Analysing Poetry

Analysing Poetry

Introduction- Start by introducing:

•       the name of the poem

•       who wrote it

•       what year it was written

Step 1: The Poetry Question -Look carefully at the wording of the question. It may ask you to:

•       Comment on ideas and attitudes

•       Look at how a poet presents a theme eg. Love, war, etc.

•       Look at how the poet uses language to deal with a theme eg. Childhood. 

•       Discuss how the poem makes you feel

•       Look at how the poet’s beliefs and ideas are expressed

Step 2: The Structure of the Poem- The form is the way the poem is constructed. Look at:

•       How many lines the poem has

•       How long the lines are

•       How many stanzas (verses) the poem has

•       Whether the lines and stanzas regular or irregular in length

•       Whether the way the poem is laid out reflects a theme or the subject of the poem

•       The rhyme scheme (see step 3)

•       Whether the sentences run over to the next line (enjambment) or whether there is a full stop at the end.

•       Why has the poet organised the poem this way?

Step 3: The Rhyme Scheme

Below shows how to label the rhyme scheme to a poem:

 

A             Join together in the day
B             Fight the fiercest in the night
A             We can pretend our lifes away
B             And act like everythings alright
C             Join me now and let us leave this place
C             There must be somewhere we can learn grace

 

 

 

•       This verse has an ABABCC rhyme scheme.

•       Note how the first line rhymes with the third line so they are both ‘A’

•       The last two lines rhyme together so they are called a ‘rhyming couplet’

•       A Shakespearian rhyme scheme is: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

•       An Ottava Rima rhyme scheme is: A,B,A,B,A,B,C,C

•       A Limerick rhyme scheme is : AABBA

 

Step 4: The Viewpoint- Whose viewpoint is it written in?

 

•         First Person Viewpoint.  This viewpoint is easily identifiable, because the writer talks directly to the reader.  Look out for the words “I”, “my”, “me”, and so on.

•         Third Person Viewpoint.  In the third person viewpoint, the poet is slightly more distant, talking through a character.  Look for the words “he”, “she”, “him”, “her”, and so on.

•         Omniscient Viewpoint.  With this viewpoint, the poet is even further away from the reader, and from his or her subject.  A poem written using this viewpoint might provide a description, without any sense of character.

 

Step 5: The Theme- What theme(s) are written about? There could be more than one.

•       What the theme is (remember there may be more than one eg. Childhood, memories and culture)

•       The effects or images that are created within the themes discussed (this gains you more marks)

•       What tone does the poem have? Is it sad, happy, funny, etc? Does the tone reflect the theme?

Step 6- Imagery. Think about…

•       Whether the poet includes the use of the senses to make it more realistic.

       Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

•       Whether the poet has used words that make a sound like the thing that is being described (onomatopoeia)

       Bang, drip, zoom

•       Whether the poet has used alliteration through harsh sounds, or soft sounds.

       The snake spat and hissed

 

•       The poet’s choice of adjectives (describing words)

Effervescent  river

•       Images or symbols that convey a particular idea

Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,

•       Similes (saying that something is like something else)

My heart is like a withered nut

•       Metaphors (saying that something IS something else)

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

•       Personification (giving an object a human emotion or physical feature)

"Ah, William, we're weary of weather,"
said the sunflowers, shining with dew.

•       Onomatopoeia (sounds that spell words)

splash, bang, drip

•       Alliteration (the initial sounds of a word being repeated)

‘The cat crept crazily..’

Step 7: The Context of the Poem- In what context was the poem written? Did this effect it and if so, how?

•       Does it have a deeper, hidden meaning?

•       Look at what message the poet wants to convey and analyse how well he/she achieves this.

•       Whether it was written in a specific  period of history (such as the political poem ‘Troubles’ which focuses on Northern Ireland unrest)

•       What year was it written? What was society like at this time? (eg. Attitudes to women, sex, marriage, war, etc.)

•       What were the poet’s beliefs and did these effect the poem?

Conclusion

•       What the poet is trying to communicate to the reader

•       How effective the devices and language are

•       How you responded to the poem and how it made you feel.