5
Form and Structure
Does the poem follow a regular poetic form (e.g. sonnets, ballads, haiku) or stanza
form (e.g. quatrains)?
Is the regularity in the form and structure broken in any part of the poem? How and
why?
Do the lines end with a completion of a thought or closed punctuation (i.e.
end-stopped lines) or flow without pause from one to the next (i.e. enjambment,
run-on lines)?
How do the form and structure contribute to the development of ideas and themes
in the poem?
4.
Sound Effects
What sounds are frequently used in the poem?
Is there a rhyming pattern/rhyme scheme in the poem? Are there any examples of
internal rhymes?
What is the rhythm of the poem? Can you identify the metre of the poem or a
pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables?
Does the poet use any sound devices (e.g. alliteration, assonance, consonance,
onomatopoeia)?
What effects do the devices create and how do they help to present the themes of
the poem?
5.
Poetic Devices
Does the poet use imagery in the poem? What senses (i.e. sight, hearing, smell,
taste, touch) are appealed to?
Does the poet use poetic techniques such as similes, metaphors, personification,
metonymy or other figurative language such as symbolism in the poem?
What effects do the devices create and how do they help to present the themes of
the poem?
6.
Diction/Word Choice/Use of language
How would you characterise the language and diction in the poem? Is there a
tendency to use a particular kind of language (e.g. colloquial/formal/slangy/archaic
expressions, polysyllabic/mono-syllabic words, foreign terms or indigenised varieties
of English)?
Is there any unusual use of language (e.g. inverted order of words, coined words)
that breaks the conventions and rules?
Are there any lines or words that stand out in the poem (e.g. repeatedly used or