Quick Guidelines for a Poetry Critique

Find the good points first

Compliment the poet on things about the poem that you like. If you're
taking creative writing, remember your fellow classmates aren't writing
finished poems -- they're drafts submitted to the workshop to get ideas
for revision.

Find the meaning

Be candid about any image or line you don't understand or find unclear.
Point out obvious errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar. Say what
you feel is happening in the poem.

Offer suggestions for revision

Where might the poet cut a line or word without losing the integrity of
the poem? Which ideas or images may need expansion or compression in
order to better focus the poem's meaning?

Revising (or evaluating) poetry

Here are some questions you can ask yourself (or others in your
workshop), to give you ideas for revising a poem. They're also good
benchmarks for evaluating the poetry you read elsewhere.

If the form or syntax is unusual, is it for a good purpose?
Should you rearrange the order?  Are there any clichés?
Are the images fresh instead of predictable?
Does it go far enough? How does it sound to you when you read it aloud?

Good advice from a mixed-media Web poet

World Wide Web-based poet Christy Sheffield Sanford's
(http://www.purplefrog.com/~christy/red-mona/) advice:
"I have a suggestion for workshops in general and that is to
use the Edward de Bono (a mathematician and educator) method
of criticism:

1) Say what you like about the work
2) Ask clarifying questions
3) Tell how you think the work could be improved. 

This simple guideline is idealistic, but it's good for 
encouraging a constructive attitude and it's good when
the criticism veers toward the killer mode or the 
frivolous mode."