speaker / listener

Really important - what is the voice that we hear in the poem?  

Is it anonymous?  

Is it perhaps a voice which simply describes something without revealing anything about itself?  

What’s the effect of that voice on the poem?  

Is it an individual person’s voice?  

‘Let us leave now, you and I …’  

What impression do we gain of that speaker: who is ‘I’?  Who is ‘you’?  Are the characters revealed?

Is there a voice of a clearly identified character?  Perhaps there is dialogue in the poem between different characters: if so, who are they, and what’s the effect of this dialogue?

When writing about the poem, it's usually helpful to refer to the ‘speaker’ in the poem, rather than ‘the poet’ - this signals to the examiner that you’re aware that real-life poets can sometimes choose to adopt other voices, a sort of impersonation if you like.  The ‘I’ of the poem need not necessarily be the voice of the real-life person who wrote the poem, so using the word ‘speaker’ can help you to comment more objectively.

And is there a particular listener or reader identified in the poem?  

For example, a poem which is a monologue may be spoken to an implied or clearly identified listener - if so, who is that person, and what role do they play in the poem?

Or there may be reference made to a reader, anyone reading and thinking about the poem - for example, in a general statement or ‘message’ referring, for example, to ‘us’.  This is quite often a technique used by poets who are trying to involve us in their thoughts or the main topics of the poem.  

For example, a poem about climate change and environmental damage might use an anonymous voice (the poet talking), but might address other people in general.  

Whilst the ice-caps melt, and polar bears nuzzle the rocks beneath

We must heed the warning, change our lives

To save what cannot return once lost.

Here we can note that readers are being addressed - not a particular, single listener, but perhaps readers or listeners in general.  In this poem, the speaker is attempting to bring the listeners on side, to agree with them that action to save the planet from further environmental damage must be collective.

At other times, the listener may be an individual, identified, or anonymous.  

You will find many examples of this sort of listener in love poems - the ‘you’ who is being addressed may not be named or revealed, but might clearly be the person to whom the speaker is talking.   You should comment on anything that we learn about the listener and the speaker’s attitude towards them.