How to Approach Unseen Poetry
Adapted from an online article By Paul McCormack,
English Teacher at The Institute of Education
• Read the questions first. Targeted reading is important in any
comprehension task. Know what the question is looking for, and have that
in the front of your mind when reading the poem.
• If there is a basic Personal Response question, try to establish the
main theme, story or gist of the poem. Put simply, try to establish generally
what the poet is writing about and why the poet is writing about that theme.
• Read through the poem a second time.
• Be aware of the fact that often in poetry seemingly inexplicably lines
are metaphors and the words have a meaning that is not immediately
apparent.
• If on the second reading, you still do not understand a particular section
from the poem, move on.
Failure to understand a particular line or image should not stop you from
answering the questions effectively.
The second reading is also the time when a slow and careful, line by line analysis
of the poem, should allow you to highlight any examples of the tools of the poet in
the poem:
1. Alliteration
2. Assonance
3. Sibilance
4. Onomatopoeia
5. Simile
6. Metaphor
7. Rhyming
8. Juxtaposition
9. Personification
10. Meter
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