Clashes and Collisions
Introduction to poetry module
How the following images relate to this topic?
What do I have to do?
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Poetry makes up 25% of your literature
GCSE!
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In your exam, you will have two questions:
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One will be based on a collection of
poems you will have studied, (in an
anthology you will be given). The question
will name one poem, and you must
compare it to any other from the group.
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The other question will be on a poem that
you have never seen.
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To succeed in this question you must
be able to analyse any poem!
Assessment criteria
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AO2 (17.5%) Explain how language, structure
and form* contribute to writers’ presentation of
ideas, themes and settings
AO3 (7.5%) Make comparisons and explain links
between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways
of expressing meaning and achieving effects
KEY POINT: YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW
ALL THE TECHNICAL TERMS AND GET NO
MARKS FOR ‘TECHNIQUE SPOTTING’- YOU
MUST MAKE LINKS TO WHAT THE POEM IS
ABOUT...
Language
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LANGUAGE - the words used by a writer. You
need to comment on what effect they have, and
how they help build up what the poem is about.
Useful language techniques:
Metaphor / Simile / Personification (can all be
called ‘imagery’!)
Onomatopoeia
In addition, it is useful to be able to pick out
interesting nouns, adjectives, verbs and
adverbs.
Structure
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STRUCTURE- how the poem is put together. How does it look
on the page?
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Is there a rhyme scheme? Some useful structural elements:
Stanza A group of lines in a poem. A stanza is similar to the
paragraph.
Quatrain A stanza of four lines
Couplet A stanza of two lines
Alliteration Sound effect: repeated consonants at start of word
Plosives harshest consonants: b/d/g/p/t/k sounds
Consonance Sound effect: repeated consonants anywhere
Assonance Sound effect: repeated vowel sounds
Sibilance Sound effect: repeated ‘s’ sounds
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Rhyming couplet two lines that rhyme with
each other
Rhyme scheme is there a pattern to how it
rhymes?
Rhythm* is there a pattern to each line?
(Count the syllables, say it slowly)
*Some common rhythms:
pentameter 5 strong beats (usually around 10 syllables)
tetrameter 4 strong beats (usually around 8 syllables)
iambic alternating strong and weak beats eg iambic
pentameter
Form
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FORM - here are some common poetic forms
(all appear in this collection except sonnets)
Ballad Tells a story, often in quatrains
Elegy Sad and thoughtful, often written for the
dead
Dramatic Monologue A made up character
speaking on their own
FREE VERSE not using a common form, a lot of
modern poetry does this!
Sonnet 14 lines, often ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
or similar, often about love