English Literature Edexcel poetry analysis

What are some good tips for impoving poetry analysis (For edexcel).

Some of your poems may have been analysed by Mr Bruff on YouTube, check out his account as he has some really deep analysis! (Although I am pretty sure his videos are for the AQA specification, some of the poems are covered in both exam boards).

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Student2416

In a comparative poetry essay you should ideally analyse a mixture of language, structure, poetic devices and feelings/attitudes. You should also make sure you refer to context and focus your analysis on the given theme and poems instead of rambling about irrelevant details. This is the best way to at least address all the Assessment Objectives. To improve your analysis mark make sure you know poems well so that you can make more sophisticated links between them and ensure that your analysis is unique and individual as well as offering a number of different interpretations of a key quotation, device or word.

A-level?

Original post by nani215

What are some good tips for impoving poetry analysis (For edexcel).

Attached is a 20 mark answer that I wrote for the anthology question, and, Neutral Tones is my favourite out of the anthology and One Flesh is a good comparison actually.

For improving analysis, obviously, start with anthology and remember (minimum) 4 key quotations for each poem, be clever about your choices: in class discussions, notice which quotations have points at least two points about language, structure and form connected to them. If you choose the ones with only language, (as interrelationship is not needed for this question), remember at least 2 structural and 2 form points for each poem. Also, you'll be given 1 poem in the exam, and you can choose the other one so study your favourite poems very deeply and just keep revision the other ones. Always think, "Which poem can I compare this to and why?".

Never use the noun "word". See what I did there?

Know all of your devices, inside out, back to front. Don't just name them, you must always analyse effect on reader and evaluate the writer's choice of language. Context, albeit 5 marks, should be weaved into every paragraph, best analysts link a choice of lang., struc. or form to the context very precisely. Don't just randomly put context in at the end of every paragraph. Whenever you begin to talk about the other poem use a comparative marker: 'Similarly', 'Likewise', 'Unlike...', 'Though...'. Always link to back to question at either the beginning of a piece of analysis, the end or both.

For the unseen, ask your teacher to find two poems, or you can go looking for other poems to analyse for yourself (do it without time constraints and then begin to do so), use other exam boards' poems too. I've attached 2 practice questions for you.

Just keep practising. (If you do relationships, I've also attached some practice questions.)