Poetry analysis Flashcards
What do you look for when analysing a poem?
- Work out what the poem is about
- Identify the form and structure of the poem
- What language is used to create these effects?
- Identify the feelings and attitudes in the poem
How do you work out what the poem is about?
- What is the subject
- Look at the narrative voice: first person (I), second person (you), or third person (he/she).
- Who is the poem addressing? (EG: the narrator’s lover, the reader, etc.)
How do you identify the form and structure of the poem?
- Is it rigid and regular or loose and irregular?
- Does the poem rhyme?
- Why has the poet chosen this form? What mood/effect does this create?
- How is the poem laid out? Are the lines and stanzas regular/irregular? Does it use enjambment? How does it use punctuation?
- How does the ‘story’ of the poem evolve? How does it change?
How do you find what language is used to create these effects?
- How does the language support your comments about mood and tone?
- Look at any language techniques that are used (EG: personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia) what is their effect?
- Focus on how language creates imagery
How do you identify the feelings and attitudes in the poem?
- What is the main emotion in the poem and how does it change?
- Does the poet want you to share their feelings? Do they want you to empathise with their feelings?
- How does the poem make you feel?
What poetry techniques to look out for?
- Enjambment
- Alliteration
- Dialogue
- Hyperbole
- Irony
- Onomatopoeia
- Personification
- Pathetic fallacy
- Repetition
- Tone
- Imagery
What is Enjambment?
When lines run on so a sentence continues beyond the end of a line or stanza
What is a stanza?
A set of lines that are grouped together in a poem (like a paragraph). Separated in order to divide and organise a poem.
What is alliteration?
Where a sequence of words all begin with the same letter
What is dialogue?
A spoken conversation between 2 or more people
What is Hyperbole?
Exaggerated statements or claims that aren’t meant to be taken literally
What is irony?
A situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality
What is onomatopoeia?
A word that phonetically resembles the sound that it describes.
What is personification?
When a describes a non-human thing as if it were a person
What is pathetic fallacy?
The attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects to reflect the mood of the text (like bad weather in a sad text)
What is repetition?
The use of the same word or phrase multiple times
What is tone?
The type of voice or atmosphere that pervades the poem (EG: sadness, anger, joy, regret, melancholy, etc.)
What is the effect of Enjambment?
- To create a sense of urgency, tension, or rising as the reader is pulled from one line to the next. (like a cliffhanger that builds drama)
What is the effect of alliteration?
- Grasps the reader’s attention, making them focus on a particular line or section.
What is the effect of dialogue?
- Makes the passage more interesting and engaging.
- Reveals knowledge as a process
What is the effect of hyperbole?
- Allows the poet to highlight a specific feature or characteristic through extreme exaggeration
What is the effect of irony?
- Emphasises themes
- Creates humour
- Adds depth to the message
What is the effect of onomatopoeia?
- Gives the poem the added sense of sound, creating immersion and engagement
What is the effect of personification?
- Helps the reader connect with parts of the poem that aren’t characters
- Creates imagery and description
- Makes the poem more relatable
