The interpretation of the poem is one of the essential contents of the German instruction in the upper level and is usually part of the poetic analysis that accompanies the poem interpretation.
It is, in principle, difficult to deal with the interpretation of the poem as a school subject, since we do not have to face it or have to deal with it in a flash, but only for the first time to be asked to read poems because of their meaning.
But in principle, we are doing what a poem interpretation requires for years. Because every new song on the radio, every text that we read and, of course, every rhyme that penetrates our ear, somehow wants to be understood. This means that we try to understand it, to fathom it, and to figure out what it is about this line or stanza.
And even when we think of proverbs and sayings, it is noticeable that we have interpreted passages and individual content for years and try to gain a meaning for them.
Tip: Before explaining what the interpretation of the poem is about, you can take a look at our article about examples of the metaphor and see that interpreting individual text lines is somehow part of our everyday life.
What is a poem interpretation?
The interpretation of the word can be derived from the Latin and means, for example, interpretation, translation or explanation, and basically describes what a poem interpretation has to offer. Interpreting is always interpreting, understanding and interpreting!
So we try to interpret, understand, and understand a text subjectively.
We can, however, approach the poem differently, since there is no standard approach for the interpretation of lyric. Rather, we must also be able to justify what we write in the poem interpretation.
Once you have looked at the section on the metaphorical examples, it should be clear what happens when you read unusual sentences.
They try, on the other hand, to demand a meaning and to conceive what is hidden behind the individual lines. They therefore try to get behind the actual message of a sentence and not to understand this word for word.
For example, take the following theorem:
Poem interpretation using an example
To break one ‘s heart
Of course, it is not a matter of literally separating a person’s heart from the body and breaking it in the truest sense. No. We rather mean that we break something in a person and obviously hurt him.
Since it is about the heart, where we know that it is often for love or even feelings, we must assume that a person was hurt on the emotional level.
Note: Of course, there are also symbols that we can not simply interpret and interpret. The heart, however, has always been known to us as a synonym for love, but of course linguistic images can also be a lot more complex. But it is precisely this aspect that ultimately constitutes a poem interpretation.
A poem interpretation attempts, therefore, to ask the individual elements of a poem a meaning and thus open up the poem. Some poems are very easy to interpret, and others make a lot of effort.
Poem interpretation and poem analysis?
Often the terms poem interpretation and poem analysis are mixed together, even if it is fundamentally not the same. In school, however, the separation is often not very strong, which is why the demarcation of many pupils is unclear.
That is why it is often said about the work of the German language, “analyze and interpret the poem of XY”. In the end, we have to do both things and not look at them separately, which is why both expressions mean the same work.
In principle, however, the analysis includes that we divide a poem into its individual components and note down the peculiarities that strike us during the reading.
In the interpretation of the poem, we then create an overall package of these conspicuousnesses and write a function to them and try to understand and interpret the lyric work through this step. Analysis is therefore the basis of interpretation!
How do I write a poem interpretation?
Since we have now shown that the interpretation of a poem is always a part of the analysis, we would ask you to read our article about the poem analysis before you are asked for the poem interpretation. We would like to start with this article.
Are you ready….?
In this article, we will list the following aspects under the keyword poem interpretation, which we would now like to explore together with you.
What are the results of our analysis?
What mood and feelings are caused by language?
What is the context and function?
… and what do they mean?