Unit 2: Poetry


Key Skills in English


5. Point of view You should be able to identify the speaker or voice in the poem. Poets do not always write from their own point of view. Tey oſten adopt a persona (a role or character) to express an attitude. When you read a poem, ask yourself if the ‘I’ in the poem is really the poet speaking personally or if it is a persona, adopted to mimic somebody or mock an idea. Show how you know that it is not the poet speaking in his or her own voice but in that of a created persona. For example, in the poem ‘Base Details’, by Siegfried Sassoon, the poet creates a character to make a point about double standards. Te poet himself is not the speaker in the poem.


6. Imagery


You need to be able to comment on the use of imagery. Imagery refers to the pictures which can be formed in the imagination as one reads a poem. Poets usually strive to make their images original in order to convey their meaning. Most images relate to familiar things, so that the reader can draw on their own experience or memory and make the necessary connections.


Always look for images or words which involve the senses


and make you see, hear, touch, taste or smell; these sensuous images create a very powerful impact on the reader.


g


A simile is a stated likeness of one thing to another, using ‘like’ or ‘as’. In ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, Wilfred Owen uses powerful similes to describe the plight of the weary soldiers. He describes them as being ‘like old beggars under sacks... coughing like hags’. Tese similes are based on familiar things, so we can visualise the men, but the images are original and striking because we do not expect this depiction of heroic men fighting a war as being like old beggars hauling sacks.


A metaphor compares two things without using ‘like’ or ‘as’. For example, we could describe a man as being ‘like a lion in battle’ (simile) or we could say that ‘he was a lion in battle’ (metaphor). Te metaphor makes a stronger impact here, as it suggests that the man almost became a lion in his strength and ferocity.


A symbol is an image which represents or stands for something else. For example, a dove is oſten used as a symbol for peace.


76


i


r


m


a


e


y


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196