[Stylist] Advice on how to critique a poem

[Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter]

It surprises me that your instructors do not provide guidelines for how to
workshop and provide feedback to peers. Poetry has a specific structure
depending on the type of poem, but you provide feedback the same way you do
with prose. What works and what doesn't, referring to specifics in the poem.
Line breaks, diction, syntax, structure, use of metaphor/imagery, etc. What
did you take away? Years ago, an instructor of mine told us that to truly
understand a poem and be able to provide feedback, we had to look at it as a
whole, similar to abstract art. If you look at it merely section-by-section,
it won't completely make sense; but once you step back and look at its
entirety, you can make all the sections come together and make sense. This
helped me better understand poetry and better appreciate it. Think about
word choice, what imagery is the poet going for and. Just respond to what
speaks to you in a poem.? Do the line breaks add to or take away from the
sense of the poem, etc. Hope this helps.

Bridgit