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Structure for an essay on poetry!

Hi all
l'm doing an essay on poetry and this is all new to me and I would like some ideas in how to do a structure for the poem? Please
Thank you
Trezza12
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Hello!
I do understand how you're feeling; this was me when I first started doing this thing. Don't worry though; you'll learn in time, and the best way to do it is by always writing essays (or writing it whenever, really).

To write an essay on poetry for A-Levels you need to understand this skeleton structure:
Introduction
Point
Explanation
Quote
Repeat
Conclusion

The introduction is when you introduce both the poem you are studying and the topic that is given in the question. This is usually about two sentences long so don't stress yourself over the assumed size (and lack of grandeur) in this first paragraph. You'll eventually write a lot in the next few paragraphs anyway.
After you introduce the poem + topic, you need to make your last sentence about the points that you're going to raise in the essay itself. This is called signposting and it's highly recommended you do this because it makes your essay seem more organised and the examiner/lecturer will know what to expect when reading it.
It's ok if you don't want to signpost though, because sometimes in some essays, the topics you are tackling make it difficult to signpost, or maybe the style of essay writing you are adopting makes signposting seem super awkward, but then in exchange you've to make it up with really good writing. Only do this when you're experienced, comfortable and rebellious!

Next is Points - Explanation - Quote - Explanation. Rinse and repeat. The explanation and points can be interchanged with one another in any order, but the most important thing is that you've to establish your point first. What should your point be about? It's either the meaning of the poem, or the poetic technique, or both.

If your point is about the meaning of the poem:
Elaborate. Why? Where is the evidence (this is when you use quotes)? How (this is when you bring in poetic technique)?

If your point is about poetic technique:
Elaborate. What examples are found in the poem (quoting)? What effect does it create? What does it mean (this is when you bring in meaning of the poem)?

Quoting isn't that complicated though: at the very least you need a phrase (or examples of single words), and at the very most, two or three lines. Never overquote, and always put your quotes in 'like this'.

Concluding is when you signpost again (bring up the points you mentioned before). If you decided not to signpost earlier, this is your last chance to do it. And then try to link all your poems together. What does this all mean? Why does the poet want to do this? And then you need to provide YOUR OWN opinion about what the poem means to you, and if you like it, tell the examiner why. Don't go overboard with this but personal response is very important to gain a higher grade.

Other tips: always refer to the poet by their last name, be careful with your punctuation, quote properly (a reminder).

Overall, don't worry so much! Just keep writing and eventually, after learning from your mistakes and figuring out your writing style, you will eventually settle down into writing a pretty comfortable essay. You'll soon find out it's just like writing any other paper.
It's maybe easier for some people to see this advice IN ACTION, so I've decided to do a super quick analysis on a Shakespeare poem (Sonnet 18; simply because it was the first poem I had to analyse ever)
It's not the best essay I can write (I swear I can write beautifully), but it should be enough for beginners:

William Shakespeare | Sonnet 18


Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.


A Made Up Question:
Perform a close analysis on this poem, with attention to technique and language, on how the poet portrays the theme of love.

Introduction:
Shakespeare is a man who, besides penning some of the world's most popular plays, is well-known for his love poetry; celebrated because of his linguistic sweetness, artistry, and technical fluency, and adored because he expresses so well the rawest desires of the heart that is usually too hard to articulate. His love poetry has been used by many a lover throughout the ages to woo their beloved, and one particular example is Sonnet 18. (signposting) In this poem he expresses love in various ways, by using juxtaposition (Point 1) and poetic structure (Point 2).


Point 1:
How Shakespeare juxtaposes the natural imagery present in the poem to the beloved is interesting. Aspects of nature are compared, often unfavourably, to personal qualities of the beloved. For example, 'rough winds..shake the darling buds of May' makes the beloved appear more 'lovely and temperate' in comparison. With this, the beloved is placed in an elevated position, because by implication they are better than the powerful, uncontrollable forces of nature, and due to this, can be considered a more perfected being than Mother Nature herself and all her aspects.


Point 2:
Shakespeare also expresses the perfection of a beloved by integrating this very perfection into his poetic structure. Here he uses the typical sonnet form with no deviances, and the rhyme scheme is very regular throughout: abab followed by cc for the final couplet. This suggests an order which in this case is not exemplified by nature (the sun that shines too hot, the rough winds, summer's short duration; basically 'nature's changing course'), and closer to what is exuded by the beloved.

Conclusion:
Overall, Shakespeare expresses the theme of love by juxtaposing nature unfavourably to the beloved, and by reflecting the eternal perfection of the beloved by using poetic structure. Though short and sweet, this carefully crafted poem carries with it the pecularities of his artistic genius and can easily be considered one of the finest examples of Shakespeare's poetry. It is no surprise that it has endured to become a classic in love poetry and in poetry as a general whole.



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