Before this poetry unit, it was very difficult for me to enjoy poetry. This is because I could not always understand what a poem meant, or because I was forced to over analyze the poetry I read in class. Before this unit, when we learned about poetry we mostly focused on tearing the poem apart to find the theme, figurative language and tone. Learning more about terms in poetry has helped me understand poems better because I can understand why a poem is written the way it is. I also did not like having to break down a poem to try to understand every detail of the poem and why the poet wrote something. After this poetry unit I find it easier to understand what a poem means just by reading it. I like to follow the stories of the characters in the poems I read. I found that I can enjoy a poem more when I can read it for my own enjoyment instead of reading it to analyze it. Even though I do not prefer analyzing poems in class, reading it first without over thinking it makes it less difficult to understand and that makes it more enjoyable to read. I am happy that now I find poetry more pleasurable to read and that I can understand poems and therefore appreciate them more.