How do I approach poetic analysis?

When approaching poetic analysis, you should focus your attention on four key branches.  Firstly, I would draw my attention to language: Labelling poetic techniques, from antithesis to personification, displays your understanding of the text as a poem, whilst adding a sense of sophistication to your argument. I would advise you to focus on two or three 'juicy' metaphors/similes, and write a lot about them - what do they infer, what are their effect on you, and why did the poet use them?  Secondly, I would explore poetic structure: Identify the narrator of the poem, and whether their voice belongs to a fictional persona, or to the poet themselves. What rhyme scheme does the poem follow? How does this affect the tone of the piece?  Additionally, consider the imagery used by the poet: How has the poet constructed this vivid, sensory experience, and how does this link to the message they are trying to convey?  Ultimately, do not merely express what the poem says, but what EFFECT is it having, and what is it trying to tell? What does the melancholic tone suggest about the subject of the poem? What is this metaphor inferring about the persona's mood? As long as you label techniques, explore interpretations, write a lot about a little and explore the EFFECT of all of this, you are certain to impress the examiner.