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American Poets of the 20th Century

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How to Analyze Poetry

Context of the Poem
Style of the Poem
Title of the Poem
Repetition in the Poem
Opening and Closing Lines of the Poem
Passage of Time in the Poem
Speaker of the Poem
Basic Details of the Poem
Culture
Fantasy versus Reality
Mood and Tone of the Poem
Themes of the Poem
Rhythm of the Poem
Use of the Senses in the Poem
Imagery in the Poem
Language of the Poem
Supplemental Materials
Drawing Conclusions

The Poets

Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950)
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935)
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Amy Lowell (1874–1925)
Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)
Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
H. D. (1886–1961)
Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)
Marianne Moore (1887–1972)
T. S. Eliot (1888–1965)
John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
Jean Toomer (1894–1967)
Louise Bogan (1897–1970)
Hart Crane (1899–1933)
Allen Tate (1899–1979)
Sterling Brown (1901–1989)
Langston Hughes (1902–1967)
Countée Cullen (1903–1946)
Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979)
John Berryman (1914–1972)
Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000)
Robert Lowell (1917 — 1977)
Richard Wilbur (1921– )
James Dickey (1923–1997)
Denise Levertov (1923–1997)
A. R. Ammons (1926–2001)
Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997)
W. S. Merwin (1927– )
James Wright (1927–1980)
Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
Adrienne Rich (1929– )
Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)
Amiri Baraka (1934– )
Wendy Rose (1948– )
Joy Harjo (1951– )
Rita Dove (1952– )
Cathy Song (1955– )

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How to Analyze Poetry

Passage of Time in the Poem

  • Can readers pin down a time frame? What details specify time?

  • Does the poet name a particular month or season, as with Amy Lowell's "Patterns"?

  • Is there a clear passage of time, as with the decline of the deceased woman in Denise Levertov's "Death in Mexico"?

  • How long is the period of time? Are there gaps?

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