Understanding

a Poem

Ma. Lourdes G. Olegario

Instructor
Paraphrasing
O to paraphrase a poem is to restate a
text in another form or other words
so as to make its prose sense as
plain as possible

O the paraphrase may be longer or

shorter than a poem, but it should
contain all the ideas

O the resulting paraphrase should be

clearer and more direct
1) figurative language should be
transformed into the literal
language
2) metaphor into similes
3) inverted statements into
normal prose order
 VANITY
by Trinidad Tarrosa-Subido

We call her Foreign Woman, God

Burnished copper dusts are glinting from her
hair;
White as the tropic sky her face; her eyes sea-
blue;
Like the silver of a levant star her smile.
My eyes are dark and, too, my hair;
And brown the flesh that shrouds my soul;
If I should die tonight and be reborn;
O, Lord Creator, make me too
A Foreign Woman to my native land.
The poem may be paraphrased as follows:

We call her Foreign Woman

with blonde hair, white
complexion, blue eyes, and a
bright smile. My eyes and hair
are black. My skin is brown. If I
die tonight and be born again,
God, make me a foreign woman
in my own country.
 Meaning and
Organization of a
Poem
 To understand a poem, you
need to understand the poem's
meaning and organization. As
you read and reread the poem,
study the following:
1) TITLE: The title is almost
always informative. The title
"Vanity" indicates both subject
and circumstance.
subject ?
circumstance?
2) THE SPEAKER or PERSONA:
Poems are dramatic, having points
of view just like prose fiction.
First person speaker talks
from the "inside" bec they are directly
involved in the action as in the poem,
"Vanity"
Third person limited "outside"
observers
3) MEANINGS OF ALL WORDS:
the words in many poems are
immediately clear, as with
"Vanity", but other poems
may contain unfamiliar words
that need looking up.
3) SETTING and SITUATION: some
poems establish their setting and
circumstances vividly.

4) BASIC FORM and DEVELOPMENT:

poems may be in the form of
narrative, personal statements, or
speeches to another person. They
may be in sonnet form, or may
contain stanzas.
 Poetry Forms
O Sonnet: a short rhyming poem
with 14 lines
O Limerick: a five-line witty
poem with a distinctive
rhythm. The first, second, and
fifth lines (the longer lines)
rhyme; the third and fourth
shorter lines rhyme
(A-A-B-B-A)
Limerick example:
O Haiku: composed of 3 lines, each
a phrase. The first line typically
has 5 syllables, second line has 7
and the 3rd and last line repeats
another 5.
Haiku example:
O Narrative: A narrative
poem tells the story of an
event in the form of a
poem. There is a strong
sense of narration,
characters, and plot.
Narrative poem Example 1:
Narrative poem Example 2:
O Epic: a lengthy narrative poem
in grand language celebrating
the adventures and
accomplishments of a
legendary or conventional hero.
Ex: The Divine Comedy

O Couplet: two lines of verse

which rhyme and form a unit
alone or as part of a poem
Couplet poem Example 1:
Couplet poem Example 2:
O Free Verse: A Free Verse Poem does
not follow any rules. Their creation
is completely in the hands of the
author. Rhyming, syllable count,
punctuation, number of lines,
number of stanzas, and line
formation can be done however the
author wants in order to convey
the idea. There is no right or wrong
way to create a Free Verse poem.
Free verse Example:
5) SUBJECT and THEME: The
subject indicates the general
or specific topic, while the
theme refers to the idea or
ideas that the poem explores
 Let's analyze the poem
"Vanity" according to
meaning and organization.
Vanity by Trinidad Tarrosa-Subido
1. Title:
subject ______
circumstance _______

2. Are there unfamiliar words? What

are they? What could they possibly
mean?
3. Setting and situation
4. Form and development
5. Subject and theme
End of Lesson 4