Read poetry
key notes :
Poems don’t always directly state what the author is trying to tell you. So, you often need to look closely at a poem’s text to help you figure out what the poem means.
Sometimes details about a poem’s characters or events are missing. When this happens, you may need to make inferences, or guesses, about what happens and why.
At other times, a poem might use unusual words or phrases to describe the characters or events. These uses of language are called figures of speech. Authors often use figures of speech to bring characters to life or to create a certain mood or feeling for readers.
Making inferences and understanding figures of speech can help you understand a poem’s theme. The theme is the main message that an author wants you to take away from the poem.
Learn with an example
đŸ”¥Read the poem. Then, review the bolded text in the first stanza.
Looking Up
Ever feel a wee bit crazed,
Like a mouse caught in a maze?
Videos to watch and games to play
Keep you at your screen all day.
Stop for a moment and look around.
You’ll be amazed at what you’ve found.
Put down your screen and you will see
All that the world contains, for free!
Take a peek at the bright blue sky.
Trace the cloud that’s gliding by.
Listen to the chirping bird—
Its song just waiting to be heard.
Everything you thought you knew
Might astonish when seen anew.
đŸ”¥The bolded text shows a simile, which compares two things using like or as. What is the purpose of this text?
- It shows how easy it is to get lost when you don’t have a smartphone.
- It points out how small people look to others.
- It suggests people sometimes feel trapped in their own little worlds.
Review the text.
Ever feel a wee bit crazed,
Like a mouse caught in a maze?
The text compares how you might feel to being like a mouse in a maze. A mouse in a maze runs around without seeing what’s beyond it.
So, this is the purpose of the text:
It suggests people sometimes feel trapped in their own little worlds.
đŸ”¥Read the poem. Then, review the bolded text in the first stanza.
Diamond Necklace
In a shop, while looking down,
I notice something on the ground:
I spy a diamond on a chain.
I fly off with it like a jet plane.
I show the shopkeeper, who gives a grin.
‘The diamond’s owner just came back in!
She left it here, and I know that she
Will thank you for your honesty.’
She gushes to me just what it meant—
‘The necklace was a dear present.’
She presses something in my hand
A coin stares at me, gold and grand!
đŸ”¥The bolded text shows a simile, which compares two things using like or as. What is the purpose of this text?
- It shows that the narrator decides to take the necklace on a plane.
- It suggests that the necklace is almost as expensive as a jet plane.
- It signals that the narrator hurries quickly to the shopkeeper with the necklace.
Review the text.
I fly off with it like a jet plane.
A jet plane moves very fast, which shows that the narrator is moving quickly. This suggests that the narrator is hurrying to bring the necklace to the shopkeeper.
So, this is the purpose of the text:
It signals that the narrator hurries quickly to the shopkeeper with the necklace.
đŸ”¥Read the poem. Then, review the bolded text in the second stanza.
The Rainbow
A rainbow stretches across the sky,
An awesome parade of colours going by.
At the top of the group is the brilliant red,
Bringing thoughts of ripe berries to my head.
Bold, bright orange brings its fiery best,
Followed by yellow, a welcome guest.
Like a wave of water come green and blue,
Flowing in with indigo and violet, too.
I see each and every single stripe.
Each one’s a very special type.
But put together, they seem to shout,
‘That’s what teamwork’s all about!
đŸ”¥The bolded text shows a simile, which compares two things using like or as. What is the purpose of this text?
- It reminds the reader that you can only see rainbows when there is water in the air.
- It illustrates how beautiful the two colours look together.
- It points out that some rainbows appear over oceans instead of land.
Review the text.
Like a wave of water come green and blue,
The narrator compares the green and blue stripes in the rainbow to a wave of cool water. This reveals how two colours side by side can make something memorable.
So, this is the purpose of the text:
It illustrates how beautiful the two colours look together.
let’s practice!
Read the poem. Then, review the bolded text in the second stanza.
Dripping Paint
Drip! Drip! Watch me brush,
My painting of trees almost done.
Ring! Ring! Now watch me race.
Been waiting for an important one!
Yak! Yak! Then I hurry back.
The lines that were trees
Drizzled into streams
And decided to freeze.
I gasped a moment, then pretended
That this effect was all intended.
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