Poetry Analysis and Techniques

What this page covers

This unit is a large collection of poem-by-poem study material made by GoConqr users. Most of it is mind maps, which break a poem into stanzas, quotations and techniques. You will also find flashcard decks, notes, quizzes and slide sets. The exams named in the listed resources include GCSE English Literature, A-level English Literature, National 5 English, IGCSE Literature, Leaving Certificate English, HSC English and SQA Higher.

Poems and poets you will meet

• Classic voices: the mind map on London by William Blake, the Ozymandias flashcards and Do not go gentle into that good night.
• Modern poets: Carol Ann Duffy, with Mrs Midas, Valentine and Mrs Darwin, plus Simon Armitage and Seamus Heaney.
• Scottish poems: the Edwin Morgan analyses of Hyena, Trio and Winter, and The Castle by Edwin Muir.
• Comparisons: the mind map comparing The Harvest Bow and Mending Wall, and the flashcards planning a comparison of When we two parted and Neutral Tones.

Where to start

If you need the technical vocabulary first, open the Poetic Devices mind map and the Poetry Terms flashcards. Then move to a single poem. The Hyena analysis shows how a mind map can pick out a poem of address and a persona. The Mrs Midas map lists techniques stanza by stanza, such as personification, next to the quotations they come from.

Using maps and quizzes together

Read a mind map slowly and note the quotation and technique pairs. Then test yourself with a quiz such as Manhunt - Simon Armitage - Quiz or the Poetry Definitions quiz. Where you slip, go back to the map or the matching flashcards. For exam practice, the notes on unseen poetry and on comparing two poems are useful next steps. Teachers can pull a map or slide set straight into a lesson.

Where it sits

This unit belongs to the Poetry strand of Literature. Pick one poem from your course, work through its map and quiz, and then make your own flashcards for the lines you find hardest.