The formal, or new critical, method of reading poetry puts all its emphasis on the technical aspects of the poem and its concern on features of the poem such as the form, rhyme scheme and meter. This means that a poem is seen as an independent and separate piece of art, unattached from the poet and the reader. Using this formal method, a poem is judged entirely on its use of poetic techniques.
The textual method of reading poetry goes by the thought that human concerns determine the value of poetry, and if the poem is not judged according to how it communicates with the reader and how the reader receives it, the poem immediately becomes an art form owned by an elite class. To read a poem using the textual method, you must think of the poet's historical and cultural circumstances. If you understand the context of poetry, you begin to understand its power.
The rhetorical method treats poetry not as an object but as an instrument used to communicate and tell you or give you something. This method allows an examination of the connection the poem has with the poet and the effect it has on the reader. Like the new critical method, the rhetorical method of reading focuses on the text itself, but does not pay attention to what is going on within the poem. Instead, we explore what is happening outside the poem. The consideration of the impact the poem has on the audience is important, as well as what the poem may tell you about the writer.
Using the political and sociological method, the poem is assessed by taking its social and political context into account. This context can be a result of the poet's political views and his social background, or the society and political state in which he acts and writes. The critic focuses on weighing the political and sociological conditions under which the poem was written and, using these as his guide, determining its value.
According to this method of reading poetry, the style and imagery offer the reader all the information he needs when trying to read a poem. The supporters of this method maintain that the poet's stylistic techniques and general tone of his work reveal his honest intentions and his poetry's true meaning.
With the use of this method, a poem is examined through its metaphors. Here, a metaphor is not just a literary device that is making the poem more pleasant and attractive, but rather it carries the piece's whole meaning.
According to the structuralist method of reading poetry, it is the structure that points the reader toward the right direction. The supporters of this method believe that through the poem's structure, the reader gets the chance to fully understand the piece's meanings and interpret the writer's sayings.
A very similar method to the textual and historical method of reading poetry, the biographical one focuses on the writer's background and psychology. The poem is valued as far as it gives insight to the poet's life.
Other times, the critic assesses the poem based on the political views of its writer. Poetry can be read and evaluated on a political level, depending on how effectively it supports certain political ideals. A more specialized political method for reading poetry is the Marxist method, in which a poem is considered valuable only when it praises Marxist societies.
Using the moralist method, poetry is read based on its writer's moral and religious points of view. The critic values more the writer's principles and ethical beliefs than his actual writing skills, and he reads the poetry with this in mind.