First, combine notes to understand the creative background.
For example, Yang Wanli's "Four quatrains when I first entered the Huaihe River". If there are no notes under the poem, we just think it is a poem about scenery. However, with annotations, we can judge that every sentence of this poem is ostensibly describing the scenery, but in fact it expresses the author's pain and helplessness about the division between the north and the south, as well as his strong desire for national unity and free exchanges between the people.
Second, understand the poet's life. For example, Li Mixun's Spring is Things. Literally, the spring environment described by the author is quiet, sad and depressed. But the answer to this question is not enough. According to the poet's life, Xun was removed from the post of China calligrapher and assistant minister of the Ministry of Finance because of the surrender policy that he strongly opposed. The message we get from it is: politically, he is from a high position to a subordinate, emotionally, he is from a noisy car and horse in front of the door to a lack of doors. Then this depressed mood is his political frustration and loneliness, and his sigh of indifference to the world.
Third, make clear the symbolic meaning of the image. Images in classical poetry generally have fixed symbolic meanings, such as pine plums symbolizing noble moral integrity; Peony symbolizes wealth; Willow symbolizes farewell, nostalgia, etc. When poets use these images, they are generally associated with themselves to express their own feelings. In this way, on the basis of their inherent symbolic significance, combined with specific poems, the theme is not difficult to understand.
Fourth, be good at discovering "poetic eyes". In a poem, poetic eyes often reflect the emotional tone of the whole poem and show the thought of the whole poem. It is the vocabulary that can best embody the spirit of things, express the poet's feelings and have the strongest generalization in poetry. Appreciating poetry is to grasp the most refined and vivid words in the poem and see its role in expanding the artistic conception of the poem and conveying the poet's feelings.
Fifth, use the structure of poetry to understand the content of poetry. Poetry that touches the scene often has a scene before it; Poems that express feelings by borrowing scenery are generally based on feelings before scenery. Understanding the structure of poetry can help us understand its content faster and better.