Poems from Under a Toadstool by Alicia Bayer

A good analysis has to think about how these link to meaning and effect. Identifying techniques is only the first step.

Once I’ve felt the mood and message of a poem, can I spot the ways the poet has used language to support the meaning? How do specific techniques link to meaning? Ways in which a poet uses language in a particular way to create effect eg simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification.

This can be a strategy for getting to the heart of a poem. What fires it up is thinking about the power of the language. When I read the poem and look away, what words, phrases or lines do I remember? Why are they powerful? How does the language of the poem support the overall effect and meaning?

The power of individual words or phrases and the overall effect of the language in a poem. The poem may have a rhyme scheme and/or a noticeable rhythm in each line.Ĭan you spot a rhyme scheme? Is this regular or varied? Are there a regular number of beats or stresses in each line? Does this vary? How does this link to the mood of the poem?ĭon’t just count beats and rhyming words, think how these link to the mood of the poem. Think about big and small building blocks of a poem - the overall shape, number of stanzas, length of stanzas, length of lines, movement between lines and stanzas. How might the way the poem appears on the page link to its meaning and effect? The way the poet has organised the poem on the page eg number of stanzas, lines per stanza, breaks in between lines and stanzas. If the poem does not have a specific form you recognise, think about the impact of the structure. Many don’t have an identifiable form.Ĭan you spot a specific form? Why might the poet have chosen this? How does it link to the message of the poem or its ideas? Some poems adopt specific forms eg sonnets or narrative poems. It is crucial to observe a poem's form, structure and language but once you've identified the techniques that a poet has used for these, you should think about how they link to the meanings and effects of a poem. Form, structure and language To see the difference between these three terms, think of a house where the whole building is the poem's form, the rooms are the poem's structure and the furniture is the poem's language

Poems from Under a Toadstool by Alicia Bayer