![]() Notice the punctuation, informal language and repetition in the poem. What structural or stylistic techniques does the poet use? In this poem, the speaker is a mother who is encouraging her son not to give up just because life is difficult. Does the person admire nature? Or does she have a message for someone? Maybe the speaker is complaining about something or questioning his life. You should identify the speaker by describing him or her as “someone who…” and fill in the blank. ![]() In Hughes’ poem, the speaker is a mother speaking to her son, while the poet is a man. The speaker is the voice of the poem, and it’s not necessarily the poet. Yet the speaker shows her determination to overcome life’s hardships by saying things such as “For I’se still going honey” which in turn allows the poem to end on a more positive note rather than desperation. In the poem above, the negative imagery conveys a negative, or somber mood. The imagery can help you determine whether the mood or feeling of the poem is positive or negative. What is the mood of the poem? (Or How does it make me feel?) For instance, in Langston Hughes’ “Mother to Son” the imagery centers around a broken down staircase and reflects personal brokenness and hardship. Then figure out what those images have in common. What do you see, taste, smell, hear, and feel? Understanding poetry begins with visualizing the central images in the poem. These five questions will help you crack the code of many poems you might come across. One way I hope to lessen the fear of reading poetry is to show you how to read it-especially for more complex poems. ![]() I’ve had those moments when faced with an enigma of words on the page. Many people are discouraged from enjoying poetry because they claim it’s too difficult.
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