last component is the word choice. Word choice comes from the writer him/herself. This is based on where he/she grew in, the educational background he or she had or how emotionally intense he or she wants to write the poem. Basically, the components of analyzing a poem are a bit subjective hence these components are still recognized since they are the best determinants to analyze the thought and content of the poem.

References

  • RHL School (1999). English Basics Vol.3, Number 26.
  • How to analyze poetry (1998). Everything English.
Did it help you?

Related posts

Edgar Allan Poe Poetry Comparison

Very often, literature studies in the primary level always allude to Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee and The Bells as childhood experiences. Nonetheless, Poe's life story, undoubtedly often do not mention such experiences in his childhood. Many sources agreed however, that Poe experienced death or loss of the women he cared for in his lifetime. It is safe to conclude then that some of these experiences contributed to and had inspired the contents of his poems and stories.University Students Often Tell EssayLab writers:Who wants to write paper for me?Professional writers...
13 min

Symbolism in William Blake’s Poetry

William Blake belongs to the most famous English poets, though his poetry was recognized only after his death. Firstly, the term “romanticism" was used in the middle of the 18th century and it caused popularity of symbolism. William Blake re-shapes English poetry due to his symbolic world outlook and his desire to show the real world through hidden and concealed meanings of the words. Blake's symbolism is based primarily on personal feelings and emotions and he paid little attention to fact because symbolism promoted individuality, creativity, imagination and rejecting of...
10 min

Analyzing Poetry Yeats Vs. Lord Byron

When analyzing poems, one wonders if the age of the poet has any effect on the vision the poet chooses to portray to the writer. In Yeats' poem Sailing to Byzantium he was sixty-one years old; when Lord Byron wrote the Switzerland portion of his poetic travelogue Child Harolds Pilgrimage. This paper will analyze the approach of either author according to the differences in their ages (not the differences in the time period in which the poems were written). Suffice it to say that the paper will give a strong...
6 min

Critical Evaluation (Revelation)

Liz Lochead's poem entitled Revelation is a genre of fictional-reality where there are intentions of truthful facts and data towards the man named Bob on what he did to the yard. Revelation can be defined as a realization or sudden understanding. The narrator knew that Bob as a good and friendly person because of his innocent face and name, but is actually different from his actions in the yard, which was witnessed by the narrator. The narrator intended to witness the actions of Bob in order to justify the true...
7 min

The Poetry of Sylvia Plath

Confessional poetry experiences popularity in mid-twentieth century America. Included in the list of poets is the tragic talent, Sylvia Plath. Plath's brand of confessional poetry is pushing the genre to the extreme as she relates her innermost pain. Though some critics, like Langdon Hammer of the American journal “Representations", think that Plath's poems are not “autobiographical in the usual way"(Hammer, Summer 2001, p. 68), her life itself shows that leading to her suicide, her final poems depict the increased appeal of death, and demonstrate more of her “psychic pain"(Sylvia Plath...
8 min

Life of Robert Burns, Works – Poetry, Critics

Life of Robert BurnsRobert Burns was known by the critics in his days as a literary genius, writing over 250 songs and hundreds of poems. Many critics didn't think much of him at the time because he was a heavy drinker and a womanizer. He had fifteen children, 6 of which were out of wedlock. Besides all that he was an excellent author writing such works as "Tam O' Shanter", "Auld Lang Syne", and "Comin' thro' the Rye". Because of a hard youth living in poverty on a farm he...
18 min