Consider answering the following questions about the poem:
• What is/are the theme(s) of the poem?
• Is there a literal setting or situation in the poem? What lines from the poem tell the reader this information? What details does the author include?
• Is the setting symbolic?
• How would you describe the mood of the poem? What elements contribute to this mood?
• Is the title significant to the poem’s content or meaning? How?
• What major literary devices and figures of speech does the poet use to communicate the theme(s)?
• How are rhyme and other metrical devices used in the poem? Do they support the poem’s overall meaning? Why or why not?
• Is the identity of the poem’s narrator clear? How would you describe this person? What information, if any, does the author provide about him or her?
• Does the narrator seem to have a certain opinion of or attitude about the poem’s subject matter? How can you tell?

NOTE: You do not need to include the answers to all of these questions in your essay; only include those answers that directly support the thesis statement.