Depth structure in poetry denotes the underlying conceptual or emotional architecture that supports the surface text, often involving symbolic patterns, thematic echoes, or psychological undercurrents not immediately apparent; it gives a poem its resonance and complexity, allowing multiple interpretive layers as explored in the analytical frameworks of New Criticism or psychoanalytic poetics.

depth structure: In linguistics and literary theory, the underlying, abstract meaning of a poem or sentence, as opposed to its surface arrangement (surface structure). Context: Often discussed in relation to generative grammar; for poetry, it relates to the deep, perhaps unconscious, theme or significance the poet is conveying.