Year 9 poetry essay assignment…

Technique analysis… It can be difficult to link the poetic technique with its effect on the reader. Hopefully the following tips will assist you in doing this…

Assonance – a repetition of vowel sounds. Read the following example from Cormac McCarthy’s Outer Dark: “And stepping softly with her air of blooded ruin about the glade in a frail agony of grace she trailed her rags through dust and ashes…” 1. What type of assonance is evident here? 2. What is the effect on the reader?

Suggested answer 1. The author has used a repetition of the long “A” sound throughout this extract. 2. The effect of this usage is a sense of struggle and exertion. The woman must struggle and the use of assonance, the “A” sound, makes one almost hear the sound of this seemingly agonising walk. See how the long “A” sound links to the sound that “agonising” makes – this is a smart way to make a connection between the feeling and the technique…

Assonance Two Read the following example from Sylvia Plath The Moon And The Yew Tree. “The moon is no door” 1. What type of assonance is evident here? 2. What is the effect on the reader?

Suggested answer 1. The author has used a repetition of the long “O” sound throughout this extract. 2. The long “O” sound creates a mournful feeling, adding to the gloomy and heavy atmosphere of the poem…

End rhyme When specific words rhyme you can say that those words are put into a special kind of relationship with each other. Ask your self why the poet made those two words rhyme. Does it emphasise anything?

End Rhyme Oodergoo Noonucal’s poem ‘Colour Bar has the line: ‘because my skin is brown, This I live down’ 1. Where is the end rhyme? 2. What is the effect of the end rhyme?

Suggested Answer Oodgeroo Noonuccal has coupled “brown” with “down”. This use of end rhyme has linked these two concepts – “brown” meaning skin and “down” connoting depression. It suggests that the racist taunts have a negative impact on the Aboriginal people, psychologically.

Alliteration Again, think about why a poet has used a series of words that start with the same sound… Is he or she reinforcing a particular idea? Does it emphasise a particular word?

Alliteration Example: ‘Time tenderly ticks away…’ 1. What is the alliterated letter? 2. What is the effect on the reader?

Suggested Answer The ‘t’ sound is being alliterated. This maybe because the poet is wanting to emphasise the idea of time. The ‘t’ sound maybe representing the sound of a ticking clock.

Repetition Look at the example and answer the questions on your worksheet. ‘He always comes back groggily, groggily’ Island Man, Grace Nicholas 1. What is the repeated word? 2. Why is this word repeated?

Suggested Answer The repeated word is groggily. Groggliy means to be lacing energy and feeling cloudy and unfocused. This may link to how the poet is feeling about this particular place. He feels groggy having to face another day in London. He has emphasised this by using repetition.

Onomatopoeia Read the example and complete the questions on your worksheet. ‘The tinkle, tinkle, tinkle of the bells’ The Bells, Edgar Alan Poe 1. Which word is an example of onomatopoeia? 2. Why has the poet used this sound word?

Suggested Answer The sound word is ‘tinkle’. It shows a soft sound of the bells. The poet maybe wanting to express the gentle sounds of the bells. Bells are generally loud but he is offering a soft sound. Therefore, illustrating the soft sound of the bell.

Metaphor Read the example and answer the questions on your worksheet. ‘silver crashes to the floor’ Blessing, Imitiaz Dharker 1.What is the metaphor? 2. What is the effect of the metaphor?

Suggested Answer The metaphor is comparing water to silver as it bursts onto the floor. The effect is comparing the water to a precious element such as silver. This shows the reader the value water has to the people of the town.

Essay Tips NEVER: Use the words ‘interesting, gives a better understanding, gets the readers attention’ when writing an essay Use abbreviations Use first or second person. Always present tense. Use informal language e.g thing, sad, happy, a lot

Essay tips NEVER: Use non language techniques (imagery, tone) to analyse a text. You MUST have a language technique with it e.g. imagery can be seen through metaphor Use the words ‘the reader can imagine’ Say ‘the poet talks about’ or ‘the poet speaks about’. Use discuss, demonstrates, shows, illustrates Use the same technique twice in one essay.