Poetry and Prose Analysis Techniques

Poetry Analysis Techniques

• Identifying key elements in poetry: Examine poems for main ideas, themes, and supporting details.
• Understanding poetic structure: Sonnets, for example, have specific structures (e.g., 14 lines, quatrains, couplet).
• Analyzing author's message: Identify the overall message or moral of a poem.
• Example: "Ozymandias": Shelley's poem explores the impermanence of empires. A traveler describes a decaying statue, symbolic of a fallen empire. The poem suggests art's enduring power over time.
• Example: "Sonnet 73": Shakespeare's sonnet explores love, mortality, and aging. The speaker compares himself to natural elements declining—leaves, sun, fire—but ultimately resolves to love.
• Understanding poetic perspective: Recognize and evaluate the viewpoint expressed by the poet and how it affects their representation of the world.

Prose Analysis Techniques

• Identifying key elements in non-fiction: Find the main ideas, themes, plot development, and supporting details.
• Summarizing material: Craft concise summaries of one or two sentences about the work.
• Understanding sequencing: Authors use various strategies to order information, like:
  • Chronological sequencing: Events presented in the order they happened.
  • Instructional sequencing: Events presented in the order they must be followed.
  • Foundational sequencing: Building on existing knowledge to convey information.
• Using strategies to identify sequencing: Look for key phrases, a table of contents, beginning/end of chapters or sections.

General Analysis Techniques for Any Text

• Main Idea/Theme: Determining the core message or topic.
• Plot: Identifying the sequence of events in a story or non-fiction narrative.
• Supporting Details: Details that reinforce, define or explain main ideas (specific examples, evidence, and explanations).
• Understanding author's purpose: Recognizing why the author chose to present information in a specific way.