In his instructive text, “How to Read a Poem,” the poet Ed Hirsch goes into detail about “talking back” to the poem. As a writer, developing the habit of questioning the poem will provide insight into not just what the poem means, but how it was made, and why it evolved into its final form.
As you “talk back” to poems, what responses or questions do you have for the poet? What did the poet do to make you feel what you felt? What did you walk away with that you did not have before you listened or read this poem?
Remember, you don’t need to ask all of these questions for every poem. They are meant to guide you with possibility.
From Hirsch’s text:
It would be convenient if there were a short list of universal questions, ones that could be used anytime with any poem. In the absence of such a list, here are a few general questions that you might ask when approaching a poem for the first time:
- Who is the speaker?
- What circumstances gave rise to the poem?
- What situation is presented?
- Who or what is the audience?
- What is the tone?
- What form, if any, does the poem take?
- How is form related to content?
- Is sound an important, active element of the poem?
- Does the poem spring from an identifiable historical moment?
- Does the poem speak from a specific culture?
- Does the poem have its own vernacular?
- Does the poem use imagery to achieve a particular effect?
- What kind of figurative language, if any, does the poem use?
- If the poem is a question, what is the answer?
- If the poem is an answer, what is the question?
- What does the title suggest?
- Does the poem use unusual words or use words in an unusual way?
You can fall back on these questions as needed, but experience suggests that since each poem is unique, such questions will not go the necessary distance. From, How to Read a Poem by Ed Hirsch