Poetry Revision Tips

General tips for looking at poems

1. What is the poem about?

Try to summarise the main subject of the poem in one or two lines

2. Who is speaking in the poem? To whom?

Is it the poet’s voice speaking in the poem or is the voice of someone else? Who is the poet speaking to? Are they speaking to you? To themselves? Is there another voice in the poem?

3. How does the poem convey its message?

Verses – what can you say about the poem’s appearance? Why has the poet presented it in this way?

Imagery – what are the main images? Which are particularly striking? Are there any comparisons? similes?, metaphors?, personification?

Alliteration/Assonance – how do repeated consonant or vowel sounds affect the sound of the poem?

Rhythm/Rhyme – what effect do the rhymes have? How does the poem move? Does it have a light rhythm, slow rhythm?

Punctuation – what does this tell you about how the poem should be read?

Mood – what is the mood of the poem?

4. Why do you think the poet has written the poem?

How does the poet feel about the reader? Are you being pleaded with, mocked, laughed at, preached to? Is the poem trying to move you, persuade you, entertain you?

5. What is your personal response to the poem?

How did you react to the poem? Did it move you, make you think/feel? Do you think the poem is effective?