5 Steps to Analyzing a Poem: Messy Room

Step 1:

• What is the subject of the poem? A person who complains about a messy room
• Who is speaking? A person
• Who is the narrator speaking to? To the owner of the room

Step 2:

• Why was the poet written the poem? Because he wanted to leave a message to people.
• What is he/ she trying to say? That we tend to see the mistakes of others but not ours.
• Is it an emotional response to something? It is a response to society, since it tends to judge people.
• Is it trying to elicit an emotional response? More than an emotional change, look for a change of mentality.
• Is it portraying a message or opinion on a subject or event? I think it shows a situation where the message is clear and concrete, on a current issue today.

Step 3:

• What are the different emotions and feelings of the poet? I think he feels that the world is full of people who are dedicated to judging others, and a feeling of sadness and disappointment for the people around us.
• What is the mood or atmosphere of the poem? An atmosphere of criticism.
• How has the poet used different poetic techniques to show these attitudes and feelings? The poet uses the different techniques so that the poem goes with a concrete message and easy to understand

Step 4:

• What are the different poetic techniques the poet has used to show the attitudes and feelings in the poem? The poetic techniques he uses to understand the poem are reticence, apostrophe and chaotic enumeration
• How has the poet shown these feelings through form and structure? The way he demonstrates it is by describing things that the speaker criticizes and then changing the initial situation for what really happened
• How has the poet used poetic devices to show these feelings? He has used them in a way that completely changed the meaning of the poem in the last lines, thus demonstrating an emotion of criticism to one of self-criticism

Step 5:

• How do you feel about the poem? I feel that I should reflect on how I act
• How well does the poet get the messenger across? It comes implicitly but easily understood.
• What is the impact of the poem on the reader ? The impact that causes a reflection in the reader as it makes one think about his actions.