Poetry Alevel Help

Can someone please give me revision advice for poetry? Both unseen and set texts. I’m trying to revise all the language devices so far, but don’t feel comfortable enough in this subject yet.

Can someone please give me revision advice for poetry? Both unseen and set texts. I’m trying to revise all the language devices so far, but don’t feel comfortable enough in this subject yet.

Hi, I am currently in year 13 and currently predicted an A* for English Literature, so I will try to help as best I can
When studying an unseen poem, you first want to get a sense of who is involved. Try to work out who the speaker is, and any addressees in the poem. I start by annotating personal pronouns (him, her, we, us, you, and so on). Try to figure out what each one is referring to, to avoid confusion later on.
When reading through the poem, you should always read to the first stopping point (usually a full stop). If you take it sentence by sentence, then it is usually easier to grasp what is going on.
Once you have identified all speakers and addressees, you should start trying to find imagery for the setting (see if there are any descriptions of place or time). If you now have the speaker, addressees, and setting, you will probably be able to now understand the general gist of the poem and can start to look for different types of language and structure.
Look at the poem on the page: see if there are any lines that are drastically shorter or longer than the others, try to see if it has a rhyme scheme, are there any exclamation marks or question marks at the end of lines? do the stanzas run on to each other? After this, you should find that you will understand the tone of the poem better, which will help you to understand the theme of the poem. Don't forget the title of the poem, as this can sometimes provide useful help as to what it is about.
I like to separate the poem into beginning, middle, and end, as I think that this helps to show any turning points in the poem, and provides good grounds to writing an unseen essay.
If you practice this, then over time you will find that it becomes much easier to analyse poetry. These skills can then be taken through to your study of the set poems.

Here's a comprehensive guide for A-level Poetry revision:
For Set Texts:
For Unseen Poetry:
Practical Study Tips:
Remember: Poetry analysis is a skill that improves with practice. Don't just memorize interpretations - develop your own informed readings!