The best way of studying something is to ask questions about it.
Here are some important things you can do with the poems, and questions
you can ask. When you read a poem, don't try to translate it. You can
paraphrase it but remember that it will remain paraphrase and not the
poem itself. There are poems of many kinds. Some poems will express
their meaning easily and some may be very difficult for you to
understand. The suggestions below will help you to understand a poem
easily. If you cannot understand a poem at first, do not get discouraged
but keep reading it again and again. Finally, you will see that it will
become clearer to you.
1. The first thing you should do is to read the poem aloud. The first few times, read it any way you like. Then read it slowly. At this time, do not read it line by line but sentence by sentence and try to understand what the sentences are saying exactly.
2. Next, look up the unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Try to understand the meaning of the words in the context.
3. Work out the setting of the poem. Setting means the place and time in which the action of the poem takes place.
4. Try and work out the first impression or the beginning of the poem. Write this down in a couple of sentences.
5. Try to see if you can work out the correct voice of the poem. This means to decide what kind of a person it is who is telling the poem.
6. Try to see if you can distinguish the speaker's tone of voice. This may be sometimes difficult but if you pay careful attention to the words you may be able to do it. Try to notice also if the tone of voice changes in the course of the poem and why it changes.
7. Do the words create any kind of sound effects? What is the rhythm in the poem?
8. Are there any repeated words? What is the cause of the repetition?
9. Are there any words that have indirect, associated, unusual or special meanings? You will be able to guess this from the context and sometimes when you will look up the words in the dictionary.
10. Does the poem use metaphors, similes, personification and other figures of speech? Do these figures add anything to tone and impression of the poem?
11. Try to work out the theme or the central idea of the poem. The central idea may be very simple one and may be very clearly expressed. On the other hand, it may be difficult to express in a few words. Whatever impression you get of the central idea, write it down.
12. Finally, read the poem again to understand the whole things related to the poem.
Following these points, you can develop your skill of understanding a poem clearly.
1. The first thing you should do is to read the poem aloud. The first few times, read it any way you like. Then read it slowly. At this time, do not read it line by line but sentence by sentence and try to understand what the sentences are saying exactly.
2. Next, look up the unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Try to understand the meaning of the words in the context.
3. Work out the setting of the poem. Setting means the place and time in which the action of the poem takes place.
4. Try and work out the first impression or the beginning of the poem. Write this down in a couple of sentences.
5. Try to see if you can work out the correct voice of the poem. This means to decide what kind of a person it is who is telling the poem.
6. Try to see if you can distinguish the speaker's tone of voice. This may be sometimes difficult but if you pay careful attention to the words you may be able to do it. Try to notice also if the tone of voice changes in the course of the poem and why it changes.
7. Do the words create any kind of sound effects? What is the rhythm in the poem?
8. Are there any repeated words? What is the cause of the repetition?
9. Are there any words that have indirect, associated, unusual or special meanings? You will be able to guess this from the context and sometimes when you will look up the words in the dictionary.
10. Does the poem use metaphors, similes, personification and other figures of speech? Do these figures add anything to tone and impression of the poem?
11. Try to work out the theme or the central idea of the poem. The central idea may be very simple one and may be very clearly expressed. On the other hand, it may be difficult to express in a few words. Whatever impression you get of the central idea, write it down.
12. Finally, read the poem again to understand the whole things related to the poem.
Following these points, you can develop your skill of understanding a poem clearly.
