Understanding a poem

Whatever your feelings regarding poetry, there is no substitute for thinking hard and refusing to give in. Read the title Use a dictionary to check any unfamiliar words. What does the title suggest to you? Read the whole poem Read it all the way through, even if some or all of it doesn't seem to make sense. Be open to possibilities Don't decide too quickly that you know what the poem is definitely about, or …

…about a baby girl asleep? The meaning Does the poem tell a factual story about a real event, or does it try to show how the poet feels about something? Is the poet trying to make you look at something more carefully, or to make you look at something in a new way? Is the poet simply telling a story or making a point about something? Does the poem make you laugh, think or cry?