Good afternoon!
Poetry is all about personal interpretation. You can analyze a poem line by line, thinking about the one line independently, and what you think it means. Once you have done this with all of the lines, you can begin to interpret them in relation to one another, developing an overall understanding of the poem.
Theme is obviously what the poem is about. A theme could be an emotion. For example, who's point of view is the poem coming from? Is a certain emotion motivating them to write the work? For example, if a person is writing a poem about a deserted island, you could interpret a theme of lonliness. As far as this particular poem, try doing some background research on the author if you have trouble identifying a theme immediately. If you can understand where he/she was coming from when writing it, perhaps you can understand any themes more clearly.
Technical elements are a little more clear cut. They are things like rhyme and meter, the flow and cadence of the poem. Does this poem stick to a syllable pattern pertaining to each line? Is there no rhyme or flow at all? If not, how is that significant?
You could begin your research online by searching for the title of the work or the author's name; this could help you to begin developing your own interpretations of the work. Try the line by line approach also, that can prove to be very fruitful.
I hope this helps you get started!
Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com
Gloria, EssayForum.com
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