1. How to study poetry By Muthanna MakkiUniversity of Karbalaa English Department1. Read the poem. Enjoy it! Andfamiliarize yourself with the generalmeaning and atmosphere of the poem.Search for a recorded audio version ofthe poem on www.librevox.com Orsearch www.YouTube.com to find avideo version.

2. 2. Search for information about thepoets life and time period.Ask questions like:What life events helped shape the poetsattitude?What are the main characteristics of hispoetry in general?Does he follow a certain school of poetry?Use the Internet, Encarta Encyclopedia,Britannica...etc. 3. OzymandiasBy Percy Bysshe Shelley I met a traveler from an antique land, Who saidTwo vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert Near them, on the sand,Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear:My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. 4. 3. Use your dictionary to find out themeaning of difficult words (denotation):Traveler: ExplorerAntique: AncientVast: HugeTrunkless: Having lost the upper part of the bodySunk: Disappear:Shattered: Devastated; destroyedVisage FaceNow you know the general meaning of thepoem. 5. 4. Read the poem a secondreading trying to find out thesuggestions and implicationsof the words (connotations).Pay attention to the symbolismof the words. Write down yourideas. This is called thedetailed meaning of the poem. 6. 5. Theme(s):Write down the main idea(s) discussed inthe poem (major and minor themes). 7. 6. Technical and stylistic aspects:Technique, figures of speech (metaphor,metonymy, personification, simile,...etc).