All About Poem Analysis Essay: Method, Outline, Template And Structure

“O wild Wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing…”

-Ode to the West Wind (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

What did you understand from the lines? That is exactly what you are asked to do while writing a poetry analysis essay. If you go through poetry analysis, you will understand how professionals decode each line of poetry to craft a flawless essay. 

Analyzing a poetry is not an easy task. Knowing the correct technique, structure and ways to approach such pieces is crucial before writing. This blog will help you understand the various aspects of poem analysis essays. 

What is a Poetry Analysis?

Simply put, poetry analysis is all about understanding the piece in depth and analyzing each element of the piece. When your professor teaches in class, you will see how they use different examples to describe each line of the poem. Similarly, when you are asked to do a poetry analysis, you are expected to do the same. 

For example, if you look at the poem, ‘Fire and Ice’ by Robert Frost, you will see how the poet has used the words ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ to shed light on the disagreement in general society. When you are analyzing the piece, you have to consider each line to craft a perfect piece. A poet uses various elements to create the 'code' of the poem, and you have to understand each while writing the paper. 

Students struggle to find the right words to explain the various elements of such pieces of art and often fail to write one perfectly. The following section will help you understand the various aspects of writing a poem analysis.

A Full Guide to Writing a Perfect Poem Analysis Essay

If you come across an example of an analytical essay on a poem, you will understand how professionals share a detailed insight into each of its aspect. There are a few things you need to understand before you start working on the essay: 

• Read and identify the type of poem

First, you must prepare yourself well before you start writing the essay. A major problem among students is that they jump to conclusions without going through the poetry. The first thing to do to ace such essays is to read it properly. It is equally crucial to understand the type of poem you are analyzing. 

• Look for more background information

Suppose you are asked to analyze a sonnet. Most of you would go on to explain how the poet has expressed himself in fourteen lines. But if you knew the origin of the sonnet and how the poet is using it to express his feelings, it will be more effective. That is why doing background research is important for proper analysis. 

• Identify the poem’s subject matter

One of the most challenging steps is to find the subject matter. Poets love playing with words, and they would never clearly state the subject of their creations. But you will not be able to justify the essay if you don’t understand the subject matter. To ensure you are on the right track, dig deep into the poem, and understand each word before reaching a conclusion. 

• Choose the theories you support

You will come across several theories when you look for information on a poem. Most students get confused and are prone to making mistakes while crafting the essay. You need to understand and choose the theory you feel is correct. It will be easy for you to justify the essay once you choose a theory you support. 

In order to do all the things correctly, you have to learn how to do a proper analysis. The next section will help you know the best ways to analyze a poem.

Poetry Analysis: How to Analyze a Poem?

There are a few steps to analyze a poem. Once you have read the poem, you need to find out the various elements. How will you do that? Here’s an insight: 

• Map the rhyme scheme

The rhyme scheme helps you determine the type of poem you are analyzing. It will help you understand if the poem is a cinquain, an English quintain, a limerick, a Spanish quintain, a pentastich, a Sicilian quintain, a tanka or an envelope quintet. Analyzing a poem essay example shows how mapping rhyme schemes can help in the long run.

• Scanning the poem

It is crucial to determine the poetry meter while working on a poem analysis. You might have come across the term scansion and how the process emphasizes understanding the patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. Learning the method will help you overcome the odds and craft perfect essays. 

• Analyze the poem’s language

Poets use various words to give meaning to their thoughts. To make sure your essay leaves a lasting impression on the readers' minds, ensure to analyze each word used in the poem. Understand the wordplays and how those are used in the piece. Also, ensure to identify the literary devices used in the poem to make the essay stand out from the crowd. 

• Identify the narrator

It is crucial to understand the narrator of the poem. Understand if the poem has a first-person, second-person or third-person point of view. The tone of the poem is a major element, and you have to know it to write a good poem analysis essay. 

Once you have the necessary data, you can go ahead to create the outline of the essay. The next section will introduce you to the poem analysis outline. 

Poetry Analysis Essay Outline

Probably the simplest thing in the entire poem analysis writing process is the outline. But before you let out a sigh of relief, understand how each section is crucial and what is expected from you. So, why do experts say the outline is the simplest thing? It is majorly because, unlike other essays, you need not understand too many things to create one. Here’s what a poem essay outline looks like: 

• Introduction

The introduction of a poem analysis essay contains details about the poem and its author. You are also allowed to include the date of printing if you want, along with some interesting facts about the author. 

• Body of the essay

This is the main section of the essay. You need to share all the information about the poem along with your analysis in this section. It is crucial to keep in mind that the body section must contain the various poem concepts along with quotes to support your views. 

• Conclusion

The conclusion is where you bring together the entire analysis and summarize the points to help readers understand the significance of the poem. Readers must understand your views and be encouraged to read the poem and relate to what you have said. 

 The outline will help you get a roadmap for writing the essay. Now, what are the correct ways to write an essay? The following section will give you an insight.

How to Write a Poetry Analysis Essay Step by Step?

Do you feel a poem analysis essay is all about putting across your arguments? You are not completely wrong, but there's more to it. It is important to consider a few more things to justify a poem essay. Here’s a look: 

• Understand your audience

If you look for an example of a poetry analysis online, you will come across many websites. Yet, you will choose the one that you feel is easy to understand. Similarly, when you write an essay, consider knowing your audience to write a perfect one. You need to choose the language that your audience will understand easily. 

• Make an argument

A poem analysis essay depends on your take on the poem. As mentioned earlier, you will come across a lot of analysis on the same piece. You need to make sure that your essay gives a new perspective and adds value to the existing discussion. Your arguments should have proper grounds and be supported with strong evidence. 

• Use quotes from the poem

The best way to grab readers’ attention is by using quotes from the poem. It is always good to support your arguments with quotes from the poem. You can also use them to explain your analysis and make an impact. 

Before moving forward with the task, you must know the correct ways to choose a topic for your essay. 

How to Choose a Topic for a Poetry Analysis Essay?

Choosing a topic is, again, a difficult task for students. You will come across many poems or topics in your academic curriculum, and it is tough to find the right one. Experts suggest that you choose one that you like. Out of many topics, you have to find the one that sounds interesting and is easy to decode. 

The entire writing process depends on the topic you choose, and you must be very careful. You need to understand that the way you present the essay is important, and that depends on the topic you choose. Hence, make sure you understand the poem you choose to analyze. It will ease the entire writing process and help you craft a perfect one.

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay for a Poem?

You need to dissect a poem and identify everything. One of the main components of a poem is the literary devices. The use of metaphors, alliterations, personifications, imageries, similes, and repetitions is something you need to identify and analyze. 

If the poet has done justice to these literary devices and if they are used appropriately is highlighted in a poem analysis essay. You need to know the meaning of each of the literary devices before working on the essay. If you look at an analysis poetry essay example, you will understand how these elements play a crucial role in the process. 

A literary analysis of a poem depends on how well you decode the use of these literary devices. You need to ensure that the readers understand your point of view and relate to what you are trying to imply. 

Poetry Analysis Template

This is what a poetry analysis template looks like: 

• Author and title of the poem
• Style: romanticism, realism, symbolism, Acmeism, sentimentalism, avant-garde, futurism, modernism, etc.
• Genre: epigram, epitaph, elegy, ode, poem, ballad, novel in verse, song, sonnet, dedication poem, etc. 
• The history of the poem’s creation
• The poet’s vocabulary: everyday, colloquial, bookish, neutral, journalistic
• Composition of the work: Analyze the theme of each stanza minutely, highlighting the main parts of the poem and connecting the dots
• Description of a lyrical hero
• Your impressions of the work

While these things might sound easy, it is wise to avail online essay writing services while working on it. Any wrong or extra information will ruin your chances of bagging the best grades. 

Getting worried about writing the piece? The examples in the following section will help you get the hang of it. 

Poetry Analysis Essay Example

You need to refer to the right poetry analysis example to understand the best ways to write one. Many students have struggled to find the right place and are unable to do justice to the pieces. To ease your problems and help you sail through the process easily, here are a few poetry analysis essay examples: 

The Education of Nature by William Wordsworth

THE EDUCATION OF NATURE (THREE YEARS SHE GREW)

Introduction:

‘The Education of Nature', also known as 'Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower', is part of William Wordsworth's collection, 'Poems of Imagination.’ The poet composed this poem during his stay in Germany in the year 1799. This poem is part of the famous group of ‘Lucy Poems’ written by the great poet. The poem earned the title ‘The Education of Nature’ in Palgrave’s ‘Golden Treasury.’ The second edition of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ published the poem in 1800. 

Body:

The poet explores various aspects of nature and how nature can be a good teacher through the eyes of Lucy. Now, whether the character Lucy was a real woman or just a figment of the poet's imagination is still being debated. That kept aside; the poem is one of the best creations by the poet.

The piece is narrated from a first-person perspective. The poet personifies Nature as a woman who is talking about the death of her three-year-old child Lucy. Since the poem is a first-person narrative, it is easy for readers to understand the story. It gives a clear insight into the speaker’s thoughts. 

The poem might seem a bit strange to the modern audience because it celebrates the death of a three-year-old girl. As a defensive measure, the poet explains that Nature wanted to keep Lucy to herself and be a part of nature after death. 

“This Child I to myself will take

She shall be mine, and I will make

A Lady of my own.”

As you move on with the poem, you will see how the poet has used complicated conflict of imagery to shed light on the relationship between Lucy and Nature. The use of phrases like ‘sun and shower’, ‘law and impulse’, ‘earth and heaven', and 'kindle and restrain' show the contrasting forces at work in nature. 

The piece can also be analyzed from the poet’s perspective and his relation to the poetic project. If you dig deep into the time when the poem was written, you will understand that the poet was badly affected by the way French Revolution turned into a bloodbath. His will to record the lives of simple, forgotten people gave birth to Lucy, who became the beautiful child of nature. 

Conclusion:

The poem talks about a beautiful story of a mother and her child. It shows how Nature wanted her daughter to live a long life after death. As Lucy becomes a part of nature, she begins to experience everything to become a mature woman. The essay will help readers understand how Wordsworth used various imagery and other literary devices to explain the relationship between Nature and Lucy. 

This example of a poem analysis will give you an idea about the ways these tasks are handled. You can also access more such samples free of cost if you avail writing services for your essays. 

Final Thoughts,

Poem analysis essays are tough, but with the right guide, you can overcome the hurdles and submit a flawless essay. The points above can help you understand the nitty-gritty of such tasks. All you have to remember is that the poem you choose to analyze must not be too difficult. With deadlines knocking at the door, you cannot afford to choose a poem that you have trouble understanding. Further, follow the steps to write one correctly and look into each point to craft an outstanding essay.