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PROOF READ YOUR POETRY ESSAY

Read the list of common errors and weaknesses and check you have avoided them in you essay.

1. Check that you have written about stanzas not paragraphs.

2. Avoid making "empty" statements. Always include specific details. Below are some typical "empty" statements and improved versions.

EMPTY statements: Ask yourself: Improved versions:
"The poet explores many ideas in the poem." What are the ideas explored? "The poet explores ideas related to growing up: childhood innocence, changing perspectives on life and finally death."
"The poet creates atmosphere which is important." What atmosphere and why is it important? "The poet creates a magical atmosphere which is important as it contributes to the idea that storytelling is enchanting and has almost miraculous powers."
"The poet conveys thoughts and feelings" What are the thoughts and feelings? "The poet conveys  his thoughts about inequality in society and his feelings of anger about this injustice"
"This is a poem with a message and the writer uses different techniques to convey his message." What is the message? "This is a poem with a message about social injustice and the writer uses different techniques to appeal for change."
The poem has a tone" What is the tone  and why is it important? The poem has a bitter ironic tone which reflects the poet's feelings about social inequality"
"The poem is full of themes." What are the themes "The poem explores many themes: childhood innocence, mortality and the power and beauty of the natural world."

3. Be clear about from whose perspective the poem is written. Some poems have a first person narrator, an invented character. The viewpoint of a first person narrator might or might not be the same as the viewpoint of the poet. The  narrator of "Spectator Ab extra" does not in any way express the poet Arthur Hugh Clough's views, though we can sense what his views are. The fourteen year old boy narrator of "Before the Sun" does express a viewpoint shared by the poet.

4. Be confident and certain! Avoid using more words than are necessary and avoid words which suggest you are not sure about the meanings in the poem. The words crossed out in the examples below should be avoided.

These phrases contain unneccesary words what is wrong with the words crossed out? These are better phrases
"The writer tries to convey the idea of the power of the natural world." "tries to" implies that the writer has attempted to express an idea but has failed. You also don't need "the idea of", just give the idea (the power of the natural world) "The writer conveys the power of the natural world."
"This might suggest despair." "might" is very uncertain and implies that you aren't completely sure - it might or it might not. Give your personal response and your feeling - if despair is suggested to you then don't be afraid of writing it. "This suggests despair." or,

"To me this suggests despair."
"This might have a deep meaning." Anything and everything "might have a deep meaning". As well as suggesting uncertainty this is an empty statement (see no.2 above) What is the meaning? And why is it particularly deep? Do poets also give shallow meanings? This means ....(complete with an explanation of what it means)
"This could possibly symbolise freedom." Anything is possible!

Make a decision - does it symbolize freedom or doesn't it?

 "This symbolises freedom."

Words and images can suggest more than one meaning and can be interpreted in different ways. Don't worry that in stating a meaning with confidence you are denying other meanings. The examiner wants to know your personal response so don't be afraid to give it. If seemingly contradictory ideas are suggested in a poem you can acknowledge the ambiguity and explore it.

5. Avoid a line by line or stanza by stanza analysis where each  paragraph of your essay begins in the same way, "In the first stanza," then the next paragraph begins, "in the second stanza", then "in the third stanza" etc. Organise the structure of your essay in relation to the specific demands of the essay question.

6.Write about the poem using the present tense. Even if the poet is dead the poet still communicates his ideas, so don't write  "the poet conveyed ...", "this stanza suggested...", "the image was about...", "the tone of the poem was ..." etc. Write, ""the poet conveys...", "this stanza suggests...", "the image is about...", "the tone of the poem is ..." etc.

7. Make sure quotations are presented correctly. All short quotations should be in quotation marks and they should be integrated into sentences, eg.

The boy describes the "sweet nose-cleaning odour" of the wood in a precise way which conveys pleasure and shows his intense awareness of the the fresh  "sweet" world around him. The purifying effect of the natural world is suggested by "nose-cleaning", as he breathes in he feels cleansed.

Longer quotations should be in the same format as in the original and do not need quotation marks if they begin on a new, indented line. eg.

 

In the stanza describing the boy's ambitious determination and the pleasure he takes in chopping the "big log" simple repeated diction and the position of line breaks help to give an immediate sense of the boy's actions. We can sense the swinging of the axe and pauses for breath at the end of each line,

It is a big log:

but when you are fourteen

big logs

are what you want

The shape of the stanza helps us to identify with the boy's pride in tackling a "big log".

8. Identify poetic devices only if you are able to comment on their effects. Listing literary features and poetic devices without commenting on their effects is pointless. Link the effects of features to the meanings of the poem. Do not make points like, "this poem has seven stanza, four examples of alliteration and two metaphors". You might think you are writing about effects if you make a point like, "The alliteration and rhyme make the poem flow and keeps the reader interested" but this is not a relevant exploration of effects, there is nothing here about the poem's meaning.