The best way for you to be entirely sure of what the phrase means, you should speak to your English tutor or teacher. If you don't understand any part of the work that you are given then you should go to your teacher before it is due in and ask them for help. Understanding poetry can be quite difficult but it is often an important part of English class so it is important that you can grasp the concept well.
If you want to have a go at understand poetry yourself then you can follow the instructions that are listed below.
If you want to have a go at understand poetry yourself then you can follow the instructions that are listed below.
- Step one. Read the poem through several times. You can also try reading it through aloud to see if this helps you to get anymore ideas. Every time you read it through, if something new comes to mind then note it down. Most poems are based on a rhythmic pattern which may be made more clear if you read it aloud.
- Step two. If you come across any words that you don't understand, then keep a dictionary handy and look up anything that isn't clear to you.
- Step three. As you read through the poem try and identify different artistic features that are present in the poem such as alliteration, rhyming and sound patterns, repetition of words or phrases and figure out what kind of poem it is.
- Step four. Do some research into the background of the poem including the author and when it was written, where it was written, the occasion and possible who the poem was written for. This may help you to figure more out about the poem.
- Step five. Pay particular attention to the metaphors that are mentioned throughout the poem and try comparing them to one another. You could also keep an eye out for other literary features such as alliteration, onomatopoeia etc.
