How to Read a Poem by Cate Mahoney For those who find poetry opaque, graduate student Cate Mahoney, Princeton Writes' University Administrative Fellow, has this advice. OK: first you actually read it. Read it twice: first to enjoy it, second to feel it. Then, if you want to analyze it—if you like it, or if you need to for a class—look for a few things. I start with imagery, word choice, rhythm, and sound. Basically, you want to figure out what images the poem is making and how it’s doing that, and if that narrative changes through the work. [...]