Poetry Analysis Prompts

Before you even begin, annotate your poems thoroughly and then look for…and write a rough
organized plan that covers…
1. ideas in the poem that connect to each other (themes, motifs, culture, society etc)
2. significant patterns that are similar (structure, rhythm, rhyme, stylistic features)
3. relationships between the parts of a work (use of poetic devices, stylistic features, universal
ideas)

You must analyse, include examples of and fully explain…

1) What purpose does this poetic/literary device serve?
2) How does the author communicate his or her purpose through this device?
3) Why do readers have this response to the poetic device?

Note: Use the author’s full name in the introduction, and then use the author’s last name for the rest
of the essay.

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PROMPTS
Heaney uses…to convey…
The effect of using…creates a…for the reader.
Heaney’s mastery of...emphasizes the…impact of the poem.
Heaney creates a … tone through his use of …
Heaney uses _______, _______, and _______, (insert three different poetic devices) in (insert
name of “poem”) to (illustrate, convey, reveal, or another verb) (insert the main idea or purpose of
the poem).
It is clear in…that Heaney is attempt to emphasize the importance of…
The main ideas of each poem relate to the universal experience of…
The language of the poem reflects the speaker's perceptions of…

Heaney’s use of …language influences the reader's perception of…in respect to…
The poet reveals the character in the poem through his use of … (e.g. diction, sound devices,
imagery, allusion)

The two poems contrast in form, tone or imagery, as one is….and the other is…

Heaney uses …language to emphasize the notion of…

The poet provides two different aspects of…

Each poem use extended metaphor to represent…The metaphors…and... reveal(s) the speaker's
attitude about…which is…

The use of…reveal the poet’s strong connection to his cultural heritage, as well as his preoccupation
with…

The structure of the narrative reflects the poet's changing reaction to … (subject) and creates a
contrast between…

Heaney employs … [technique] in order to establish …

The word … suggests …

The …tone of the poem is created through the use of …

Lines …can be interpreted to mean … because …

In lines …, the speaker is asserting …

In lines …, the speaker is portrayed as …through the author’s use of …

.
In lines …, the poem shifts from … to ….

…in line … symbolizes … because …

In lines …, the effect of the metaphor comparing … to … is ….

In lines …, the author juxtaposes … and … in order to suggest...

The main point of line/stanza … is to ….

The two poems reflect…

Both poems are characteristic of Heaney’s use of…

Although …and …contrast in the way Heaney uses …and …, they are similar in the way they …