Analyzing the Structure of a Poem

Define

You can probably identify poetry when you see it, but how would you define it? Poetry, unlike most prose, is a formal and
intentional arrangement of words on a page. In poetry, every word, every line break, every use (or lack) of punctuation is
carefully chosen so that the poem expresses a certain theme, tone, or mood.

In terms of structure, a poem may be arranged in lines of different lengths, and the lines may be grouped into stanzas with
differing numbers of lines. Well known poetic structures are called poetic forms. Some forms that you might already be familiar
with include haiku, limerick, sonnet, and villanelle. In addition to these well known forms, though, poetic structure can refer to
any principle of order that a poet gives to a piece. A poet writing about a dog might arrange the lines to actually look like a dog!
As strange as that might be, it’s poetic structure, too.

Sometimes, though, a poet might abandon a poetic form entirely. When poets write without consistent meter, rhyme, or stanza
length, it’s called open form. When analyzing an open form poem, it’s important to remember that not having a regular structure
is still a choice that the poet has made for his or her work.

Identification and Application:

●Poetic structure often varies. From short haikus or limericks, to sonnets or long odes and epics, understanding a poem’s
structure will make it easier to understand the meaning of the poem. Remember, well-known poetic structures, like
haikus, limericks, and sonnets, are called poetic forms.

●Here are some important steps to keep in mind when you’re determining a poem’s structure:

○Before looking at specific lines or stanzas, scan the whole poem to see if it uses a consistent structure
throughout. Is it a short poem or a long poem? Are the stanzas all the same size? Are the lines short or long? A
quick glance over the poem can often provide a lot of information before you even begin reading.

○Analyzing a specific stanza can provide clues to the overall structure of a poem and how that structure
contributes to the development of the poem’s theme.

○One way to determine a poem’s structure is by examining its rhyme scheme, or the pattern that rhyming words
follow in the poem.

●Poets choose structures to complement the content of their poems. The meaning of the poem (what the poem says)
connects with the structure (how the poem says it). Once you’ve determined a poem’s structure, you should begin asking
how the structure, or poetic form, shapes the words and ideas in the poem and contributes to its theme.

Model

Even at a first glance, most readers will identify Rita Dove’s text “Rosa” as a poem. The text is arranged in four stanzas, each
stanza made up of three lines of about equal length. There is no specific rhyme scheme. The poem is relatively short, and its
appearance on the page is neat, contained. What more can a reader learn about the poem’s structure by examining its first
stanza?

How she sat there,

the time right inside a place

so wrong it was ready.

Readers will note that the stanza is punctuated like a single sentence, with a period at the end of the three lines. However,
closer examination shows that the stanza is not a sentence at all, for it doesn’t communicate a complete thought. Instead, the
stanza begins in the middle of a thought or scene: “How she sat there.” The whole stanza is in fact one long sentence fragment,
and it captures a moment frozen in time—a time that was "right.” Like Rosa, who “sat there,” readers find themselves suddenly
caught in the middle of an unexpected and startling situation.

Model

The second stanza bears similarities to the first stanza. Again, readers are presented with three lines, none of which contains a complete sentence.

That trim name with

its dream of a bench

to rest on. Her sensible coat.

Once again, the first line of the stanza begins in the middle of a thought: “That trim name.” Unlike the first stanza, however, this stanza consists of two
sentence fragments rather than one. Instead of experiencing a moment in time, readers experience a collection of images: a “trim name,” “a bench,” a
“sensible coat.” Rosa herself begins to emerge from the collection of images, as readers start to be able to see her seated on the bus.

The use of fragments in the first two stanzas keeps the poem simple and direct without the distractions of unneeded words. The reference to that
“trim name” in the first line of the second stanza seems to refer readers to the poem’s title “Rosa,” a trim and direct title, as straightforward as the
woman herself. The poem may also be described as “trim” given its short, crisp lines and stanzas.

In the first two stanzas, there is very little action. As the first line of the third stanza announces: “Doing nothing was the doing.” It was by doing
nothing, by refusing to rise, that Rosa Parks did the extraordinary. And as vividly as in a photograph, the sentence fragments in the first two stanzas
illuminate that precise moment in time—the exact instant when a trim, sensible woman, seated on a bus bench, changed history.

Your Turn

Read the first and fourth stanzas from “Rosa” to analyze poetic structure and answer the follow-up questions.

How she sat there,

the time right inside a place

so wrong it was ready.

----------------------------------

How she stood up

when they bent down to retrieve

her purse. That courtesy.

Multiple Choice

Part A

What is one similarity in structure between the first and fourth stanzas of the poem?

• The stanzas include complete sentences.

• The stanzas have similar first lines.

• A comma separates each stanza’s first line from its second line.

• The stanzas have similar third lines.

Multiple Choice

Part B

What effect is created by the similarity?.

• The use of complete sentences highlights the drama of Rosa’s situation.

• The commas emphasize a thoughtful pause at the end of both first lines.

• The word repetition calls attention to “how” Rosa acts, and the change from sitting to standing up.

• The similar endings create a sense of finality.