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Date of Submission:
Title of Text or Track:


Poem Profiler
This is a list of rhetorical features of individual poems. Rate the selected poem for
each of these characteristics. Be prepared to give examples (i.e. close-readings of
specific lines and/or passages) to support your assessment in class.

RATINGS: 1 (low) to 10 (high)


Stylistic Textures and Poetic Diction

___Ambiguity

___Ambivalence

___Irreverence

___Sobriety

___Humor

___Eloquence

___Plainness

___Sincerity

___Smoothness (vs roughness, bumpiness, striation)

___Neatness (vs messiness)

___Pretentiousness

___Subtlety (vs bluntness)

___Indirectness (vs straightforwardness)

___Intelligence

___Visual imagery (density or frequency of)

___Dreaminess

___Particularity (vs generality) of details

___Stylistic consistency

___Innovation

___Ornamentality/decorativeness (baroqueness)

___Speech-like

___Dialect (use of)

___Sampling (use of found or quoted material)

___Comprehensibility

___Coherence

___Spontaneity

___Density

___Predictability

___Abstractness

___Sensuousness

___Weariness

___Sophistication

___Timidity


©Charles Bernstein 2009; may be reproduced for noncommercial use only /


modified by CT for use in coursework AY 17-18
___Bravado

___Unusual vocabulary

___Complexity

___Repetitiveness

___Self-consciousness

___Artificiality (vs “naturalness”)

___Difficulty

___Transparency (the more outward-pointing the higher the rating)
Content

___Political

___Urban

___Pastoral

___Moral

___Sexual/Erotic

___Religious

___Spiritual

___Mystical

___Philosophical

___Love (romantic, familial, other?)

___Family

___Nationalistic/patriotic

___Gender (embodied, performed, projected, assigned?)

___Mortality

___Illness

___Conflict (war)
Mood/Tone [rate the first term only]

___Dark/light

___Impersonal/emotional

___Engaged /disaffected (alienated)

___Affirmative/skeptical(hostile)

___Elegiac/ panegyric

___Angry/delighted

___Turbulent/calm

___Disturbed/content

___Reckless/cautious

___Sorrowful/elated

___Bright/dull

___Meditative/unreflective

___Elusive/explicit

___Erotic/dispassionate

___Mysterious/apparent
Sound

___Dissonance/cacophony (noisy, harsh)

___Melodious/harmonious/ mellifluous (“pleasing”)

___Assonance


©Charles Bernstein 2009; may be reproduced for noncommercial use only /


modified by CT for use in coursework AY 17-18
___Alliteration

___Rhyme

___Off-rhyme

___Metrical patterns

___Obtrusive (vs not noticeable)


Developmental / Temporal / Compositional Structures



(What holds the poem together?)

Circle as relevant


Fragmentary / disjunctive / nonlinear / discontinuity (parataxis)


Logical / expository continuity (linear - hypotaxis) 


Narrative continuity (beginning, middle, and end)


Journey


Journal/diary


Dream-like/surreal


Closure 


Symmetrical


Kinetic


Static

Devices: check as relevant



___Irony

___Paradox

___Exaggeration

___Understatement

___Simile

___Metaphor

___Personification

___Symbolism

___Allegory

___Enjambment

___Metonymy

___Literary or historical allusion

___Persona(e)

©Charles Bernstein 2009; may be reproduced for noncommercial use only /


modified by CT for use in coursework AY 17-18
Counting:
___Verses

___Lines per verse
___Words per line
___Syllables per line (feet)


Point of View (circle as relevant)



Direct POV of author as speaker (monologic / lyric)

Persona

Narrator (epic)

Multiple POVs (dialogic or polyvocal)

Textual Subjectivity

n/a

Scansion/ Rhythmic Analysis of Performance - attach lyrics with notation to this


profiler.


Contexts:

Date of track’s composition &/or recording:

Place of composition/recording:

Relevant biographical facts:

Context of original release and significant subsequent release:
Use/connection of title to the track:


Variant versions, including performances (list):


[If a performance:

Date of performance:

Use of movement:

Use of vocal inflection:

Studio or “live” performance:

If “live,” audience reaction:

©Charles Bernstein 2009; may be reproduced for noncommercial use only /


modified by CT for use in coursework AY 17-18

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