Analyzing Poetry: A Valentine - Edgar Ellen Poe

In analyzing poetry, you need to consider the following elements: words images figurative language tone structure meaning Term Definition
Simile Figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the words "like" or "as"
Personification Figure of speech in which inanimate or nonhuman things are given human characteristics or abilities
Metaphor Figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using any comparison words
Apostrophe Figure of speech that directly addresses an abstract quality, a nonhuman, or an individual that is not present
Hyperbole Figure of speech that uses exaggeration for effect
Onomatopoeia Figure of speech in which the sound of the word corresponds to its meaning
Alliteration Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Assonance Repetition of vowel sounds within words
Consonance Repetition of consonant sounds at the end of words
Understatement Figure of speech that makes something seem less important or serious to emphasize the opposite
Rhyme Identical sounds, usually at the end of words or lines of poetry where the final vowel sound and following consonant sounds are the same
A ValentineEdgar Ellen Poe.
For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes, Penned:writtenBrightly expressive as the twins of Leda,Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling liesUpon the page, enwrapped from every reader.Search narrowly the lines!- they hold a treasureDivine- a talisman- an amuletThat must be worn at heart. Search well the measure-The words- the syllables! Do not forgetThe HYPERLINK "javascript:void(0);" trivialest point, or you may lose your laborAnd yet there is in this no Gordian knotWhich one might not undo without a sabre,If one could merely comprehend the plot.Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peeringEyes scintillating soul, there lie perdusThree eloquent words HYPERLINK "javascript:void(0);" oft uttered in the hearingOf poets, by poets- as the name is a poet's, too,Its letters, although naturally lyingLike the knight Pinto- Mendez FerdinandoStill form a synonym for Truth- Cease trying!You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.
To analyze a poem, you must follow the two steps you just took here:
First, read the poem on your own.
Next, read the poem again to find specific details.
This process will help you understand poetry!
As readers, we should consider the following elements upon a first reading:
What is the writer's topic?
What emotion or experience is the writer trying to convey?
How did the author convey this emotion or experience?