how do i analize a poem?

Question

Mr Kartoffel's a whimsical man;
He drinks his beer from a watering can,
And for no good reason that I can see
He fills his pockets with china tea.
He parts his hair with a knife and fork
And takes his ducks on a Sunday walk.
Says he, "If my wife and I should choose
To wear our stockings outside our shoes,
Plant tulip bulbs in the baby's pram
And eat tobacco instead of jam
And fill the bath with cauliflowers,
That's nobody's business at all but ours."
Says Mrs. K., "I may choose to travel
With a sack of grass or a sack of gravel,
Or paint my toes, one black, one white,
Or sit on a bird's nest half the night -
But whatever I do that is rum or rare,
I rather think that is my affair.
So fill up your pockets with stamps and string,
And let us be ready for anything!"
Says Mr. K. to his whimsical wife,
"How can we face the storms of life,
Unless we are ready for anything?
So if you've provided the stamps and the string,
Let us pump up the saddle and harness the horse
-theres more but no room

Answer 1

Obviously more a Limmerick, and without knowing at all; the authors intent; it may just have been penned in a moment of silly; lyrical, inspiration.

I don't see much to analyze; especially in not knowing the intent. It's "Rhymey"; obviously THAT was part of the intent; and not so difficult if someone has a decent command of the language.

"To analyze this silly piece;
share that, to gain the golden fleece,
I still might miss the authors intent;
when perhaps all they wanted was to "rhymingly" vent."

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

You don't!! I have about 100 poems to my name with one published, no big deal. When I write, I write for me and I write for the moment. If someone wants to read it, great, by all means. If they ask me what it means, I ask them what they think it means. They tell me what they think and I tell them they are correct. A lot of people and educators tear writing down the simple words but in poetry and a lot of other writing, the words mean nothing without the context they were placed in. I work with a poet whose books are used in several universities in North America. He says he won't do readings anymore for the simple reason, he is sick of explaining a poem. Read the poem and tell me what you think, it dosen't matter what the poet was thinking. A lot of times I leave the reader thinking, on purpose. I don't like closing someone elses thoughts as I don't know what they are. A structured poem is a little different because of the strict number on lines and stanzas that have to be adhered to, so I generally write free verse. Metaphors and aliteration are my two favorite uses of language though.