Abstract: English poery, rich in the beauty of music , language , form and image, is a shining pearl inthe Treasury of British and American literature. English poetry serves as a rich resource for nurturing theaesthetic sensibilities of university students. Therefore , English poetry teaching should get rid of the mis-understanding that it is diffcult to teach and learn , and naturally integrate aesthetic elements into boththe content and process of teaching, so that students can understand and appreciate the beauty of poetrymore comprehensively. In line with the all-round development needs of universiy students, this paperhighlights four common aesthetic characteristics of English poetry with examples of famous English poems.It explores the immense potential and value of using English poetry as language materials for aesthetic ed-ucation of universiy students. Additionally , it puts forth some teaching methods that have been proven ef-fective in teaching practice, including poetry recitation, music appreciation , painting appreciation, andfilm appreciation, etc. , to provide aesthetic guidance of English poetry for students from all angles.Through these methods , students can enhance their awareness of discovering beauty , improve their aes.thetic abilities, so that they can truly feel the artistic beauly of poetry and understand the profound conno-tation expressed within poetry. At the same time, encouraging students to express their emotions andthoughts through poetry and to create poetry by giving full play to their creative thinking , are equally im-portant teaching contents and steps in realizing effective aesthetic guidance.

Key words: English poetry, aesthetic characteristics, aesthetic guidance, teaching methods