1. How does it look on the
page? (before you’ve even read it) Is it
neatly ordered into stanzas that have the
same number of lines in each? Is it
confused and scattered? WHY do you
imagine...? What might that suggest about
what will be inside the poem? (Chaotic?
Ordered? Free? ) Do any stanzas or lines
stand out?
(stanzas, to sentences, to words
and punctuation)
TOP TIPS: SAY A LOT ABOUT A LITTLE
W&W – What (has been used) and
Why? (what does the writer want the
reader to feel/think?)
2. Are there any words or
images that stand out to you? It might be
the way the word sounds or the image it
creates in your head. Highlight them. Can
you see a pattern in the words/images
that you’ve highlighted? Tip: If you panic
– think the other way round – e.g. which
words DON’T stand out.
Rhythm and rhyme. Is
rhyme used? Why? Or is it in free-
verse? (no rhyme or syllabic patterns –
patterns are the number of beats)
Which words are being paired/pulled
together by the rhyme? Are they
connected? Are they juxtaposed
(opposite)? What is the pace like?
(fast/slow and why) How does it affect
the tone (mood)?
3. Look at these words or phrases that
you’ve highlighted.
What do the key words mean? Do they
have another deeper meaning or a
symbolic meaning? E.G. The
CONNOTATIONS of red are... blood,
danger, death, fire, love…
Also – how do they sound? Hard (plosive)
or soft (sibilant)? Why? Are the words
one beat (mono-syllabic)? Or are they
multi-syllabic? Why? How does it make
the poem sound? does it affect the tone
(mood)? Does it make the speaker sound
nervous? Honest? Sad? Happy?
Punctuation. How does it
make the sentence sound? How does it
change the pace (speed) or tone (mood).
Does it reveal how the speaker is feeling?
4. Full stops = truthful and direct. Or could
be breathy. If the full-stop is at the end
of the line then it is end-stopped.
Question marks – questioning?! Or
persuasive if rhetorical.
Exclamation marks – animated or
shouting or passionate.
Dashes – hesitant, confused, pauses for
dramatic impact?
Semi-colon or lots of commas – lists or
long sentences – slows pace, adds
tension, creates detail?
Enjambment – sentence flowing over
onto the next line. Does the poem flow
or does it have moments that are
awkward?
Are pauses created (caesura - a pause in
the middle of a line).
5. Techniques – why have
they been used? How do they affect the
tone (mood)? How do they make the
speaker sound?
Verb – a doing word eg spat
Adjective – describes an object eg fat
Noun – an object
Proper noun – an important/named
object (capital letter) eg. Jane
Adverb – describes a verb eg. He ran
QUICKLY (often end in ly)
Plosive – hard sounding words (they
often start with consonants eg kick)
Sibilance – snakey sounding and soft
eg. stroking softly she tried to stop her
daughter’s pain
Onomatopoeia – where the word
sounds like the action eg. Crash
6. Simile – like or as (compares something)
e.g. Her eyes were like marbles
Mono-syllabic: one syllable – punchy
effect/strong/deliberate
Metaphor – compares something by
saying that it IS another thing eg. Her
eyes were marbles
Imagery – words that link(throughout a
piece) that are similar eg. Dark,
shadows, foggy, bleak (imagery of
death)
Irony: like sarcasm so it is ironic that,
having laughed at someone for tripping
on the ice, Anna then falls herself.
Dramatic Irony (where the audience
knows something that the character
does not) e.g. When a character is in
trouble but they don’t know. Creates
tension and makes it more tragic.
Central Protagonist – the main character
7. Alliteration – two words that start with
the same letter – increases pace and
make it sound more forceful
Assonance – same vowel sound in the
middle of two words eg. The crumbling
thunder of seas
End-stopped – a full stop at the end of
the line eg. It would end today.
Enjambment – where it flows over the
line eg she hardly ever
Knew him.
Caesura – a pause in the middle of a
line e.g. Then all smiled. Together they
Formal or informal language – think
about the intended audience (who it is
for) and what kind of relationship the
writer is trying to create. Do they want
the reader to like them or to feel
intimidated by them?
8. Form (person, tense and
what type of text it is)
Person – first person singular (I, My,
Mine) first person plural (we) second
person (you) Third person(He/She/ It or a
name) Third person plural (They)
Tense – Past, present, future.
Type of text. Think about the
conventions of that text ( what we
normally expect from it) and why a
writer has chosen o use it. Also think
about the intended audience of the text
who is it written for). Types of text might
be: A letter, a diary, a monologue, a
sonnet, a soliloquy, an interview, an
article, a leaflet, a speech, an internet
site, a blog
9. Overall Structure: How is
the piece structured (put
together)? Are their points of high
tension or low tension and why?
Do we get hints that something will go
wrong before it does (foreshadowing)?
Why?
Does the poem develop or change tone
(mood)? Why?
Does the tone (mood) change from the
beginning to the end? Why?
Do the words reflect the structure... for
example if there is a clash in tone (mood)
between the beginning and end, are
there words that clash too?
For a B or higher...IS THE
TECHNIQUE USED EFFECTIVE
(successful)? OR NOT? Why?
10. Use these phrases to help you show the
examiner that you are hitting the criteria!
Saying things are similar
Likewise
Similarly
Just as..., ‘X’ also...
In the same way,...
Equally, ...
Such themes are also explored in ‘X’...
Saying things are different
Although
Whereas
While
Alternatively
On the other hand
An alternative view is given by...
‘X’, however, offers a different
perspective...
11. The
use of the word ‘.....’ suggests
This perhaps suggests...
This detail seems to suggest...
Such vocabulary seems to indicate...
The use of (eg. Metaphor)
emphasises...
Through the use of (eg. A metaphor)
the writer is suggesting that...
It may be argued that...
It could be claimed that...
Some might interpret this to mean
that...
The use of the word ‘...’ might
suggest to the audience that...
Giving different interpretations
Words to show analysis
