How to Understand the Basics of Poetry

This page takes you through everything you need to know when starting out with understanding the basics of poetry. It’s great for complete beginners, or experienced writers wanting to refresh their knowledge. It’s equally useful for literature students, such as those taking GCSEs, IGCSEs, and A-Levels. If you’re totally stuck on poetry and how to […]

Little Boy Crying – Essay Example A* Grade

This is a practise essay from the poem “Little Boy Crying” by Mervin Morris – completed by myself, not in timed conditions. It would receive an A* / full mark grade, due to its clear structure, in-depth exploration of themes and ideas, sensitivity to a personal response, and focus on form, structure, and language. Use […]

Checking Out Me History: Summary and Analysis

‘Checking Out Me History’ is an incredible poem. While I was writing it, it led me to think about my own personal history and cultural influences, and I encourage you to do the same! It’s like going down a historical rabbit hole, as you learn more about the history of your ancestors you also discover […]

Charge of the Light Brigade: Poem + Analysis

‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ is such a perfect, powerful poem – it’s full of strength and momentum, that captures the movement of horses as they charge forwards into battle. The atmosphere is honourable, brave, and admirable. Yet, the context was that these soldiers were charging into a battle they had no hope of winning, […]

Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker – Poem Analysis

Imtiaz Dharker’s ‘Tissue’ is a difficult poem – there’s no way around it. So many of my students panic about it and have nightmares that it’s going to come up on the exam. Even teachers get stressed and worry whether they’re teaching it properly, I had a conversation once with a teacher who had been […]

Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes: Poem + Analysis

‘Bayonet Charge’ by Ted Hughes is a poem about the confusion and chaos of war, where the ideologies of countries, governments, and nations transfer to the individual soldiers who fight for them. These soldiers are forced to give up their lives for the sake of abstract beliefs such as honour and patriotism. The soldier in […]

Extract from The Prelude: Poem + Analysis

Below, you’ll find a poem and analysis of Wordsworth’s ‘Prelude’, specifically the ‘Extract’ about boating – rowing out on a mountain lake. What a strange poem! Wordsworth goes out at night by himself, steals a boat, and rows out onto a lake. He’s terrified by a mountain (?) and runs off home again. The experience […]

Farmhand by James K Baxter — Poem Analysis

Below, you’ll find a detailed analysis of James K Baxter’s poem ‘Farmhand. Youth, innocence, awkwardness and rural life — this poem encapsulates Baxter’s own experience as a young man living in New Zealand. Here’s a detailed breakdown of everything you need to know about the poem. It’s tailored towards the Edexcel IGCSE syllabus, but it’s […]

Robert Frost — A-Level Essay Questions

These essay questions are tailored towards A-Level style exams (CIE/Cambridge, AQA, OCR, CCEA, Edexcel, WJEC/Eduqas), but they’re suitable for students studying Robert Frost’s poetry at any level, from GCSE and IGCSE onwards. They are a mixture of close reading (close analysis) and comparative or wider reading — as most are theme-based, feel free to adapt […]

Desert Places by Robert Frost — Poem Analysis

Below, you’ll find a detailed analysis of the poem ‘Desert Places’ by Robert Frost. This is a poem that we can all connect within current times: it explores feelings of emptiness and loneliness, as well as the fear but also positive experiences that can come from being placed into a state of isolation. Frost’s poem […]