I have really big problems answering "What is the main idea of a poem" after i read a poem. Year 10?

Question

My mind just goes blank, no idea of what the answer is. When someone else tells me, it makes sense. Anyone help?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Hihi!  I think I can help.  If we're talking about "deep" poetry, don't be  frustrated if you don't get the main idea the first time you read a poem through - the first time you read a poem is meant for enjoyment - enjoy the way the poem sounds and feels, let the words affect you and just absorb the shallow beauty of the poem.  

The best way to read a poem is to be able to write on it - preferably with a pen color that stands out like red or green.  What you do in the 2nd reading is mark 1) repeating words, phrases, or objects because these will point to the THEME of the poem - which is very closely related to the main idea.  Marking is important - this could be the reason why your mind goes blank after you  read a poem because when you look back at the whole thing, it is just a jumble of words - but with your markings, the ideas you picked up jump back out at you.

The next part could take from one more read to 5 more reads, this depends on how many "ideas" the poem is trying to convey.  Continue to mark because the more you read and the closer you read you will begin to pick up the poet's ideas and tie them together and understand the poem.

Perhaps you  might not be planning to major in literature and maybe the poems your teacher is making you read are  B-O-R-I-N-G, and there are poems out there which are very boring!  But have fun with it and take it easy, don't hunt for the ideas make them come to you by reading closely and thinking critically.  Learning how to read and understand poetry teaches you the skills to be able to understand other texts that may be as complicated as poetry - such as your science and history books!

Have a good time with the poetry - maybe you'll find one that you'll absolutely love.  Best of luck!  

Answer 2

just try and state the obvious first. then read between the lines and see what the writer has implied but has not actually put directly in the poem.

Answer 3

Try using the title of the poem for clues. Look at the title, any descriptions, and the last couple of lines, and see if there's some kind of theme that incorporates them. Remember, anything that the poet mentions is important, so any odd details may hold the clue. Poets are tricky like that.

Answer 4

Read the poem and then wonder what it makes you think of. For example, The Flea. It isn't really a poem about a flea- it's comparing a flea to a consumated relationship.

Pick out the clues and then the similes and metaphors.

It'll come :)