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15 Fun Poetry Activities for High School

April 8, 2019 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   3 Comments

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High School Students + Fun Poetry Activities

If you’re an English teacher, looking for fun poetry activities for high school or middle school students, I’ve got you covered. I’m opening up my poetry toolbox and sharing some of my favorite (and most successful) poetry games and activities!  Whether you’re looking for a stand-alone lesson or something more, there’s something here for everyone.

Pop Sonnets

The creation of pop sonnets is one of my favorite poetry activities to use in conjunction with the reading of a Shakespearean play, but it can be used as a stand-alone lesson. The hook is that modern-day songs have been turned into Shakespearean sonnets. You can study one of Shakespeare’s sonnets and ask students to modernize it. Then, work in reverse by re-working a modern-day song as a sonnet. Or, just use this as a “hook” to help students feel more comfortable with Shakespearean language.   Take a look and thank me later.

Songs as Poetry

Studying modern-day songs is a great way to teach about figurative language and poetic devices while studying poetry. Try reading the lyrics, but omitting or re-writing the metaphors and talking about the change in message/meaning. Look for examples of imperfect rhyme in one of Eminem’s cleaner songs. Study poems as paired texts . Analyze lines from a famous soundtrack. Ask students to bring in their favorite songs and discuss. So. Many. Options!

Here are 12 great songs to analyze if you aren’t sure where to start:

• “Across the Universe” by the Beatles
• “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan
• “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift
• “Chasing Pavements” by Adele
• “Infinity” by Mariah Carey
• “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes
• “Counting Stars” by One Republic
• “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons
• “Imagine” by John Lennon
• “Mad World” by Gary Jules
• “Zombie” by The Cranberries
• “Letter to Me” by Brad Paisley

Slam Poetry

Students need to know that poetry is not dead. It’s living. It’s breathing. It’s storytelling. It’s cool. In April, my classes come alive with the magic of slam poetry as students become authors and performers. They re-discover wonder and learn to let down their guard. They learn that there is intersectionality between their story and the stories of others. They are appreciated. They appreciate others. When I use this fun poetry activity for high school students , my classroom really becomes a true community.

Grab my slam poetry “mini” unit to get your students started with slam poetry!

Not sure which slam poems are school-appropriate and engaging? Here are 40 of my favorite slam poems !

Paint Chip Poetry

This poetry writing activity is FREE if you’re willing to grab some paint chips from your local hardware store, preferably ones with multiple colors in one. Or, Amazon sells an awesome paint chip poetry “game.”

• Have students use one of the color names as the title for a poem.
• Have students write poems in stanzas, using each of the color names as inspiration.
• Have students use all of the color names somewhere in a poem.
• Have students choose two contrasting colors and make a poem of contrasts.
• Have students choose two complimentary colors and make a poem.
• Have students choose a color and write an identity poem.

Blackout Poetry

This is an oldie, but goodie poetry writing exercise for high school students. Copy a page or two from a whole class novel. Or better yet, choose a completely divergent text, maybe a science textbook or page from a dictionary. Students string together words on the page to form a poem, and black-out the rest of the words. If they want to go above and beyond, they can create an original illustration to accompany their blackout poem.

Book Spine Poetry

Take your students to the library (or have them browse a site like Goodreads) and challenge them to create poems from book titles. Each title becomes a line in the poem. An optional challenge: have students choose (or randomly draw) a theme, and their poem has to relate to their chosen theme. If you’re looking for some FREE templates, I’ve got you covered: Click Here !  I created these templates as a quick fun poetry activity for high school sophomores after my librarian told me that having my classes pull so many books would be a pain to re-shelve.

Poetry Tasting

A lot of teachers are loving my reading progressive dinner stations . Poems are short and accessible texts that always rock when used with this activity.

Here are some options for poetry stations, a fun group poetry activity: 

• Choose a certain kind of poem or a certain poetic movement to explore at ALL the stations, i.e. the ghazal or Imagist poetry.
• Choose different kinds of poems or movements to explore at each station.
• Choose poems related to ONE thematic idea.
• Choose poems written by teenagers.
• Choose “famous” poems.
• Choose slam poems.

Poetry Transformations

If you’re studying word choice and tone in poetry, why not have students transform a poem, switching from one tone to another? Then, have students write a reflection analyzing why they made 4-5 important changes.

Found Poems

This poetry activity is exactly what it sounds like. Have students choose / cut-out words from magazines to form “found” poems. Or, have students listen to a TED talk or story, writing down a certain # of words they hear. Then, ask them to use these words + ones of their own to write an original poem.

Easter Egg Poems

If ’tis the season, you might as well use those plastic easter eggs you may have lying around. Put “poetry inspiration” in each egg. At the very least, I suggest a word or phrase. If you want to go “all-in,” create a combination of the items below:

• Random household objects, i.e. a piece of string, a bead
• Newspaper/magazine clippings
• Words/phrases
• Famous first lines
• A “mentor” poem, copied and folded up

Tell students that their challenge is to write a poem inspired by these objects. Or, if you prefer, have students incorporate words / ideas from each object in their poem.

Favorite Poem Project

If you’ve never seen the site “ Favorite Poem Project ,” I suggest checking it out as a poetry unit resource. The site’s goal is to interview a variety of different people about their “favorite poems.” In each short video, an individual shares a personal connection to his/her poem and reads the poem out loud.

After being a fan of this site for some time, I decided to have my students make their own “favorite poem” videos . They explored, chose a poem that they liked “best,” and created videos on Flipgrid discussing their thoughts about the poem and reading it aloud. These videos were then viewed by classmates. Everyone enjoyed this a lot!

Metaphor Dice

Poems as Mentor Texts

Using mentor texts for writing is a powerful strategy for poetry instruction, yet one that I find myself “skipping” because there isn’t time. I have to remind myself to “make” the time because it’s important. If we’re going to spend time analyzing texts, it only makes sense to have students try to use those writing moves in their own writing. After all, students should be writing frequently, and not always for an assessment grade.

Here are 12 great mentor poems if you’re not sure where to start:

• “ We Real Cool ” by Gwendolyn Brooks
• “ Montauk ” by Sarah Kay
• “ This is Just to Say ” by William Carlos Williams
• “ Mother to Son ” by Langston Hughes
• “ My Father’s Hats ” by Mark Irwin
• “ Chicago ” by Carl Sandburg
• “ Entrance ” by Dana Gioia
• “ My Father is an Oyster ” by Clint Smith
• “ If ” by Rudyard Kipling
• “ Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market ” by Pablo Neruda
• “ The Bean Eaters ” by Gwendolyn Brooks
• “ The Summer I Was Sixteen ” by Geraldine Connolly
• “ Where I’m From ” by George Ella Lyon (As a bonus, students can submit their poems to the “I am From” project. ) p.s. If you’re looking for ready-to-use templates,  here you go !

Magnetic Poetry

A fun activity to fill extra class time, or just for fun: magnetic poetry . Give each student (or pairs of students) a handful of magnetic poetry pieces. See what they come up with. Take pictures and display around the room.

Interactive Poetry Bulletin Board

Sort of like magnetic poetry, but with a twist, it’s fun to set-up an interactive bulletin board as a fun poetry activity for high school students to try before or after class. You can do this in several different ways.

• Poem of the day + a “feel-o-meter” for students to rate the poem on a scale from “mild sauce” to “hot sauce.” You can have students use push pins to vote.
• Large scale magnetic poetry + a bulletin board becomes “push pin poetry.” You choose the words. Students move them around to form poems.

Hey, if you loved this post, I want to be sure you’ve had the chance to grab a FREE copy of my guide to stream l ined grading . I know how hard it is to do all the things as an English teacher, so I’m over the moon to be able to share with you some of my best strategies for reducing the grading overwhelm. 

Click on the link above or the image below to get started!

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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How to Read a Poem

Reading poetry well is part attitude and part technique. Curiosity is a useful attitude, especially when it's free of preconceived ideas about what poetry is or should be. Effective technique directs your curiosity into asking questions, drawing you into a conversation with the poem.

Where to Start

Book Recommendations

We asked dozens of notable poets to reveal the books they frequently recommend to students or new poetry readers.

Groundbreaking Books

Know which books have most dramatically influenced today's poetry landscape.

Featured Essays

The Great Figure: On Figurative Language by D. A. Powell

When we think of great poems that we love, we think of the ways in which the language casts a certain light upon some occasion or subject to create a new and impressive way of listening, seeing, experiencing the world.

Another and Another Before That: Some Thoughts on Reading by Carl Phillips

If all we can ever know comes filtered through the lens of our own experience, and if we are readers, some part of our very selves will be the result of what we have read. Reasons for Poetry by William Meredith Poets, in the large Greek sense of makers, are crucial to a culture. They respond newly, but in the familiar tribal experience of language, to what new thing befalls the tribe.

Someone Reading a Book Is a Sign of Order in the World by Mary Ruefle

Reading...is a great extension of time, a way for one person to live a thousand and one lives in a single lifespan, to watch the great impersonal universe at work.

Death to the Death of Poetry by Donald Hall

I believe in the quality of the best contemporary poetry; I believe that the best American poetry of our day makes a considerable literature.

Browse Anthologies

Many poetry readers discover new work by reading anthologies.

Featured Resources

Poetry Glossary

A brief guide to understanding basic terms, including the various elements of figurative language, poetic devices, forms, and meter.

Poetry Forms & Techniques

Overviews of everything from traditional forms, such as the ode, to more experimental styles, such as OULIPO.

Schools & Movements

Introductions to the founding principles and poets associated with various literary trends, from Romanticism to Ethnopoetics.

Reading Guides

Reading poetry will make you a better reader. If you write poetry, reading poetry will make you a better poet. As former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky has said: "Poetry connects us with our deep roots, our evolution as an animal that evolved rhythmic language as a means of transmitting vital information across the generations. We need the comfort and stimulation that this vital part of us gets from the ancient art." Here are some guides to help you as you begin.

Walt Whitman

Whitman's great subject was America, but he wrote on an expansive variety of smaller subjects to accomplish the task of capturing the essence of this country.

Emily Dickinson

Drawing from primarily musical forms such as hymns and ballads, and modifying them with her own sense of rhythm and sound.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes became the voice of black America in the 1920s, when his first published poems brought him more than moderate success.

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40 Inspiring Poetry Games and Activities for Kids and Teens

They are poets, and they know it!

Tired of hearing groans when you announce it’s time for some poetry? Poems can be hard for kids to connect with, so it helps to have some clever poetry games and poetry activities up your sleeve. Try these with our favorite poems for sharing with elementary students and middle and high school students !

Our Favorite Poetry Games and Activities

1. Watch poetry videos

Let YouTube do some of the work for you with this roundup of poetry videos for elementary students. Watch authors read their own poems, learn about poetry terms, and more.

Learn more: Poetry Videos for Elementary School

2. Climb a hill with Amanda Gorman

Young poet Amanda Gorman took the world by storm when she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration. Kids can really relate to her and her words, so try this roundup of poetry activities to introduce her in your classroom.

Learn more: Celebrate Poetry Month With Amanda Gorman

3. Take inspiration from nature

Nature has always provided inspiration for poets, and it can help your students find their own way to a love of poetry. Find out how poet David Harrison uses nature to help kids tap into their poetic sides.

Learn more: Science and Poetry

4. Read a novel in verse

Help kids find more meaning in poetry by reading novels told in verse. When they have a story to follow, they’re more likely to be engaged and open to learning about the poetic elements. Here are some of our favorite novels in verse for students of all ages.

Learn more: Best Novels in Verse

5. Stack up book spine poetry

Pull some books off the shelves and stack them so their titles create a poem. Kids can take a pic, write the titles down as they are, or use their stack as inspiration for a more fleshed-out masterpiece.

Learn more: How To Create Book Spine Poetry

6. Build a Humpty Dumpty wall

For most of us, nursery rhymes were the first poems we read, and they’re the perfect place to start with poetry games. Write words on building blocks ( try this set of Giant Cardboard Blocks from Amazon ), then stack them up to build a wall. Kids will get a kick out of these poetry activities by knocking the wall down and then building it up again!

Learn more: Nursery Rhyme Wall

7. Plant a poe-tree

“ I think that I shall never see / a poem as lovely as a poe-tree!” Hang a paper tree, then fill it with leaves covered with poetry from your students.

Learn more: Plant a Poe-Tree

8. Try paper bag poetry

Introduce poetry to little ones with a paper bag filled with several items of different sizes, shapes, textures, etc. Kids reach into the bag without looking and describe what they feel in a few words. These words make their first poem. This is one of the great poetry activities for younger students.

Learn more: Paper Bag Poetry

9. Explore a Poem of the Week

We love the idea of using a pocket chart with sentence strips to post a poem broken down by lines or phrases. Do a different activity each day throughout the week to help students make a connection.

Learn more: Poem of the Week

10. Go on a poetry speed date

This is a cool way to introduce older readers to a poetry unit. Gather up all the poetry books you can find, and invite students to bring their favorites too. Students spend the class period “speed dating” the books—they simply browse and skim, looking for poems and authors that catch their eye. Encourage them to make notes of their favorites for further reading.

Learn more: Poetry Speed Dating

11. Have a poetry book tasting

Here’s a cool spin on the speed-dating idea—a book tasting! Set up your room to look like a restaurant, play classical music in the background, and then invite students to sit down and try a variety of poetry books.

Learn more: Ideas on how to hold a book tasting

12. Pair up songs and poems

One of the easiest ways for many students to connect with poetry is by linking it with song lyrics. Visit the link below to find 15 fantastic song and poem pairings. Then, challenge your students to make their own pairings and explain the reasoning.

Learn more: Poem and Song Pairings

13. Read poetry in different ways

Poetry is all about the reader’s (or listener’s) experience. Experiment with that idea by having kids read poems out loud in a variety of ways. How does it change the experience when you read a sad poem in a silly voice or a funny poem in a scared voice?

Learn more: Poetry Voices

14. Spin to generate discussion

A poetry discussion can be hard going for kids at first. Use this free printable spinner to give them conversation starters or to help them choose a topic for further exploration.

Learn more: Poetry Spinner

15. Create colorful paint chip poetry

This is easily one of the most popular poetry games, and for good reason. Colors are so easy to relate to and evoke lots of feelings and memories. Paint chip poetry works for every age group, too, and makes for a neat classroom display.

Learn more: Paint Chip Poetry

16. Expand on paint chip poetry

Feeling a little guilty about furtively stuffing paint chips in your pocket at the store? These printable paint chip poetry games are here to help. They include multiple ways to use paint chips for poetic inspiration too!

Learn more: Paint Chip Poetry Without the Guilt

17. Have a “Hey Diddle, Diddle” puppet show

Nursery rhyme poems were just made to be acted out! Create stick puppets for “Hey Diddle, Diddle” using the instructions at the link, then expand to your other favorite rhymes to assemble a whole puppet show.

Learn more: Hey Diddle, Diddle Nursery Rhyme Craft

18. Compose acrostics

Acrostics are simple enough for beginning poets, but even Edgar Allan Poe used this style to create beautiful works. Writing one is almost like putting together a puzzle!

Learn more: Acrostic Poems

19. Match DIY rhyming dominoes

Rhyming poetry games are a lot of fun, and this one starts with some DIY dominoes made from sentence strips . This is a clever way to help kids find rhymes for writing their own poems.

Learn more: Rhyming Dominoes and Speedracer Game

20. Scoop up some ice cream poetry

Jack Prelutsky’s “ Bleezer’s Ice Cream ” is a kids’ poetry classic, and it’s sure to spark your students’ imaginations. Have them write and illustrate their own ice cream poems, with a focus on alliteration and other literary devices.

Learn more:  Awesome Alliteration Activity

21. Give haiku a hand

Haiku poems with their standard 5-7-5 syllable structure are fun to write. And let’s face it, most of us count the syllables on our fingers when we do! So this haiku helping hand is a perfect tool for kids. Have kids trace their own hand and write a haiku on it too.

Learn more: Haiku Poetry

22. Fetch a doggie haiku

Once you start with haiku, there’s just so much you can do! Elementary kids will love hearing the story of Doug, a dog looking for his forever home, in Dogku by Andrew Clements . As you might guess, the tale is told entirely in haiku. After you read the book, have kids create and illustrate their own “Dogku” poems.

Learn more: Doggie Haiku Poems

23. Roll the haiku dice

These are so cool! Haikubes are perfect for all sorts of poetry games. Roll the cubes and create a haiku, or draw a handful from a bag and use them to make your poem. You can use these for other poetry activities too.

Buy it: Haikubes at Amazon

24. Craft 3D tunnel haiku books

Haiku are fun to write, but a 3D tunnel haiku book is next-level awesome. This project looks harder than it is; all you really need are index cards, basic school supplies, and a lot of creativity.

Learn more: Haiku Tunnel Books

25. Be a copycat

We’re normally opposed to copying in the classroom, but for this activity, it’s A-OK! Kids write poems that mimic one they’ve been reading in class. This helps open their minds to the creativity they need to write their own unique verses later on down the line.

Learn more: Copycat Poem

26. Draw a concrete poem

Concrete poems are art and poetry rolled into one. Kids write a poem on any subject they like, then craft it into a shape reflecting their topic. Tip: Use a light board to allow kids to trace shapes if they find drawing a bit too challenging.

Learn more: Concrete Poems

27. Play Poetry Bingo

Is there anything bingo can’t do? Turns out it even works for poetry games! Get free printable sheets to use for this Poetry Bingo game that reviews literary devices and vocabulary terms.

Learn more: Poetry Bingo

28. Keep a poem in your pocket

There are lots of poem-in-your-pocket activities out there, but we love this one for its sheer creativity! During independent reading time, kids explore and find their favorite poem to share with classmates. After they share, they tuck them in a pocket on this spectacular hallway bulletin board for others to find and read. (Turn this into an online activity by using an online bulletin board program like Padlet .)

Learn more: Sharing Poems in Our Pockets

29. Design your own poetry dice

Learn about clauses when you make a set of dice to use for poetry games. Grab this set of Dry-Erase Blocks from Amazon and write dependent clauses on one and independent clauses on the other. Roll the dice and enjoy the verses you create!

Learn more: Poetry Dice

30. Learn limericks with a rhyming word bank

Kids love limericks —and really, who doesn’t? Their biggest challenge is usually coming up with the rhymes they need. This cool poetry activity creates a bank of rhyming words students can pull from as they craft their own lovable limericks to share.

Learn more: Silly Limericks for Kids

31. Color in blackout poetry

Blackout poems are a unique way of looking at the written word. This activity is easily differentiated for students from elementary through high school, and the results are often stunning.

Learn more: What Is Blackout Poetry (Plus Inspiring Examples and Ideas)

32. Post some pushpin poetry

Remember when poetry magnets were all the rage? You can still buy them ( find them on Amazon ), but you can also just create your own from paper scraps and pushpins. This is a low-cost way to open the door to so many poetry games and activities.

Learn more: Pushpin Poetry

33. Make magnetic poetry online

Speaking of poetry magnets, did you know you can play with them online? Really! This clever site gives you new words every time, so there are always fresh new ideas to explore.

Learn more: Magnetic Poetry Online

34. Say it with sticky notes

We love using sticky notes in the classroom , and they’re fantastic for poetry games. Have kids write a selection of words of their choice and stick them to the wall or whiteboard. Then let each student select words to use for their own verses.

Learn more: L iterary Analysis

35. Prove that opposites attract

Even polar opposites can share similarities. For this poetry activity, students choose two opposite subjects, like the ocean and desert shown here. The middle line of the poem highlights the one similarity between the pair and acts as a transition (in this case: sand). Illustrations help tell the story.

Learn more: Diamante Poetry

36. Find poetry everywhere

Found poetry is likely to become one of your students’ favorite poetry games. Give them a stack of magazines, newspapers, or books to look through, along with a pair of scissors. Have them cut out words and phrases they like, and then arrange them into a brand-new poetic masterpiece!

Learn more: How To Write Found Poetry

37. Start with simple cinquains

Cinquains are five-line poems with a specific structure. There are a variety of styles, but this poetry activity walks kids through the creation of a simple cinquain on any topic they like. This is a neat way to work on “-ing” words (known as gerunds ). Bonus: This free printable Character Cinquains worksheet can be used with any book or story.

Learn more: Poetry Unit

38. Learn metaphors and similes

Similes and metaphors are two of the most common literary devices found in poems. Help kids learn to tell the difference with this free printable game.

Learn more: Activities for Teaching Poetry

39. Take inspiration from metaphor dice

The right metaphor is the gateway to a unique and meaningful poem. Roll these dice to find a metaphor that will inspire and challenge your young poets.

Buy it: Metaphor Dice at Amazon

40. Host a poetry slam

Round off your poetry unit with a poetry slam ! These events are a combination of recitations and poetry games, like freestyle rhyme battles. This is the ultimate event for poetry lovers of any age. Hold it in person, or stream it on Zoom so anyone can easily attend!

Learn more: How To Host a Poetry Slam and Slam Poetry Examples

Don’t miss our FREE printable poetry worksheet bundle !

What are your favorite poetry activities come share your ideas on the we are teachers helpline group on facebook ., looking for more poetry to use in the classroom check out our list of the best poetry books for kids in grades pre-k through 12 ..

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This Free Poetry Worksheet Bundle Is Perfect for Your Poetry Unit

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13 Poetry Lesson Plans For High School

Teach your students what a poem is as well as all the important information necessary while  teaching poetry, like: vocabulary, sound devices, types of poetry, figurative language, how to analyze a poem, and how to find rhyme scheme.

In this resource, you will receive a packet of graphic organizers/guided notes along with a Powerpoint lesson that teaches the following terminology:

poem, speaker, line, stanza, quatrain, couplet, cinquain, tercet, refrain, symbol, theme, mood

tone, imagery, juxtaposition, oxymoron, pun, paradox, allusion, proverb, foot, iamb, iambic pentameter, enjambment, anaphora, metonymy

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

simile, metaphor, personification, idiom, hyperbole, irony

SOUND DEVICES

rhyme, rhyme scheme, slant rhyme, rhythm, meter, alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, repetition

TYPES OF POETRY

narrative, lyrical, haiku, ballad, sonnet, limerick, free verse, acrostic, concrete, blank verse, blues poem, elegy, ode, prose, villanelle

HOW TO ANALYZE A POEM

HOW TO DETERMINE RHYME SCHEME

This resource includes a copy of the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe and 26 close reading questions. The analysis includes an in-depth look at academic vocabulary, poetic devices, and literary elements in the poem. (An answer key is also provided.)

Poetic and Literary Devices Covered in this Activity:

alliteration

• rhyme scheme
• gothic literature

In this  poetry analysis activity,  your students will read and answer questions regarding the famous poem  “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman.  Next, your students will listen to the song  “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry  that carries a similar message. Then, students will take a closer look at how these two texts relate. Comparing and contrasting these paired texts will help your students better understand point of view, tone, mood, and theme! Add music to make poetry fun for students! This resource includes:

• Full text of the poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman
• Analysis questions for the poem “To an Athlete Dying Young”
• Song analysis questions based on the lyrics “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry
• Compare and contrast question about the song and poem
• EDITABLE copy of the questions so you can make modifications if needed
• ANSWER KEYS for everything

In this  Paired Texts Poetry Analysis , your students will analyze the two poems:  “An Obstacle” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman & “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas.

This resource includes:

• Full text of “An Obstacle” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Due to copyright law, I am unable to provide a full text of the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas)
• Graphic Organizer that closely examines both poems for: meaning, tone, figurative language, setting, imagery, and theme (PDF)
• Answer key for poem analyses
• Constructed Response task which requires students to develop an answer in paragraph form. (The first CR question asks students to compare the themes in each poem. The second CR question requires students to personally connect with the theme.)
• Editable copy (word document) of the poetry analysis graphic organizer

As your students watch the 1989 Film  Dead Poets Society  (directed by Peter Weir), have them answer these  film analysis questions  to help them better comprehend and understand the film’s meaning and purpose. Additionally, have them personally connect to the theme of the film by  writing their own free verse poem  in response to Walt Whitman’s poem “O Me! O Life!” The film is 2 hours and 8 minutes in length.

Included in this lesson:

• 22 Comprehension and Analysis questions based on the film  “ Dead Poets Society” — these questions require students to connect to the characters in the film and use inferencing skills
• Answer key to the film’s analysis questions
• Free Verse Writing Activity: prompt and rubric in response to Walt Whitman’s poem “O Me! O Life!”
• Editable copy of the lesson for teachers to make modifications if needed

Teach your students all about  Sonnets  with a unique analysis of  William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138.

1) First, use the Powerpoint presentation to familiarize your students with:

• Sonnet definition and structure
• Shakespearean Sonnets
• Petrarchan Sonnets
• Spenserian Sonnets
• Miltonic Sonnets
• Iambic pentameter
• Two-part thematic Structure
• Rhyme Scheme

Guided notes worksheet included!

2) Then, have your students analyze Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138 by answering comprehension and literary analysis questions. Answer key included!

3) Lastly, have your students  write their own original Shakespearean Sonnet . Directions and guidelines included.

Students will read and  analyze the famous poem by John Keats, “Ode On A Grecian Urn.”  This resource is great for any poetry unit!

This lesson includes:

• Full text of the poem “Ode On A Grecian Urn”
• 14 Questions about the poem: a mix of comprehension and literary analysis questions
• Write Your Own Ode Poem Activity for Students (Directions and Requirements)
• EDITABLE Word Document so you can make modifications if you wish to

Teach your students all about  Blackout Poetry with this fun lesson and activity!

In this resource, you will receive:

• Teacher Guide
• Powerpoint lesson on Blackout Poetry with step by step directions for students to create their own blackout poems in a variety of ways
• 10 Examples of blackout poems
• 40 Pages of printable texts your students can use to make their own poetry
• Editable word document Rubric and Prompt for students

In this  High School Poetry Packet , your students will read, study, and analyze six famous poems! Perfect for any Poetry Unit!

This packet is a wonderful tool because you can have students complete the literary analysis questions in a variety of ways: whole-class, independently, or collaboratively.

The 6 poems included in this packet are:

• Sonnet V by Shakespeare
• “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost
• “I’m happiest when most away” by Emily Brontë
• “The Tyger” by William Blake
• “When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be” by John Keats
• “If” by Rudyard Kipling

In this packet, students will work on poetry skills such as: rhyme scheme, rhyme, imagery, assonance, consonance, caesura, anaphora, alliteration, theme, tone, mood, personification, enjambment, connotation, and more.

Your students are going to love this  Poetry Digital Escape Room!  Students will read and analyze the poem  “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost.

They will solve puzzles in this peaceful scene of snowy woods, glistening mountaintops, and a beautiful, serene frozen lake. In this  360°  digital escape room, students will try to escape the woods before the sun goes down! This activity is designed to work for a laptop, tablet, or smart phone.

This game requires reading comprehension strategies, knowledge of poetic devices, and critical thinking skills. Watch the preview video and see exactly what’s inside the digital escape room!

Included in this download are teacher instructions, student instructions (digital), the master lock graphic organizer, answer keys, the full text of the poem, and a reflection sheet (optional).

Assign your students  a one pager poetry analysis project  and have your students share their understanding of ANY POEM by imaginatively blending their written ideas with colorful images from the text. You can pick one poem for your whole class to use or have all your students pick their own individual poems! Students’ artwork make for unique and creative analyses of the literature and also make great bulletin boards!

Included in this purchase is:

• Student directions for the one pager project
• Rubric for the one pager project
• Example one pager (based on the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas)
• 10 BLANK TEMPLATES (printable — optional)
• EDITABLE word document so teachers can modify instructions or rubric

Students are encouraged to include several of these literary devices, poetic devices (sound devices), and figurative language elements into their final projects: metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, imagery, pun, oxymoron, paradox, idiom, allusion, symbolism, assonance, consonance, alliteration, anaphora, rhyme, rhyme scheme, repetition, onomatopoeia, cacophony, mood, tone, and theme.

This resource includes a  Poetry Assessment for high school  students (9th-12th grade ELA). You will receive a printable PDF copy of the test as well as an  EDITABLE  word document in case you would like to make modifications. A detailed answer key is also included!

The format of this test includes:

• 10 fill-in-the-blank questions with a word bank
• 8 matching questions with poem types
• 5 matching questions with sound devices
• 7 matching questions with figurative language
• A poetry analysis of two poems:  “A Psalm of Life”  by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the Sonnet  “Death, be not proud”  by John Donne.
• Students will answer 5 multiple choice questions regarding each poem
• 1 constructed response where students will compare the themes of each poem in a minimum of two fully developed paragraphs

(41 questions in total including the written response)

The Poetry Test covers the following literary terms:

narrative poem

lyrical poem

onomatopoeia

personification

Have your students create a collaborative poster and learn about  William Shakespeare  in a fun and engaging way!

Your students will create an author biography by researching Shakespeare and establishing his profile on a poster.

Students will learn about Shakespeare and his body of work as an influential author.

Additionally, they will learn the importance of collaboration and effective communication. This project is perfect for   National Poetry Month.

Project Steps:

1) To construct the author study poster, your students will work in groups to conduct research on Shakespeare.

2) Students will then transfer their findings to boxes on the poster.

3) Next, they will work together to color or paint the pieces of the poster.

4) Lastly, students will tape together the final product.

The poster is made up of six pieces of paper, which can be printed on regular copy paper or card stock.

Once taped together, the final product will be  28″ x 15″  and can last a lifetime if you laminate it!

This resource includes the following:

• Step by Step Student Directions (PDF & editable word document)
• Author Study Project Rubric (PDF & editable word document)
• Author Study Graphic Organizer for Students (PDF & editable word document)
• 6 Blank Coloring Pages that come together as one beautiful poster (PDFs)
• William Shakespeare Author Study Answer Key
• Example of Final Project: Completed Text & Fully Colored Body

Check out more from my LITERARY LEGENDS Collection:

• Emily Dickinson
• Langston Hughes
• George Orwell
• Robert Frost
• Walt Whitman

This resource is a  FULL POETRY UNIT for High School English, Grades 9-12!

You will get a collection of various lessons, activities, and projects, plus an awesome digital escape room, and final test! I’ve also included a schedule for teachers to follow day-by-day! This bundle is so diverse and your students will read at least 18 different poems within this unit!

Included in this  high school poetry unit bundle:

• Introduction Poetry Lesson & Guided Notes
• The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Poem Close Reading
• To an Athlete Dying Young by A. E. Housman & Song Comparison Activity
• Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night & An Obstacle Paired Texts Analysis
• Dead Poets Society Movie Guide & Free Verse Poem Writing
• Sonnet 138 William Shakespeare, Sonnet Lesson & Writing Activity
• Ode On A Grecian Urn | Poem by John Keats & Ode Writing Activity
• Blackout Poetry Lesson and Creative Art Project
• Poetry Packet: Analysis of 6 Poems
• Poetry Digital Escape Room using Robert Frost Poem
• Poetry One-Pager for ANY POEM
• Editable Poetry Test with Answer Key
• William Shakespeare Author Study: Collaborative Poster Project!
• Teacher guide with day by day schedule for 4 weeks of Poetry

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Poetry Lessons & Activities: Gallery of Worksheets (Grades 6-8)

Featured Middle School Resources

Related Resources

Poetry Out Loud

Lesson plans.

Poetry Out Loud is not intended to replace classroom activities like creative writing. In fact, the two naturally complement each other. For that reason, we have created a number of optional writing activities and lesson plans for teachers.

Do you have some great Poetry Out Loud lesson plans? Email us at [email protected] to share your ideas!

For further ideas on poetry instruction, visit the  Poetry Foundation’s Education page.

 “My favorite part of Poetry Out Loud is how, by hearing the nuances of each person’s delivery, I feel like I know them – even though in most cases, we’ve only just met. There’s something very personal about the way one gives a poem, and it’s truly incredible to see.” Greer Kennedy, 2024 Vermont Champion

Downloadable PDF Lesson Plans

Poems Put to Use  (PDF) Students write about poems being put to use and, in the process, imagine the practical advantages of poem memorization and recitation.

The Tabloid Ballad  (PDF) This lesson teaches students about the typical metrical forms and narrative structure of the ballad by having them write ballads based on comic, even outrageous source material.

The Tone Map  (PDF) As students learn to name the tones of voice that the poem moves through, they learn to describe mixed emotions and to distinguish subtle shifts in tone and mood. 

Poetry, Celebrity, and the Power of Connotation  (PDF) Students learn to recognize some of the most common strategies that poets use when writing about historical figures. With these in mind, students then hunt up and present other poems about historical figures.

Golden Shovel   (PDF) Students learn to read and write poems through a new form.

In Another’s Voice  (PDF) This lesson focuses on poems that enter into a voice other than the poet’s, perhaps not even a human voice, so that students can explore the dramatic possibilities within a poem.

Keeping Score  (PDF) In this lesson, students practice close readings of poems by analyzing the style—what musicians call the “dynamics” —of the poem: its volume, speed, language, syntax, lineation, and punctuation.

Poetry As Ceremony   (PDF) This lesson focuses on poems that have the sound of ritual, often with an incantatory rhythm that can guide students in memorization and performance.

Visualizing Voice  (PDF) In this lesson, students will practice close reading by deciding points of emphasis within a poem.

Line Dancing  (PDF) This exercise will help students become more comfortable with line breaks, to think about the ways in which they can inform not only the meaning of a poem on the page, but also how understanding line breaks may aid in the performance of poetry out loud as well.

Lesson Plans by Eileen Murphy that complement Poetry Out Loud

Sonic Patterns: Exploring Poetic Techniques Through Close Reading Students use the idea of a composed memory and their knowledge of sonic patterns to draft, revise, and share their own original text.

Speaking Poetry: Exploring Sonic Patterns Through Performance Students engage in a variety of vocal activities and performance techniques based on word sounds and then prepare a recitation for small group performances and compare their interpretative choices as part of the reflection process.

Poetry Portfolios: Using Poetry to Teach Reading

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Students learn to read and write when they have an active interest in what they are reading and writing about. This lesson supports students' exploration of language skills as they read and dissect poetry. Through a weekly poem, students explore meaning, sentence structure, rhyming words, sight words, vocabulary, and print concepts. After studying the poem, students are given a copy of the poem to illustrate and share their understanding. All of the poems explored are then compiled into a poetry portfolio for students to take home and share with their families. To further connect home to school, a family poetry project is suggested.

From Theory to Practice

• When students are taught isolated skills, their anticipation for reading diminishes.
• A whole-to-parts approach toward reading instruction is beneficial in promoting excitement for literacy, phonemic awareness, and lifelong learning.
• A whole-to-parts approach to literacy allows children to see language in context. By teaching language in context, children can see the true meaning of language, develop ideas about language, and learn literacy skills.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Computer with Internet access
• “A Good Poem Will Give You Goose Bumps!” by Kenn Nesbitt
• Poetry books
• Chart paper
• 8-½” x 11” paper for portfolios
• Markers, crayons, and pencils
• Pocket chart
• Sentence strips
• Highlighter tape or sticky notes

My Poetry Portfolio cover sheet Weekly Poem Rubric Sample Letter to Parents Skills Search task sheet

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Learn new vocabulary
• Recognize rhyming words
• Develop an understanding of print concepts
• Demonstrate reading comprehension through illustrations
• Make predictions based on prior knowledge
• Learn the elements of a sentence

Day 1: Prediction

Day 2: Vocabulary

Day 3: Skills search

Day 4: Sentence structure and print concepts

Note: You will need a pocket chart for this activity. Set up the poem next to the pocket chart so that students can refer to the poem while engaging in this activity. In preparation, write each line of the poem "Firefly" on a sentence strip. Cut a few of the sentence strips into two or three pieces to further divide the line in the poem.

Day 5: Comprehension

Home/School Connection Activity

This activity is used to promote literacy at home and involve the student's parents in the reading and writing process.

• As a literacy center, students can use the interactive Construct-a-Word to select a word ending and create a list of rhyming words. They can then print their words and use them to write a poem of their own.
• PoetryTeachers.com provides interactive activities that focus on poetic language. The Poetry Theatre section offers poems for students to perform in small or large groups. Have students perform a poem for the class. Choose different students to perform each week!

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Observe the student's independent writing. Does he or she apply the skills learned during the poetry lessons to other assignments?
• Evaluate the illustrations in the student's poetry portfolio to ensure reading comprehension.
• Note whether the student's independent poetry writings demonstrate an understanding of print concepts.
• Use the Skills Search task sheet to assess the specific skill emphasized during the lesson.

Students are assigned to be "poets of the day" and are provided several models to create, illustrate, and present their different poems to the class.

Students read and respond to Billy Collins' poem "Introduction to Poetry." Students then write about a favorite poem and imagine the perfect way to read it.

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Poetry Activities: Six Simple Ways to Make Poetry Instruction Engaging

So you have to teach poetry, and it’s not your favorite. Or maybe you love it, but your students just don’t share that same passion. In either scenario, you’re in good company. For some reason, poetry is just one of those things that people tend to  love or  hate . There’s not much middle ground. Don’t worry. There’s hope! Fun poetry activities can bring units to life.

I used to dread poetry. Everything I can remember about poetry from high school was so boring. Over the years, I’ve learned to appreciate it…probably because as an English teacher, I’ve had to study it more intensely and find ways to make it applicable and relevant to students. I’m not that great at feigning interest, so I’ve had to get creative with my poetry instruction in order to find ways that I can  truly be excited about teaching it.

Whether it’s National Poetry Month or just a part of your regular curriculum, hopefully these ideas will give you some inspiration and direction if you’re just not excited about the prospect of spending some of your precious classroom instruction on verse. These approaches have worked in my classroom in terms of engaging students with reading, analyzing, and writing about poetry and related skills.

Entice them with music.

No matter what grade I’m teaching, I always begin my poetry units with music for obvious reasons: students love it, music  is poetry, it sets a positive atmosphere, it’s relevant. Any school-appropriate song can be studied as poetry.

I usually select a piece after determining my goal. For example, students can use poetry to analyze the author’s voice, to study grammar rules, to determine vocabulary from context clues, to read through a critical lens, or to study rhythm and rhyme.

Beginning by determining the learning goal naturally narrows down the music selection. Analyzing music as poetry can be a powerful and memorable learning experience. You can access my free analyzing poetry assignment here .

Write poems that are fun and nonthreatening.

When students who dislike poetry are asked to write a sonnet or a villanelle, they are often scared away before even putting their pencil to paper. It’s a lot to ask a student who feels they can’t relate to a genre to understand it well enough to write an example.

While standards do require that students read complex texts and write for a wide variety of purposes, they don’t specifically state that students must demonstrate the ability to write a complex poem. If your students happen to enjoy that type of assignment,  you’re blessed! For the rest of us, why not make poetry less stress?

Incorporate choice…

We can offer choice assignments. In the past, after studying various types of poems, I’ve let my students choose what type of poem they want to write.

Fun and nontraditional poems can inspire students to produce original pieces beyond our imaginations. Concrete poems, creative nonfiction , nonsense poems, bio poems, six-room poems, blackout poetry, and acrostics are just a handful of examples that prove allowing a different style of creativity to creep into poetry instruction can revolutionize the entire unit.

Put students in charge…

If you’re not a non-traditional poem expert, don’t let that scare you away! Make it a research assignment where students study the type of poem they want to write, become the masters, and teach the class about those styles.

In reflecting about allowing choice as it relates to writing poems, I’m reminded of a time one of my students surprised me with his work during a multigenre research project . He wrote twenty limericks, and he connected all of them into one larger poem about the relationships between cats and dogs.  That  was impressive. Never in my wildest dreams would I have asked students to write twenty connected limericks, but because I had given students the freedom to express their imaginative side through their own means, I was truly rewarded with some amazing work.

Focus on reading comprehension.

Sometimes students just need to know that we aren’t going to ask them to read a poem, discuss it, write about it, complete a project on it, and then memorize it. It’s possible that once in a while, we kill a poem by coming at it from too many angles, and it’s overwhelming for students.

I’ve had success with making poetry less stressful when I only ask students to complete one task, like read it and comprehend it. The comprehension part might come through class discussion, through writing, or both. I like using simple comprehension journal topics when I ask students to respond to poetry because it helps them to process their thoughts before or after sharing with the class.

Use picture books.

Children’s picture books are gold mines for poetry, even at the secondary level. Many have elements of verse we can analyze, like rhyme scheme, sound devices, structure, and voice. Read a book to the entire class and discuss it, or pass out different books to small groups and have them analyze an aspect of the poetry.

I’ve used  Skippyjon Jones to teach assonance and alliteration in the past, and students can’t get enough of it. Dr. Seuss books are another excellent resource. The Pout-Pout Fish is one of my favorites. An alternate way you can use picture books to teach poetry is to use a wordless book, like  Flotsam,  and have students write a stanza of poetry to accompany each page.

Use poetry to teach a writing skill .

Heading into a poetry unit, sometimes I’m thinking, How am I going to get through this unit so we have enough time to work on our research papers?  It’s true that ELA teachers have a lot on their plates. Reading, writing, grammar, poetry, vocabulary… the list goes on. Teaching English works best for me when I blend the concepts taught in each unit.

When we study poetry, for instance, I might ask the students to focus specifically on analyzing the concept of diction . We can talk about how each of the words the poet selected carries power. Through figurative language, denotation, connotation, symbolism, imagery, and more, authors paint pictures with their words. When I transition into my writing unit, my students are already familiar with the importance of word choice as it relates to message and voice.

Play games.

I’m all about the games in my classroom. They allow students to practice skills in a way that fosters laughter and learning simultaneously. With poetry, the opportunities for games are numerous, especially if you focus specifically on types of poetry or figurative language.

My two favorite figurative language games are Truth or Dare and Get Schooled! My kids enjoy these activities, and (perhaps even more important) I get a stitch out of watching them review the terms, learning from one another as they discuss definitions and examples with a unique approach. This poetry challenge is fun to use with a variety of poems.

With a little bit of ingenuity, poetry units can be the highlight of your school year, even if it’s not your favorite part of teaching ELA. Hopefully these simple takeaways have inspired you to try something new with your next poetry unit. If you have successful poetry activities or lessons to share, we’d love to hear about them. Please drop your success stories in the comments. Let’s learn together!

13 Ways Pictures Inspire Students to Write Poetry

Writing nonfiction inspired poetry, paired text analysis: short films and poetry.

Some lovely ideas here for taking the fear out of poetry that students often feel. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much! Yes, so many students dislike poetry. I’ve had to get creative with my approaches. Using these techniques also makes teaching poetry more enjoyable and manageable for me (it’s not my favorite, either). 🙂

Some lovely ideas for taking the fear out of poetry that students often feel. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for offering this. It’s encouraging.

You’re welcome, Ivory! I’m happy to share my ideas, and I hope they help you.

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Every Student Can Be a Poet

Five easy-to-implement strategies to make poetry writing accessible and fun for all students.

Each year, when I tell my students that we are going to write poetry, a few are excited, but the majority let out an audible sigh. They often have the misconception that poetry is about following a lot of rules and using words that they don’t understand. They’re more open and excited when the focus shifts toward sharing their ideas and feelings with others in a creative format.

With each new type of poetry I teach, I work through writing a poem with them and talk through my thinking. Showing students that their teacher’s writing is far from perfect and sometimes comes out a lot different than envisioned empowers them to create their own work. I also model the risk-taking of starting a poem and the beauty of improvement through revision.

The poetry-writing process can become more inclusive and engaging when you offer a variety of poetry-writing exercises.

Blackout Poetry

Start with a page from any text and ask students to choose words from that text to create a poem. They black out any words they don’t want in their poem with a marker. They then rewrite all the remaining words into a poem.

Ask students to plan what they want to black out by lightly underlining in pencil before they begin marking through words. The only rule is that they must use these words in the order that they appear.

Students enjoy using texts that seem uninteresting at first glance, such as pages out of discarded grammar books. They love turning something boring into a fun poem.

Blackout poetry is a good starting point for new poets because the words are already on the page and students only need to determine which words to use. This strategy can also be used as an interdisciplinary assignment in which students use text from specific content to create a poem about that content, such as using the Bill of Rights to create a poem about the Revolutionary War.

Word-Scramble Poetry

This strategy begins with a pile of words cut out on individual pieces of paper. They can be specific words chosen by the teacher or words collected from students. Students organize the words to create any poem they would like without adding new words. This strategy allows students to see that there is not a right way to write a poem, and everyone leaves class with a completed poem. When I model this for students, they love to see me moving words around, changing my mind and wishing so much for words that I don’t have.

There are several variations of the word-scamble poetry method. One involves giving all students the same group of words and discovering how many different ideas are formulated using those same words. Another involves giving students different groups of words and allowing them to trade words. A last variation involves a bit of stealing by the teacher: Periodically walk around the classroom and distribute new words or take some words away.

My Life in ___ Words

Students are given the task of writing the story of their life using only the same number of words as their age. This helps students practice word choice and takes a little of the pressure off because it is, by default, a short piece.

A variation of this method is to use a different cap on the number of words that students may use. I’ve asked students to write about a specific topic using fewer than five or 10 words.

Prose to Poetry

Students write out their ideas for a poem without worrying about format. They are encouraged to write freely about whatever emotion or topic they would like to convey in their poem. Then students follow four steps to turn the prose into poetry:

• Decide what emotion or idea is most important for you to convey in your poem, and keep that in mind as you make revisions.
• Cut the word count by at least half by eliminating unneeded words and phrases. Highlight the most important words and phrases that you want to keep and delete the rest.
• Highlight what you think is the most important phrase, and make it your title.
• Rearrange the remaining words and phrases in a way that helps you convey your idea. Consider starting and ending all lines with a noun, adjective, or verb.

My Worst Poem

Ask students to write the worst poem ever about something they feel strongly about. Then have them go through a few revisions, making edits to turn it into something they are proud to share. This takes the pressure off of getting something on paper. Once they get over the stress of what to write and just start writing, they almost always realize that their “worst poem” isn’t that bad at all.

Celebrating Successes

After working through a few of these activities, students often comment on how surprised they are about how many poems they wrote and how much fun they had. I end the unit celebrating their writing with a poetry café, where students share their poems with their classmates and enjoy a few snacks. Creating easy and accessible exercises for poetry writing can turn skeptical students into poets.

A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis

Use the guidelines below to learn about the practice of close reading.

When your teachers or professors ask you to analyze a literary text, they often look for something frequently called close reading. Close reading is deep analysis of how a literary text works; it is both a reading process and something you include in a literary analysis paper, though in a refined form.

Fiction writers and poets build texts out of many central components, including subject, form, and specific word choices. Literary analysis involves examining these components, which allows us to find in small parts of the text clues to help us understand the whole. For example, if an author writes a novel in the form of a personal journal about a character’s daily life, but that journal reads like a series of lab reports, what do we learn about that character? What is the effect of picking a word like “tome” instead of “book”? In effect, you are putting the author’s choices under a microscope.

The process of close reading should produce a lot of questions. It is when you begin to answer these questions that you are ready to participate thoughtfully in class discussion or write a literary analysis paper that makes the most of your close reading work.

Close reading sometimes feels like over-analyzing, but don’t worry. Close reading is a process of finding as much information as you can in order to form as many questions as you can. When it is time to write your paper and formalize your close reading, you will sort through your work to figure out what is most convincing and helpful to the argument you hope to make and, conversely, what seems like a stretch. This guide imagines you are sitting down to read a text for the first time on your way to developing an argument about a text and writing a paper. To give one example of how to do this, we will read the poem “Design” by famous American poet Robert Frost and attend to four major components of literary texts: subject, form, word choice (diction), and theme.

If you want even more information about approaching poems specifically, take a look at our guide: How to Read a Poem .

As our guide to reading poetry suggests, have a pencil out when you read a text. Make notes in the margins, underline important words, place question marks where you are confused by something. Of course, if you are reading in a library book, you should keep all your notes on a separate piece of paper. If you are not making marks directly on, in, and beside the text, be sure to note line numbers or even quote portions of the text so you have enough context to remember what you found interesting.

Design I found a dimpled spider, fat and white, On a white heal-all, holding up a moth Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth— Assorted characters of death and blight Mixed ready to begin the morning right, Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth— A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth, And dead wings carried like a paper kite. What had that flower to do with being white, The wayside blue and innocent heal-all? What brought the kindred spider to that height, Then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design of darkness to appall?— If design govern in a thing so small.

The subject of a literary text is simply what the text is about. What is its plot? What is its most important topic? What image does it describe? It’s easy to think of novels and stories as having plots, but sometimes it helps to think of poetry as having a kind of plot as well. When you examine the subject of a text, you want to develop some preliminary ideas about the text and make sure you understand its major concerns before you dig deeper.

Observations

In “Design,” the speaker describes a scene: a white spider holding a moth on a white flower. The flower is a heal-all, the blooms of which are usually violet-blue. This heal-all is unusual. The speaker then poses a series of questions, asking why this heal-all is white instead of blue and how the spider and moth found this particular flower. How did this situation arise?

The speaker’s questions seem simple, but they are actually fairly nuanced. We can use them as a guide for our own as we go forward with our close reading.

• Furthering the speaker’s simple “how did this happen,” we might ask, is the scene in this poem a manufactured situation?
• The white moth and white spider each use the atypical white flower as camouflage in search of sanctuary and supper respectively. Did these flora and fauna come together for a purpose?
• Does the speaker have a stance about whether there is a purpose behind the scene? If so, what is it?
• How will other elements of the text relate to the unpleasantness and uncertainty in our first look at the poem’s subject?

After thinking about local questions, we have to zoom out. Ultimately, what is this text about?

Form is how a text is put together. When you look at a text, observe how the author has arranged it. If it is a novel, is it written in the first person? How is the novel divided? If it is a short story, why did the author choose to write short-form fiction instead of a novel or novella? Examining the form of a text can help you develop a starting set of questions in your reading, which then may guide further questions stemming from even closer attention to the specific words the author chooses. A little background research on form and what different forms can mean makes it easier to figure out why and how the author’s choices are important.

Most poems follow rules or principles of form; even free verse poems are marked by the author’s choices in line breaks, rhythm, and rhyme—even if none of these exists, which is a notable choice in itself. Here’s an example of thinking through these elements in “Design.”

In “Design,” Frost chooses an Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet form: fourteen lines in iambic pentameter consisting of an octave (a stanza of eight lines) and a sestet (a stanza of six lines). We will focus on rhyme scheme and stanza structure rather than meter for the purposes of this guide. A typical Italian sonnet has a specific rhyme scheme for the octave:

a b b a a b b a

There’s more variation in the sestet rhymes, but one of the more common schemes is

c d e c d e

Conventionally, the octave introduces a problem or question which the sestet then resolves. The point at which the sonnet goes from the problem/question to the resolution is called the volta, or turn. (Note that we are speaking only in generalities here; there is a great deal of variation.)

Frost uses the usual octave scheme with “-ite”/”-ight” (a) and “oth” (b) sounds: “white,” “moth,” “cloth,” “blight,” “right,” “broth,” “froth,” “kite.” However, his sestet follows an unusual scheme with “-ite”/”-ight” and “all” sounds:

a c a a c c

Now, we have a few questions with which we can start:

• Why use an Italian sonnet?
• Why use an unusual scheme in the sestet?
• What problem/question and resolution (if any) does Frost offer?
• What is the volta in this poem?
• In other words, what is the point?

Italian sonnets have a long tradition; many careful readers recognize the form and know what to expect from his octave, volta, and sestet. Frost seems to do something fairly standard in the octave in presenting a situation; however, the turn Frost makes is not to resolution, but to questions and uncertainty. A white spider sitting on a white flower has killed a white moth.

• How did these elements come together?
• Was the moth’s death random or by design?
• Is one worse than the other?

We can guess right away that Frost’s disruption of the usual purpose of the sestet has something to do with his disruption of its rhyme scheme. Looking even more closely at the text will help us refine our observations and guesses.

Word Choice, or Diction

Looking at the word choice of a text helps us “dig in” ever more deeply. If you are reading something longer, are there certain words that come up again and again? Are there words that stand out? While you are going through this process, it is best for you to assume that every word is important—again, you can decide whether something is really important later.

Even when you read prose, our guide for reading poetry offers good advice: read with a pencil and make notes. Mark the words that stand out, and perhaps write the questions you have in the margins or on a separate piece of paper. If you have ideas that may possibly answer your questions, write those down, too.

Let’s take a look at the first line of “Design”:

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white

The poem starts with something unpleasant: a spider. Then, as we look more closely at the adjectives describing the spider, we may see connotations of something that sounds unhealthy or unnatural. When we imagine spiders, we do not generally picture them dimpled and white; it is an uncommon and decidedly creepy image. There is dissonance between the spider and its descriptors, i.e., what is wrong with this picture? Already we have a question: what is going on with this spider?

We should look for additional clues further on in the text. The next two lines develop the image of the unusual, unpleasant-sounding spider:

On a white heal-all, holding up a moth Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—

Now we have a white flower (a heal-all, which usually has a violet-blue flower) and a white moth in addition to our white spider. Heal-alls have medicinal properties, as their name suggests, but this one seems to have a genetic mutation—perhaps like the spider? Does the mutation that changes the heal-all’s color also change its beneficial properties—could it be poisonous rather than curative? A white moth doesn’t seem remarkable, but it is “Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth,” or like manmade fabric that is artificially “rigid” rather than smooth and flowing like we imagine satin to be. We might think for a moment of a shroud or the lining of a coffin, but even that is awry, for neither should be stiff with death.

The first three lines of the poem’s octave introduce unpleasant natural images “of death and blight” (as the speaker puts it in line four). The flower and moth disrupt expectations: the heal-all is white instead of “blue and innocent,” and the moth is reduced to “rigid satin cloth” or “dead wings carried like a paper kite.” We might expect a spider to be unpleasant and deadly; the poem’s spider also has an unusual and unhealthy appearance.

• The focus on whiteness in these lines has more to do with death than purity—can we understand that whiteness as being corpse-like rather than virtuous?

Well before the volta, Frost makes a “turn” away from nature as a retreat and haven; instead, he unearths its inherent dangers, making nature menacing. From three lines alone, we have a number of questions:

• Will whiteness play a role in the rest of the poem?
• How does “design”—an arrangement of these circumstances—fit with a scene of death?
• What other juxtapositions might we encounter?

These disruptions and dissonances recollect Frost’s alteration to the standard Italian sonnet form: finding the ways and places in which form and word choice go together will help us begin to unravel some larger concepts the poem itself addresses.

Put simply, themes are major ideas in a text. Many texts, especially longer forms like novels and plays, have multiple themes. That’s good news when you are close reading because it means there are many different ways you can think through the questions you develop.

So far in our reading of “Design,” our questions revolve around disruption: disruption of form, disruption of expectations in the description of certain images. Discovering a concept or idea that links multiple questions or observations you have made is the beginning of a discovery of theme.

What is happening with disruption in “Design”? What point is Frost making? Observations about other elements in the text help you address the idea of disruption in more depth. Here is where we look back at the work we have already done: What is the text about? What is notable about the form, and how does it support or undermine what the words say? Does the specific language of the text highlight, or redirect, certain ideas?

In this example, we are looking to determine what kind(s) of disruption the poem contains or describes. Rather than “disruption,” we want to see what kind of disruption, or whether indeed Frost uses disruptions in form and language to communicate something opposite: design.

Sample Analysis

After you make notes, formulate questions, and set tentative hypotheses, you must analyze the subject of your close reading. Literary analysis is another process of reading (and writing!) that allows you to make a claim about the text. It is also the point at which you turn a critical eye to your earlier questions and observations to find the most compelling points, discarding the ones that are a “stretch.” By “stretch,” we mean that we must discard points that are fascinating but have no clear connection to the text as a whole. (We recommend a separate document for recording the brilliant ideas that don’t quite fit this time around.)

Here follows an excerpt from a brief analysis of “Design” based on the close reading above. This example focuses on some lines in great detail in order to unpack the meaning and significance of the poem’s language. By commenting on the different elements of close reading we have discussed, it takes the results of our close reading to offer one particular way into the text. (In case you were thinking about using this sample as your own, be warned: it has no thesis and it is easily discoverable on the web. Plus it doesn’t have a title.)

Frost’s speaker brews unlikely associations in the first stanza of the poem. The “Assorted characters of death and blight / Mixed ready to begin the morning right” make of the grotesque scene an equally grotesque mockery of a breakfast cereal (4–5). These lines are almost singsong in meter and it is easy to imagine them set to a radio jingle. A pun on “right”/”rite” slides the “characters of death and blight” into their expected concoction: a “witches’ broth” (6). These juxtapositions—a healthy breakfast that is also a potion for dark magic—are borne out when our “fat and white” spider becomes “a snow-drop”—an early spring flower associated with renewal—and the moth as “dead wings carried like a paper kite” (1, 7, 8). Like the mutant heal-all that hosts the moth’s death, the spider becomes a deadly flower; the harmless moth becomes a child’s toy, but as “dead wings,” more like a puppet made of a skull. The volta offers no resolution for our unsettled expectations. Having observed the scene and detailed its elements in all their unpleasantness, the speaker turns to questions rather than answers. How did “The wayside blue and innocent heal-all” end up white and bleached like a bone (10)? How did its “kindred spider” find the white flower, which was its perfect hiding place (11)? Was the moth, then, also searching for camouflage, only to meet its end? Using another question as a disguise, the speaker offers a hypothesis: “What but design of darkness to appall?” (13). This question sounds rhetorical, as though the only reason for such an unlikely combination of flora and fauna is some “design of darkness.” Some force, the speaker suggests, assembled the white spider, flower, and moth to snuff out the moth’s life. Such a design appalls, or horrifies. We might also consider the speaker asking what other force but dark design could use something as simple as appalling in its other sense (making pale or white) to effect death. However, the poem does not close with a question, but with a statement. The speaker’s “If design govern in a thing so small” establishes a condition for the octave’s questions after the fact (14). There is no point in considering the dark design that brought together “assorted characters of death and blight” if such an event is too minor, too physically small to be the work of some force unknown. Ending on an “if” clause has the effect of rendering the poem still more uncertain in its conclusions: not only are we faced with unanswered questions, we are now not even sure those questions are valid in the first place. Behind the speaker and the disturbing scene, we have Frost and his defiance of our expectations for a Petrarchan sonnet. Like whatever designer may have altered the flower and attracted the spider to kill the moth, the poet built his poem “wrong” with a purpose in mind. Design surely governs in a poem, however small; does Frost also have a dark design? Can we compare a scene in nature to a carefully constructed sonnet?

A Note on Organization

Your goal in a paper about literature is to communicate your best and most interesting ideas to your reader. Depending on the type of paper you have been assigned, your ideas may need to be organized in service of a thesis to which everything should link back. It is best to ask your instructor about the expectations for your paper.

Knowing how to organize these papers can be tricky, in part because there is no single right answer—only more and less effective answers. You may decide to organize your paper thematically, or by tackling each idea sequentially; you may choose to order your ideas by their importance to your argument or to the poem. If you are comparing and contrasting two texts, you might work thematically or by addressing first one text and then the other. One way to approach a text may be to start with the beginning of the novel, story, play, or poem, and work your way toward its end. For example, here is the rough structure of the example above: The author of the sample decided to use the poem itself as an organizational guide, at least for this part of the analysis.

• A paragraph about the octave.
• A paragraph about the volta.
• A paragraph about the penultimate line (13).
• A paragraph about the final line (14).
• A paragraph addressing form that suggests a transition to the next section of the paper.

You will have to decide for yourself the best way to communicate your ideas to your reader. Is it easier to follow your points when you write about each part of the text in detail before moving on? Or is your work clearer when you work through each big idea—the significance of whiteness, the effect of an altered sonnet form, and so on—sequentially?

We suggest you write your paper however is easiest for you then move things around during revision if you need to.

Further Reading

If you really want to master the practice of reading and writing about literature, we recommend Sylvan Barnet and William E. Cain’s wonderful book, A Short Guide to Writing about Literature . Barnet and Cain offer not only definitions and descriptions of processes, but examples of explications and analyses, as well as checklists for you, the author of the paper. The Short Guide is certainly not the only available reference for writing about literature, but it is an excellent guide and reminder for new writers and veterans alike.

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• Prof. Mary Fuller

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• American Literature

Learning Resource Types

Reading poetry, analytic essay.

Your best work for this class has combined close observation of evidence with a coherent narrative about how the poem works and produces meaning; anyone could read such an essay and feel they have heard new layers of meaning that give the work more resonance and make experiencing it more satisfying and engaging. That’s really how to think about the work of writing about poetry: be a welcoming and trustworthy guide to other readers.

This essay focuses on one of the poems we’ve read this month—your choice—with one additional element.

For essays on either flavor of this assignment, please provide a title that is not the title of the poem, but gives some idea of your interpretation, the questions you address, or what you find most interesting about the work.

The essay should be 4 pages (roughly 1000 words).

A: Frost, “Birches”; Hughes, “Harlem”; Cohen, “Lit”; Pardlo, “Double Dutch”; Jess, work from “Olio”; Trethewey, “Incident.”

For essays about the poems in A, I’d like you to incorporate something that the poet has said about poetry in general, or his or her work in particular, that seems useful or relevant to you in understanding the poem. If you’re working on Olio, you may have notes of your own. For the other poets, try these resources:

• Frost, Robert. “Comment on Birches.” [preview with Google Books ]
• “ Education by Poetry ,” Amherst Alumni Council address, November 15, 29.
• On music, style and dreams deferred .
• “ Breaking Bubbles .”
• “ Cave Canems 20th Anniversary ,” a background on an organization that formed a “home for black poetry.”
• On syncopated sonnets at TedXNashville.
• “ The Language is Constructing our Ideas More Than We are Deploying the Language ”, an interview with Gregory Pardlo in which he talks about improvisation vs. form, April, 2017.
• Interview with Gregory Pardlo, July 10, 2015; Pardlo talks about the role of conventions and talks about the idea of the “difficult” poem.
• More interviews on Pardlo’s website .
• “ Contributer Interview: Andrea Cohen (2011) ,” Cohen on humor, influences, diction, and more.
• “ Poetry Breaks: What Poetry Is .”
• “ Poetry Breaks: Where Ideas Come From .”
• A 2007 interview with Mosaic .
• On metaphorical language and more.
• On geography and the American South .
• On the “ruthlesseness” of viewing the world as a poet , as well as the role of photography.
• On photography and more .
• On repetition and the layering of images .

B: Lowell, “For the Union Dead”; Pardlo, “For Which It Stands.”

For essays about the two poems above, I’d like you to incorporate information about a couple of the poem’s important allusions (condensed references to external places, events, texts, and so on), for which a more complete understanding of something briefly referenced in the poem expands our understanding of what it says. This is one of the only times I will encourage you to use Google, at least as a place to start!

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