Chapters
To fully understand and enjoy a poem, it takes more than just simple reading. You'll have to develop an eye for reading between the lines to understand the author's intended meaning and core message. This is why poetry analysis is such a pivotal component of the GCSE English Literature syllabus.
If you're currently a GCSE student, be sure to read this article to understand how poetry analysis works and how you can ace this component during the actual exam for different poems.
Must-Know Key Terms For Poetry Analysis
Before mastering the techniques for poetry analysis, it's important to know what to look for and what to review carefully the moment you start reading a poem.
Poetry Analysis: An Overview of Literary Devices
To produce a comprehensive analysis of a poem’s theme, form, structure, language, or context, you'll need to understand how different literary devices work. 1
It is a set of tools/techniques used by writers to convey certain meanings or effects in their writings.
Let's look at some examples of these literary devices and the effects that each produces in writing for form and structure:
| Category | Device | What it is | Why the poet uses it (Effect) | Simple Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form | Sonnet | 14-line structured poem | Suggests intensity or emotional focus | Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (line 1) |
| Form | Free verse | No regular structure or rhyme | Suggests freedom, chaos, or realism | Leaves fall, brown, unnoticed |
| Form | Dramatic monologue | One speaker’s voice | Reveals thoughts and personality | "Tomorrow, and tomorrow..." (Macbeth) |
| Structure | Enjambment | Line runs on without punctuation | Creates flow, tension, or urgency | The road runs to the hill / And over |
| Structure | Caesura | Pause in the middle of a line | Creates emphasis or shock | To be, |
| Structure | Volta | A turning point in the poem | Shows a shift in mood or idea | But wait—now despair |
Literary Devices Under Language
A poem's language is not just about what it conveys literally or figuratively as we read it, but also how it sounds to our ears when it's recited.
Now, let's review the examples of literary devices that fall under the language category.
| Category | Device | What it is | Why the poet uses it (Effect) | Simple Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Alliteration | Repetition of starting consonant sounds | Emphasises key words; creates mood or pace | Wild winds whipped wildly |
| Sound | Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds | Creates a musical or emotional effect | Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese |
| Sound | Consonance | Repetition of consonant sounds | Adds rhythm; can feel unsettling | Pitter-patter |
| Sound | Onomatopoeia | Word sounds like its meaning | Makes the scene vivid and realistic | Buzz, crash, splash |
| Language | Metaphor | One thing described as another | Makes ideas vivid and symbolic | Time is a thief |
| Language | Simile | Comparison using like/as | Clarifies ideas for the reader | Brave as a lion |
| Language | Personification | Human qualities given to objects | Creates emotional connection | The wind whispered secrets |
| Language | Connotations | Implied meanings of words | Shapes reader response | "Slithered" (sneaky, evil) |
| Language | Semantic field | Group of related words | Reinforces theme or mood | Blood, guts, kill (violence) |
How to Analyse a Poem in English Literature
These five key terms and examples of literary devices eventually set the tone for the right steps to analyse a poem.
They not only help you to immerse completely when reading and studying a poem, but they will also help you to have a better organisation of poem analysis in the long run.
If you're new to this, here's a step-by-step recommendation to kickstart your poem analysis.
- Step 1: Read the poem several times to gain an overall understanding of its meaning
- Step 2: Identify the themes and ideas presented in the poem (what is the poet's main message?)
- Step 3: Identify the form and structure of the poem. Consider its rhyme scheme, meter, and stanza structure.
- Step 4: Analyse the language used in the poem. Look for any use of figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, and personification.
- Step 5: Review the writer's choice of words and consider how they contribute to the overall tone and mood of the poem.
- Step 6: Explore the poem's context — how it reflects the cultural and social concerns of the time in which it was written
Poetry Analysis: Penning Down The Right Words
That being said, it's important to form and structure your analysis to align with the exam board's assessment objectives (AOs). 2 Let's review the three main assessment objectives from the AQA examination board for poetry:
AO1
- Develop a personal response that is critical and convincing
- Based on textual references and quotations
- Mark allocation: 12 marks
AO2
- Analyse form, structure, and language in the poem
- Indicate the right terminology to explain how the writer creates meanings or certain effects
- Mark allocation: 12 marks
AO3
- Demonstrate deep understanding between texts and contexts
- Specific examples to show the relationship between them
- Mark allocation: 6 marks
Important tip: What examiners are looking for boils down to these three key words: Critical, exploratory, and well-structured. You should aim to score from 26 to 30 marks to reach the highest grade level for this section (Level 6).
Always link your points back to the question. If the question is about conflict, focus on evidence that shows conflict rather than everything you notice. It's best to use textual evidence as given (during the exams) when you want to quote something alongside your elaboration.
How to Structure Your GCSE Poem Analysis Answer
Now, we've arrived at the final part of this article. which is the actual structuring of your answer. When it comes to poem analysis for GCSE English Literature, candidates are usually asked to compare two poems.
Here's an example of a past year question for AQA English Literature Paper 2 in Section B for June 2024:
Compare how poets present powerful feelings about love in ‘Neutral Tones’ and in one other poem from ‘Love and relationships’. [30 marks]
You can follow this guideline to plan the structure and content for your final answer. 3
Introduction
Explain which poems you're writing and how both poems talk about powerful feelings about love (based on the question)
Example: Neutral Colours by Thomas Hardy and The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew
Second paragraph
Focus on themes and ideas: Similarities and differences
Example: Different forms of love, expressions of love, and their evidences
Third paragraph
Focus on form and structure: How does it convey certain meanings and effects
Example: Enjambment, caesura, and their evidences
Fourth paragraph
Focus on language: How does it convey certain meanings and effects
Example: Imagery, metaphor, and their evidence + methods
Conclusion
Summarise the key analysis and insights of the poems' comparison
Revision tip: You can adapt and modify the above guideline template to analyse different poems from other anthologies, such as Power and Conflict, and Worlds and Lives.
We hope you have found this article insightful. All the best in your preparation for your GCSE English Literature paper!
References
- What Is a Poetic Device? Definition, Examples & Uses in Poems. (2025, September 14). Spines. https://spines.com/what-is-a-poetic-device/
- Welcome To Zscaler Directory Authentication. (2024). Aqa.org.uk. https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-8702/specification/scheme-of-assessment
- BBC Bitesize. (2016, August 23). Structuring a comparative essay - Comparing poems - AQA - GCSE English Literature Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize. BBC Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zwh6xsg/revision/2
Summarise with AI:
Did you like this article? Rate it!
Loading...
