how to approach the poem

Normally the first part of the AQA ‘unseen’ poetry question requires a detailed exploration of the first poem.  The poem will be a short one, so the best approach to take is to ‘walk your way’ through the poem, starting your exploration from the beginning.

Before you start writing, you should begin by reading the poem silently to yourself, slowly, carefully and thoughtfully.  You can’t read aloud, but you should imagine that you are!  Go back over the poem and read it again, asking yourself how might you talk about the effect the poem has on you.

If it’s helpful, imagine you have a friend with you, and that friend is asking you to tell them about the poem you’ve just read.  Imagine the friend asking you these questions:

• What’s it about?  

• What are the interesting features of it?  

• What makes this poem special?  

• How do you react to the poem?  What does it make you think and feel?

Your answer will ‘talk through’ the poem - explaining as clearly as possible what it’s about, but also - crucially - exploring the ways in which its special language is starting to work on your imagination.

As you write about the poem, you need to be paying attention to how the poet is creating something special.  The poet isn't writing a ‘users’ manual’ or a report to shareholders.  They’re writing in a way which is intended to engage your mind and your feelings.  

How is that done?

The exam question will always ask you ‘how does the poet present ...’, or will use a similar phrase. 

The exam question is not asking you ‘what does the poet say’, but instead requires you to explore ‘how the poet presents’ her or his ideas / feelings / thoughts / etc.

So, some objectivity is required, and a sharply-focused awareness of the special features of poetic language.

As you go through the poem, it is helpful to check that you are paying specific attention to (at least) these features of the poetic writing:

• The title

• The speaker and listener

• The tone

• The form

• Rhyme (if present)

• Rhythm & metre of the poem

• Tenses used 

• Striking language

• Themes

• Any other interesting features of the poem

(Please note that this list is NOT a suggested structure for your answer, but is a list of points you are likely to need to cover in your answer.)