1. Guidelines for Answering
Studied Poetry

2. You Must Know!
Theme
Techniques

3. When Answering
Keep in mind all features of the poem, do not concentrate on summing up the whole poem.
SMILES should help you stay on track and stop you summarising!

4. SMILES S= Subject matter (what is the poem about).
For example in ‘Wife Who Smashed Television …’ Durcan expresses his fears about the destructive nature of television and the oppression of women.

5. SMILES M= Message or Meaning.
This is also know as the theme of the poem. Why did the poet choose to write this poem? What are they trying to say?

6. SMILES
I= Imagery
Poets use images or pictures to help us imagine a scene or clarify ideas by comparing one thing to another. Poets want to create a very vivid image for their readers. Every poem has imagery so you should be confident discussing it.

7. SMILES
L= Language
The language of the poem refers to the poet’s choice of words. Poets choose words very carefully to convey exact meaning. It also refers to any poetic techniques used e.g. simile, metaphor, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyming, repetition etc.

8. SMILES
E= Emotions
This refers to the feelings of the poet as he/she was writing the poem, or the feelings of the reader while the poem is being read. Another word is tone or the atmosphere created.

9. SMILES
S= Structure
This refers to the format of the poem. Layout, how many stanzas etc.

10. SMILES
You do not have to write about each of these features in every answer but it is helpful to keep each one in mind if you feel like you are starting to summarise a poem instead of analysing. It can also be helpful to give you a checklist of what to discuss if you are asked to write about your personal response or asked why you liked or disliked a poem.

11. Questions … Make sure you read the question very carefully.
Underline the key words.
Spend a little time thinking about your response.
Write a short plan/brainstorm/spider diagram etc.

12. Evidence … Back up response with carefully chosen quotations.
Avoid writing out long sections of the poem. (waste of time!)
Choose quotations that will help illustrate/explain your points you are making.
Sometimes a word on its own will explain your point.

13. Answers …
Do not need to be very long …avoid rambling and repeating yourself.
Avoid telling the story of the poem – focus on the question asked.
Examiners are looking for quality not quantity.

14. Personal Response
Give a personal response to the poem this will get you more points.
Use phrases like; ‘I enjoyed’, ‘I liked’, ‘This made me feel’, ‘In my opinion’, ‘I was shocked’… etc.
Use SMILES.

15. Examples of language of personal engagement.
I can relate to the poem because …
This poem reminds me of …
I enjoyed this poem because …
What I liked/disliked about this poem was …
The poem opened my eyes to …
This poem helped me to understand …
The poem offers interesting insights into …
I particularly liked the image of …
I love the poet’s wonderful use of detail …
The poet’s eye for detail brings the poem/character to life …

16. Structure Brief introduction Clear, well structured paragraphs
Illustrate with reference to your point
Write a brief conclusion which refers to the question.