How do I approach an unseen poem or extract in an exam context?

The first thing to prioritise in approaching an unseen piece is to understand what is actually happening in the text at a more basic level, identifying key events and characters. After establishing this, you can reread the extract to try and establish what the key theme is that the piece addresses. Now you have a primary thesis, you can use evidence from the text to prove it. This can be done most accurately by looking for patterns throughout in the imagery and structures used. It is often more accurate to look for patterns because it is more difficult to misinterpret the relevance of an image that comes up multiple times. Once this is done, you can focus on planning and completing the essay.