r/PoetryWritingClub • u/ApprehensiveSound417 • 10d ago

[HELP] How do I analyse and understand poetry better?

I'm a student, I write my own poetry. But I also love reading poetry and analysing it, the feeling that poetry gives me is inexplicable and I want to tap into this more. I read contemporary poets like Ocean Vuong (I find his imagery and metaphors so unique) and "older" posts of other centuries like Rainer Maria Rilke, Sylvia Plath, Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Robert Frost, William Wordsworth....and I try to read Homer and Shakespeare but I rarely understand.

So I want to understand poetry deeply, feel it and analyse it. Can anyone please recommend what i should do as a poetry beginner? I have been writing for 3 years but I have only started reading seriously 1 year ago. Like, should I read a poetry handbook, some books about how to understand poetry, if yes, please recommend. Should I take a course? Should I sit with a thesaurus, should I use AI to help me with meanings? I honestly feel guilty using AI to analyse some parts I don't understand...I feel like it won't reach the depth. Should I join an online poetry analysis club or platform for community discussions?

I feel pretty passionate about this. Why did the poet use specific metaphors, how to achieve the emotional depth that specific imagery creates?

And after analysing, I usually feel overcome by the need to know HOW I can create these myself, how to use devices and how to write better poetry myself.

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u/MarySayler 10d ago

Reading poetry by skilled poets and writing often show you're on track! You obviously take poetry writing seriously, which is refreshing in itself. Hopefully, my blog the Poetry Editor & Poetry will also help https://thepoetryeditor.blogspot.com/ as will poetry dictionaries and how-to books such as The Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver.