Poetry Multiple Choice

         Poetry has never been my strong point, however, after doing the practice sections in the Peterson's AP English book, I think it's safe to say I have gone from below average to about average when reading a poem and answering analytical questions. I found as I was grading my multiple choice sections that the majority of questions I answered incorrectly were either asking about the theme or main idea. Themes in literature have always been hard for me to identify. I realized as I was reading along in the poems and trying to grasp the meaning, I wouldn't focus on ideas that were consistent on the poem as a whole, instead I found myself trying to make sense of the poem stanza by stanza, which in some aspects is ok because I think you still need to pick up on details, however, this was affecting how I was answering theme or main idea questions. I think I developed a better sense of what to notice and observe when looking for a main idea or theme as I progressed through the practice tests, however, I still think there is much work to do.