Literature: Poetry
Poetry questions reward precision. The board usually asks you to read a stanza, identify its context, explain the lines in simple prose and name a poetic device with its effect; longer questions ask about theme, tone or the poet's message.
Core terms - apply them, do not just define them
- Imagery: words appealing to sight, sound, smell, touch or taste.
- Metaphor and simile: direct comparison versus comparison using 'like' or 'as'.
- Personification: giving human qualities to non-human things.
- Alliteration: repetition of the same initial consonant sound.
- Symbol: a concrete object carrying an abstract idea.
- Tone: the speaker's attitude, conveyed through word choice.
- Rhyme scheme: label with letters (abab, aabb) and, if asked, say what it contributes.
Worked example
Line: 'The tired wind creeps through the broken gate.' Question: Name the device and explain its effect. Answer: 'The wind is personified as something tired that "creeps". The verb slows the line down and makes the wind seem old and cautious, matching the broken gate and the neglected house.' Reasoning: name the device, quote the exact words that create it, then state the effect on meaning or mood. Naming alone earns only part of the mark.
Traps
Paraphrasing the stanza instead of explaining it; answering only two of the three parts of a reference-to-context question; naming a device without quoting or explaining it; reading the poet's biography into the poem; using 'the poet says' as the whole answer.