Introduction: Reading poetry. Using this book ; Why read poetry? ; What is a poem? ; Understanding poetry ; Connecting with poetry
1. Reading a poem. What does the poem say? ; How does the poem begin? ; What kind of poem is it? ; What is the poem about? ; What language does the poem use? ; Do we need a dictionary? ; How does the poem develop? ; How does the syntax shape the sense? ; Is the sense clear? ; How is the sense organized into lines? ; does the sense flow over the line endings? ; How do the lines move? ; What are the rhythms within the lines? ; How can we describe the rhythms? ; Do the lines play variations on the metre? ; How doe the metre give character to the poem? ; Does the poem rhyme? ; What kinds of rhyme does the poem use? ; How does the poem sound? ; What is the poem's form? ; Is the poem composed in blank verse? ; Is the poem in rhyming couplets? ; Is the poem composed in stanzas? ; Is the poem in free verse? ; Who is speaking? ; does the poem dramatise a voice? ; Who does the poem address? ; What is the poem's tone? ; How does the poem convey feeling? ; How does the poem handle images? ; Does the poem use figurative language? ; Does the poem tell a story? ; How does the poem depict character? ; When was the poem written? ; How does the poem balance the old and the new? ; How does the poem end?
2. Studying a poet. Reading Emily Bronte ; Reading about Emily Bronte ; Reading criticism ; reading a contemporary poet: Srinivas Rayaprol
3. Writing about poetry. Whose voice should you use? ; How do you develop ideas? ; What are you trying to achieve? ; What sort of plan should you make? ; How should you begin? ; Informing and arguing ; The body of the essay ; How should you end? ; How should you review your work?
Epilogue: What should you read?
Glossary of common forms and genres
