Any lyric work reflects the poet's worldview, therefore, in order to analyze the poem, you need to know about the peculiarities of the creative method within which it was written. In addition, it is important to carefully read the poem, since its analysis should be carried out at all linguistic levels: from phonetic to syntactic. Use the instructions to structure your written analysis of a verse.
Instructions
Step 1
Begin the analysis of a lyric work by determining the date of writing and publication. Collect material on the creative history of the poem, tk. the factual side is very important for understanding its topic. Indicate to whom it is dedicated, if it has an addressee.
Step 2
Determine the theme of the piece, i.e. what the author writes about: about nature, love, the relationship between the lyric hero and society, about philosophical categories, etc. Answer the question how the theme of the poem is related to its title.
Step 3
Trace the movement of the lyric plot: how the mood of the lyric hero changes throughout the poem, his attitude to what the author talks about in the work. Words that express feelings will help you with this: sadness, admiration, passion, bitterness, despondency, etc.
Step 4
Determine the compositional features of the work, i.e. its construction. Find the main compositional technique used by the author: repeat, contrast, ring, match by association, etc.
Step 5
Find the leading leitmotifs of the work and the supporting words that convey them. Determine the general tone of the poem (sadness, joy, delight, longing, etc.). Give an interpretation of the genre of the verse (sonnet, elegy, message, eclogue, etc.).
Step 6
Tell us about the lyrical hero of the work, which is revealed through a specific state of mind, the experience of a certain life situation at the moment. Answer the question, what position does the author take in relation to his lyrical hero. Please note that it is not always necessary to identify the poet and his hero.
Step 7
Consider the visual means of the work at different linguistic levels: sound writing (phonetic means of expressiveness), vocabulary (stylistically colored, the presence of synonyms, antonyms, paronyms), poetic syntax.
Step 8
Define the idea of the work, identified as a result of the analysis. Answer the question with what message the author is addressing the reader.
Step 9
Consider the rhythmic organization of the poem, determine its size and types of rhyme.
Step 10
Finishing the written analysis of the poem, determine how the peculiarities of the poetics of the creative method, within which the work was created, were reflected in it. To do this, using a literary dictionary, get acquainted with different directions in the history of literature (romanticism, realism, symbolism, acmeism, futurism).
