1. How do I interpret poetry?
Literal Interpretation: reading a story, poem, novel, or
drama for face value. What the author writes is EXACTLY
what he/she means.
Figurative Interpretation: reading a story, poem, novel, or
drama for more than one meaning. The author conveys
something other than the literal. Look for symbols, imagery,
figurative language, etc… to give you a bigger or deeper
meaning.

2. Identifying Author’s Style
 Style – the way an author chooses words,
and arranges them in sentences or in lines
of dialogue. Elements of style include the
following:
 Imagery - language that appeals to sight, sound, smell,
taste, touch
 Dialect - a way of speaking that is characteristic of a
particular region, gender, age group – writers use dialect to
bring characters to life
 Tone - writer’s attitude toward the subject, a character, or
the reader
 Mood - the atmosphere or feeling of a text

3. Elements of Style Continued
 Diction –narrowly defined as a speaker’s (or author’s)
word choice. (Consider why an author might rely on
connotative vs. denotative language).
 Syntax - refers to the arrangement – the ordering,
grouping, and placement – of words within a phrase,
clause or sentence.
 Short, choppy or even fragmented sentences
are often used to signal an important point, a
shift in direction, or to isolate a particular
detail.
 Formal and informal syntax each have their
own place in emphasizing an author’s
purpose, and you must get in the habit of
looking at syntax.

4. Author’s Purpose
 Authors write for different reasons:
to persuade – the author’s aim
is to convince the reader that
his/her position is the best one.
Consider editorials and/or fiction
that persuades readers through
characters’ actions/choices.

5. Author’s Purpose (continued)
 to entertain – the author’s aim is
to make the reading of the text an
enjoyable experience for the reader.
Consider “feel good” and/or horror
stories.

6. Author’s Purpose (Continued)
to inform – the author’s aim is to
convey valuable information to the
reader. Consider textbooks,
newspaper articles, graphs/charts,
research.

7. Literary Terms/Meinke
 Symbol – an object or an action in a
story, poem, novel, or drama that
means more than itself, that stands
for something beyond itself
 Free Verse – poetry with no pattern
or rhyme
 Repetition –the repeating of words,
phrases, sounds for impact

8. Literary Terms/ Hughes’s Poem
 Extended metaphor – a figure of speech
that makes a comparison between two
unlike things without using like or as. It
is developed over several lines or
throughout an entire poem.
 Dialect – a way of speaking that is
characteristic of a particular region or
group of people. Writers often use
dialects to bring characters to life.

9. Hughes’s Poem (Continued)
 Dramatic Monologue – a type of poem in
which a speaker talks to a silent listener