First, remember the source, the unfiltered unconscious.
Second, you must want to dig something out of the poem. You must believe that the poem contains ore to be mined. The meaning will not be obvious at first. The poem will appear nonsensical, incomprehensible. You will never be able to claim with unshakeable certainty that you know what the poem means. The poet cannot make that claim either. The material is as new to the poet as it is to you. Getting meaning from any poem is work, Extracting meaning from a surrealistic poem takes even more effort.
The key to understanding is in the images. We often say in conversation, “I see what you mean.” In reading surrealistic poetry, that may be quite literally true.
Here are some guidelines:
- Notice the images. What pictures do you see in the poem?
- Notice the juxtapositions and incongruities. Are there odd combinations of words. How is the poem different from real life?
- Notice the associations. What words are in some way related? How does one word enrich the meaning of the other?
- Notice the dynamic movement of the poem. Is there a sense of direction and progression?
- After chasing down these leads, what conclusions can you draw? What have you learned from the poem?
Like reading a dream, there are no correct answers, only right answers, only answers that stimulate your imagination..