How should I approach an unseen poem?

I tend to approach this with the help of what I call the Mamma Mia Mnemonic: 'Cher Found She Really Regretted The Dreadful Film'. Each word within this mnemonic represents a separate core poetic technique: content, form, structure, rhyme, rhythm, tone, diction and figures. I would encourage a student to use this framework to approach an unseen poem and improve their familiarity with techniques which fall into each category. I would then provide them with a list of these keywords for each category (e.g. metaphor, simile, synecdoche, metonymy for 'figures') and encourage them to learn at least 5 relevant key terms for each poetic technique. 

Related English Literature GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I compare two poems in my GCSE English Literature exam?


How do I structure a good introduction?


How do I write a good conclusion?


Explore the theme of violence in Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2024

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy