Readers should read through a poem several times, at least once aloud. If it is a long poem, such as Allen Ginsberg's Howl or Hart Crane's The Bridge, readers should concentrate on key passages and look for repetition of specific words, phrases, or verses in the poem.
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Why is there a repeated reference to the sea in Robinson Jeffers's poetry?
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Why does the pronoun "we" recur in Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"?
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Why does Edgar Lee Masters reprise epitaphs for Spoon River Anthology?
If readers note repetition in the poem, they should decide why certain information seems to deserve the repetition.
