Winter Night: Edinburgh To understand how to approach an unseen poem including annotation, planning and writing.

5 Steps to Analysing Poems Subject Work out the subject of the poem How is the poem written and who is it addressing Purpose, Theme or Message What is the poet saying? Why? What is the purpose or what message is it trying to get across? Emotions or Feelings Identify the main feelings and the techniques used to show them. Techniques Impact What effect does the language have?

Winter Night: Edinburgh / Andrew Forster Similes Metaphors Semantic Fields Winter Night: Edinburgh / Andrew Forster Night falls quickly as turning back a clock But the City is alive with light Shops and cafes deny the darkness, throw light at the street like baited hooks. Offices spill workers onto pavements, The yellow drip of lamps washing colour From their faces as they pass beneath. Cars, trapped in a magnetic flow, controlled By coloured lights, thrust beams at the blackness. It can be seen for miles, this Metropolis: Glowing orange like a prehistoric fire.

Analysing the Poem What is the message of the poem? What feelings does the poet try to evoke in the reader? How do the techniques help relay the message and evoke the feelings?

What is the poet saying about Edinburgh on a winter’s night? Responding to the Poem What is the poet saying about Edinburgh on a winter’s night? A point, including the name of the poet, the title of the poem, the technique used and its purpose At least one piece of evidence that is supporting the point An explanation of the figurative and literal meaning of the evidence An explanation of how the evidence proves the point An analysis of the language used, including the connotations of keywords An analysis of the technique used, including the effect of the technique An analysis of the poet’s intentions, including their effect on the reader

What is the poet saying about Edinburgh on a winter’s night? Responding to the Poem What is the poet saying about Edinburgh on a winter’s night? In his poem “Winter Night: Edinburgh,” Andrew Forster says that the city is… This can be seen in the line… Literally, the line says that… Figuratively, the line means… The line shows that the city is… The word “…” connotes… Another word, “…” connotes… Forster’s use of … shows that… Forster wanted the audience to feel/think of…