Poetry III

An idea or image can run past the end of a line or stanza, which is called enjambment, and where a sentence pauses or stops changes how you read it. When a poem sets up a pattern of rhyme, rhythm, line length or structure and then breaks it, the break pulls your attention to that spot.

Placing two things side by side, juxtaposition, can set up a sharp opposite, or antithesis. Irony comes from a gap between what you expect and what happens or what is said. A paradox puts together ideas that seem to clash, and working out how both can be true often leads you to the poem's less obvious point.

Many poems support more than one reasonable reading, and that ambiguity is often the point, not a problem to solve. Watch how a speaker uses symbols, since they can hint at the speaker's attitude or perspective.

A conceit is an extended metaphor that builds a surprising, even far-fetched comparison over several lines, like John Donne comparing two parted lovers to the legs of a drawing compass. Poets often use conceits to compare a person with something in nature. When a poem stacks several comparisons, ask how each one changes the way you read the others.

An allusion is a brief reference to a well-known story, person, place or text, such as the Bible, a myth or Shakespeare. Because readers share knowledge of the reference, one allusion can bring a whole set of feelings and ideas into a poem.

Now you put it together in the poetry essay. Write a thesis with a real interpretation, build a line of reasoning, and explain how each piece of evidence supports your claims, ideally while dealing with the poem's tensions or ambiguity. Give credit when you use someone else's words or ideas, though the exam doesn't expect a formal style like MLA.