How do you write an interpretation?

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In the upper school level, the interpretation of poems and prose texts is dealt with particularly intensively. But not only in the Abitur exam do you come across poems and texts whose message you want to understand better. Without interpretation and the analysis contained therein, one can often only guess or guess the author's intention. There is no one correct procedure. But based on textbooks from the various countries, there is a certain consistency in the rules for interpreting poetry and prose. Note the most important criteria when you want to know how to write an interpretation, as well as the current spelling.

A thorough reading and text analysis precedes a good interpretation.
A thorough reading and text analysis precedes a good interpretation.

What you need:

  • poem
  • Prose text
  • Writing material
  • In order to interpret a poem or a prose text correctly, you should know the content very well and therefore read the text several times. The best thing to do is to make a copy and then read with pencil in hand, underline and write first impressions in the margin of the text. This process is called decoding (understanding reading).
  • In the interpretation from Poetry and prose, different formal elements are used in each case, whose relationship to the aesthetic effect of the text is to be shown. The interpretation only follows the formal analysis. So now read here how to write an interpretation.

This is how you write the correct interpretation of a poem

  1. First create a simple outline and start with the introduction: Use a few sentences to set up the Author, title, the topic (war, love), time of origin (epoch) and the type of poem (political poem, Love poetry).
  2. A brief one follows Table of contents, Your first impressions or guesses.
  3. The main part begins with the analysis of the poem: Determine the type of poem (sonnet, ode, ballad) and indicate the number of stanzas and verses.
    4. How do you write a poem interpretation? - That's how it's done

    You want to prepare a poem interpretation and you don't know exactly how to do it ...

  4. The rhyme form (pair rhyme, cross rhyme) and meter (iambus, trochaeus, dactyl) form the heart of the analysis. In pair rhymes, for example, the two consecutive verses rhyme and are marked with small letters (aabb). Read the poem aloud to determine the rhythm and meter.
  5. When analyzing the language Pay particular attention to the sentence structure (ellipses, parallelization), choice of words (repetition, key words), the style (humorous, factual) and the use of rhetorical means such as the alliteration (same word beginning: wind and weather, man and mouse), metaphor (pictorial description), the irony or climax (for example increase: “He came, saw and won ”).
  6. Look for sound forms such as pauses or assonances (unison of the vowels at the end of the word: carry, complain).
  7. When examining the content, you establish the relationship between the title and the poem and introduce the topic.
  8. At the end of the main part you put a content structure (sections of meaning, climax, climax / turning point).
  9. Only now is the poem interpreted: Interpret the linguistic means and content, their function and effect.
  10. Do not forget to substantiate all claims with quotations and lines.
  11. At the end you summarize and write your honest opinion on the poem or repeat the overall statement in a conclusion.

Interpretation of a prose text

  1. Read the text very carefully, underline important passages and make notes in the margin.
  2. In the introduction you briefly introduce the content (1 - 2 sentences), author and the year of publication. Mention the voluntary and involuntary intentions when you are writing an interpretation of a prose text.
  3. A brief summary of the contents follows without any details. Describe the course of the narrative, the main characters, events, location, time, atmosphere of the text and narrative perspective.
  4. In the interpretation hypothesis you explain your understanding of the text and briefly outline the goal of the interpretation.
  5. When you do the formal analysis, pay special attention to the sentence structure (paratactic, Stringing together of main clauses or hypotactic, combination of main and subordinate clauses), stylistic devices and linguistic images.
  6. When you now write the interpretation, interpret your hypothesis and substantiate it with text passages (line reference!).
  7. At the end, you provide a summarizing evaluation of your hypothesis and thus remove any last doubt about your interpretation.

Note: All sources must be verifiable and given footnotes in a bibliography.

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