Analysis guide
- 1. How does it look on the page? (before you’ve even read it) Is it neatly ordered into stanzas that have the same number of lines in each? Is it confused and scattered? WHY do you imagine...? What might that suggest about what will be inside the poem? (Chaotic? Ordered? Free? ) Do any stanzas or lines stand out? (stanzas, to sentences, to words and punctuation) TOP TIPS: SAY A LOT ABOUT A LITTLE W&W – What (has been used) and Why? (what does the writer want the reader to feel/think?)
- 2. Are there any words or images that stand out to you? It might be the way the word sounds or the image it creates in your head. Highlight them. Can you see a pattern in the words/images that you’ve highlighted? Tip: If you panic – think the other way round – e.g. which words DON’T stand out. Rhythm and rhyme. Is rhyme used? Why? Or is it in free- verse? (no rhyme or syllabic patterns – patterns are the number of beats) Which words are being paired/pulled together by the rhyme? Are they connected? Are they juxtaposed (opposite)? What is the pace like? (fast/slow and why) How does it affect the tone (mood)?
- 3. Look at these words or phrases that you’ve highlighted. What do the key words mean? Do they have another deeper meaning or a symbolic meaning? E.G. The CONNOTATIONS of red are... blood, danger, death, fire, love… Also – how do they sound? Hard (plosive) or soft (sibilant)? Why? Are the words one beat (mono-syllabic)? Or are they multi-syllabic? Why? How does it make the poem sound? does it affect the tone (mood)? Does it make the speaker sound nervous? Honest? Sad? Happy? Punctuation. How does it make the sentence sound? How does it change the pace (speed) or tone (mood). Does it reveal how the speaker is feeling?
- 4. Full stops = truthful and direct. Or could be breathy. If the full-stop is at the end of the line then it is end-stopped. Question marks – questioning?! Or persuasive if rhetorical. Exclamation marks – animated or shouting or passionate. Dashes – hesitant, confused, pauses for dramatic impact? Semi-colon or lots of commas – lists or long sentences – slows pace, adds tension, creates detail? Enjambment – sentence flowing over onto the next line. Does the poem flow or does it have moments that are awkward? Are pauses created (caesura - a pause in the middle of a line).
- 5. Techniques – why have they been used? How do they affect the tone (mood)? How do they make the speaker sound? Verb – a doing word eg spat Adjective – describes an object eg fat Noun – an object Proper noun – an important/named object (capital letter) eg. Jane Adverb – describes a verb eg. He ran QUICKLY (often end in ly) Plosive – hard sounding words (they often start with consonants eg kick) Sibilance – snakey sounding and soft eg. stroking softly she tried to stop her daughter’s pain Onomatopoeia – where the word sounds like the action eg. Crash
- 6. Simile – like or as (compares something) e.g. Her eyes were like marbles Mono-syllabic: one syllable – punchy effect/strong/deliberate Metaphor – compares something by saying that it IS another thing eg. Her eyes were marbles Imagery – words that link(throughout a piece) that are similar eg. Dark, shadows, foggy, bleak (imagery of death) Irony: like sarcasm so it is ironic that, having laughed at someone for tripping on the ice, Anna then falls herself. Dramatic Irony (where the audience knows something that the character does not) e.g. When a character is in trouble but they don’t know. Creates tension and makes it more tragic. Central Protagonist – the main character
- 7. Alliteration – two words that start with the same letter – increases pace and make it sound more forceful Assonance – same vowel sound in the middle of two words eg. The crumbling thunder of seas End-stopped – a full stop at the end of the line eg. It would end today. Enjambment – where it flows over the line eg she hardly ever Knew him. Caesura – a pause in the middle of a line e.g. Then all smiled. Together they Formal or informal language – think about the intended audience (who it is for) and what kind of relationship the writer is trying to create. Do they want the reader to like them or to feel intimidated by them?
- 8. Form (person, tense and what type of text it is) Person – first person singular (I, My, Mine) first person plural (we) second person (you) Third person(He/She/ It or a name) Third person plural (They) Tense – Past, present, future. Type of text. Think about the conventions of that text ( what we normally expect from it) and why a writer has chosen o use it. Also think about the intended audience of the text who is it written for). Types of text might be: A letter, a diary, a monologue, a sonnet, a soliloquy, an interview, an article, a leaflet, a speech, an internet site, a blog
- 9. Overall Structure: How is the piece structured (put together)? Are their points of high tension or low tension and why? Do we get hints that something will go wrong before it does (foreshadowing)? Why? Does the poem develop or change tone (mood)? Why? Does the tone (mood) change from the beginning to the end? Why? Do the words reflect the structure... for example if there is a clash in tone (mood) between the beginning and end, are there words that clash too? For a B or higher...IS THE TECHNIQUE USED EFFECTIVE (successful)? OR NOT? Why?
- 10. Use these phrases to help you show the examiner that you are hitting the criteria! Saying things are similar Likewise Similarly Just as..., ‘X’ also... In the same way,... Equally, ... Such themes are also explored in ‘X’... Saying things are different Although Whereas While Alternatively On the other hand An alternative view is given by... ‘X’, however, offers a different perspective...
- 11. The use of the word ‘.....’ suggests This perhaps suggests... This detail seems to suggest... Such vocabulary seems to indicate... The use of (eg. Metaphor) emphasises... Through the use of (eg. A metaphor) the writer is suggesting that... It may be argued that... It could be claimed that... Some might interpret this to mean that... The use of the word ‘...’ might suggest to the audience that... Giving different interpretations Words to show analysis
- 12. Also... Moreover... Furthermore... In addition... Additionally... This is effective because... This works well because... This is successful because... Or this is less effective because... To show evaluation Adding another interpretation