How should I structure my unseen poetry response in paper 1?

Read through the poem at least twice in its entirety before doing anything, thinking about any key themes which arise.Always write a plan, this will be in your answer booklet in the actual exam, but that doesn't matter, the examiner may even look at this since it allows them to better understand your train of thought, especially useful if you run out of time. Split your response into these sections:Subject (what is happening in the poem? what is it about?Themes (e.g. love, death, loss, nostalgia, time etc)Structuremicro (lines (caesuras and enjambment), rhyme scheme)macro (stanza length (regular?), beginning and end of the poem and how it progresses, is there a major change?)Languagetone (the way in which the words of the speaker come across e.g.sombre, nostalgic, regretful, humorous) look out for any tonal shifts.affected by semantic fields, alliteration, assonance, bilabial plosives etc.perspective (1st person, 2nd person (direct address?), 3rd person (more distant) )Human truths revealed (what is the significance of what has been said/revealed in this poem? why might the poet have chosen to write about this? what are they trying to say/reveal?) i.e. if you had to sum up the poem in one phrase, what would you say?

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Answered by Tutor157916 D. English tutor

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