Poetry “Wheel”

Notes before we begin:O Refer to any author by his or her last

nameO The speaker isn’t necessarily the

poetO A poem that tells a story is a

“narrative poem”

Content

Style

The “wheel”Title

ThemeContext

Speaker/PoVAudience

Diction

Form/Structure

Syntax ImageryFigurative Lang.

Symbolism

Sound IronyAllusion

Tone

Title/Theme/ContextO Title - Literal or symbolic? Suggested

meanings? Length, punctuation, capitalizationO Theme

O How not to state a theme:O “The theme of this poem deals with a character

who is destroyed by money.”O “This poem is about human desires.”

O How to state a theme:O “Vice seems more interesting than virtue but

turns out to be destructive.” O “the vanity of human desires”

O ContextO Relevance of context? Effect on theme?O Effect on conventions of genre? (i.e.

Shakespeare didn’t write in free verse)

Speaker/PoV and Audience

O The poet or a specific persona?O PoV?O What assumptions can you make

about the speaker? O age, gender, class, emotional state,

etc.O Relevant to poem’s content?O Identified audience?O Language influenced by audience?

DictionO Classify and explain:

O denotative vs. connotative (dead vs. passed away)

O concrete vs. abstract O monosyllabic vs. polysyllabicO positive vs. negative (slender vs. skinny,

determined vs. stubborn)O colloquial (dialect) / informal / formalO cacophonous vs. euphonious

O Repeated words?

Form/StructureO form correspond to theme?O follow a formal poetic structure (i.e.

sonnet, haiku, blues poem, etc.)? O If so, what are the characteristics of that

form? How does it deviate from that form?O divided into stanzas? any reason stanza

breaks?O stanzas and lines consistently the same

length? follow a particular pattern? any stanzas, lines, or words that diverge from the pattern?

SyntaxO Enjambment or end-stopped lines? Effects of

this?O Caesura? Effects?O Use of punctuation – effects on pacing?O Uncommon fonts? Bolded? Italicized? Why?O Active or passive sentences? O Consistent verb tense?O complete sentences, fragments, or

combination of both? pattern? O word order natural or grammatically

irregular?

ImageryO literal or figurative? abstract or

concrete? sensory experiences evoked? repeated images?

O Figurative Language O simile, metaphor, personification,

hyperbole, metonymy, synecdoche, understatement

O comparisons express images or abstract ideas?

O effect on tone and theme?O Symbolism? recurring?

SoundO Identifiable rhythm? Syllables in

each line? Pattern? Stressed or unstressed syllables?

O Alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia? How do these enhance rhythm and musicality?

O Identifiable rhyme scheme? Results?O Consistent or inconsistent?O What kind (exact, etc.)? Effects?

Irony/AllusionO Irony

O Does irony reveal or hide anything?O Paradox? Oxymoron? (insert “you’re

an oxymoron” joke here)O Allusion (You absolutely need to

know these before the IOC! Maybe a surprise quiz (that was just announced in advance)?)O Are there any? What are they?

Effects?O Similarity of reference? Effects?

ToneO Is the tone positive or negative?

What are the words that describe it most accurately?

O Does the tone change as the poem progresses? Is it consistent at the beginning and ending of the poem?

O How do literary devices influence tone?