Based upon a theory of intelligence proposed by Alfred Binet, this paper describes a cognitive process approach to poetry instruction. After discussing the suitability of the study of poetry as a means of enhancing students' reading comprehension, the paper summarizes Binet's theory, which distinguishes four successive intellectual operations: (1) "comprehension," i.e., the identification and comprehension of individual facets of that which is being observed; (2) "invention," i.e., the synthesis of the individual components; (3) "direction," i.e., the perception of the main theme or intellectual direction of that which is being observed; and (4) "censorship," i.e., the ability to concentrate on the intellectual direction at hand and to discern changes in direction. The paper then describes how these four operations can provide definitions of the cognitive skills needed to understand poetry. First, students must be able to identify and understand words within a poem that have an abstract or unconventional meaning. Then, they must be able to discern parallels between words used within the poem in order to begin the process of synthesis. Finally, they must be able to recognize the themes and intellectual directions of a poem, and recognize "structural joints" within the poem that signify changes in that theme or direction. Throughout the paper, illustrative passages from poems are provided. (JP)