A resource for the grade 9 ELA curriculum module, Global Approaches to Nature Poetry

1. Analyzing Free Verse
Poetry without Rules

2. What Is Free Verse?
• It is a relatively modern form of
poetry.
• It doesn’t rhyme or have any regular
rhythm.
• It doesn’t have a set number of lines
of syllables per line.

3. Is Free Verse Formless?
• Free verse relies on the content of
the poem and the words in the poem
to determine its form and shape the
reader’s understanding.

4. Nature and Free Verse
• Like haiku, free verse can attempt to
capture that “a-ha” moment
resulting from closely observing
nature.
• Free verse can also use nature to
make comments about the human
condition, families, relationships, and
even politics.

5. Voice
• The speaker of the poem is not always
the poet.
• The speaker of the poem is referred to
as the “voice” of the poem.
• Read carefully to see what attributes
the voice has, what kind of person is
represented by the voice.

6. Images
• Free verse about nature relies on images for
much of its meaning.
• Imagery appeal to our senses.
• You can see, hear, taste, feel, or even smell
the image in your mind. For example, if the
poem mentions “falling snow,” you have the
image of cold, white snow. You might even
have an image of the sound-deadening
property of newly fallen snow or the clean
smell of snow.

7. Metaphor
• A metaphor is a more direct
comparison than a simile. A metaphor
states that something is something else.
• Metaphors do not use “like” or “as.”
• For example, a poem might say, “The
white snow was paper on which I wrote
my name.”

8. Simile
• A simile is a comparison of two
object using the word “like” or “as.”
• For example, a poem might use the
simile, “as white as newly fallen
snow.”

9. Symbols
• A symbol is something that
represents more than itself.
• For example, a poem might use
newly fallen snow as a symbol for a
pure, pristine, untouched world.

10. Alliteration
• Alliteration is the repeated initial
consonant sounds.
• Examples: “do or die,” “sink or
swim.”

11. Assonance
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel
sounds in successive words.
• Examples: “free and easy,” and “day
and play.”

12. Consonance
• Consonance is the repetition of
consonant sounds in successive
words.
• Examples: “short and smart,” and
“struts and frets.”

13. Theme
• The theme of a poem is the cental
topic, subject, or concept of the
poem.
• When you answer the question,
“what is this poem about,” you are
identifying the theme.

14. Analyzing Free Verse
Steps 1-5
1. Read the poem to identify unfamiliar words. Then
look them up.
2. Read the poem again. This time pay attention to
what happens in the poem. What is being described?
3. Focus on the voice. Is the speaker of the poem the
poet or someone/something else who has a specific
slant on reality?
4. Focus on the images. How strong are they for you?
5. Focus on similes and metaphors. How do they help
you understand the poem?

15. Analyzing Free Verse
Steps 6-10
6. Focus on symbols. Do they provide additional meanings?
7. Read the poem again—aloud. Focus on its sound. Do you notice
alliteration, assonance, or consonance? These usually don’t
contribute to meaning, but contribute to the poem’s beauty .
8. Focus on the theme. What is this poem about? Try to use as few
words as possible. You can often boil the theme down to one or
two words—life, death, motherhood, love, change, etc.
9. Focus on the poet’s approach to the theme. What stand did the
poet take? What was the poet’s “take” on the theme. Try to
describe the poet’s approach in a sentence or two.
10. Reflect on the poem. Why did the poet take this approach to the
theme? Did it work? Do you agree? What makes you think that?
Gather evidence to support your interpretation. You will use
your evidence for your analysis of the poem.