NOTES ON WRITING AN EFFECTIVE POETRY ESSAY:

INTERPRETATION

• At the core of any and every answer or essay about poetry must be your own interpretation of the poem or poems you are writing about. It is this alone that attracts the majority of marks. Basically, the more you interpret a poem - and give support for your interpretation - the higher your marks, and grade, will be. • Poems are rarely to be taken at face value. It is never the literal meanings that will gain you any marks - it is exposing and discussing the poem's 'deeper meanings' that bring in the marks every time. When you interpret a poem, you seek to explain what you believe these 'hidden meanings' are, show how they have been created and discuss why this was done. Remember: the meanings you seek exist 'between the lines'.

• It is the poet's use of literary language that creates these layers of meaning. Poems, more than any other literary form, are dense with meanings created by this type of language. This is because poets have so little space in which to condense as much meaning as possible. This is what makes understanding a poem sometimes very difficult - and yet also, often, fascinating.

KEY TIP!!

Many students lose marks by going off topic and misreading their poem. In most poems the poet will be using the poem to develop a single central idea or theme. This means that when you interpret what you think one part of the poem means, you need to be quite sure that, in some clear way, what you think fits into and adds to the overall idea being explored by the poem.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY:

Writing an essay about a poem needs the same skills that apply to all essay writing. • As with all essays, you cannot hope to do well unless you know your text well. Only then will you be able to develop a sufficiently strong viewpoint.

INTERPRETATION LANGUAGE STRUCTURE

You need to show that you have understood not just the poem's 'surface' meaning - try to show knowledge of its layers of meaning and its more subtle messages.

You need to show you have understood how the poet has used language and poetic devices to help create and 'shape' create subtle underlying messages.

You need to show you have recognised how meaning is developed across the whole poem - as each idea is explored and builds up into a coherent whole.

WRITING THE ESSAY:

Read the essay question or title very carefully.

Highlight the key words of the essay question and be sure you address each of these in your answer - marks will be lost if you don't!

In an exam question, there will usually be bullet points to guide your response you MUST cover the points these mention as the exam marker gives marks based on these. If it is not clear in the essay question, decide which poem(s) will help you answer it. Work out exactly what is required of you.

It is best to avoid generalised discussion of any kind in essays - always be clear and be precise.

Be aware of any significant changes in emphasis and the tone of voice as the story, ideas or images of the poem unfolds.

Be especially alert to the use of an ironic tone of voice.

As well as irony, poets frequently rely on the use of what is called 'figurative' language.

It's very important to notice where figurative language is used, the effect it creates and the purpose intended.

Figurative language creates 'figures' or images in the mind's eye.

FORMAT OF A POETRY ESSAY:

All essay’s have the same basic format:

IntroductionBodyConclusion

A poetry essay is no different. Each paragraph must focus on a different aspect of the topic. E.g. Diction, form, style, theme etc.

The introduction and conclusion need to start and end the essay in a clear manner.

QUESTION FROM MATRIC EXAM: NOVEMNER 2011

QUESTION 1: POETRY – ESSAY QUESTIONAN ABANDONED BUNDLE – MBUYISENI OSWALD MTSHALI

The morning mistand chimney smokeof White City Jabavuflowed thick yellowas pus oozingfrom a gigantic sore.It smothered our little houseslike fish caught in a net.Scavenging dogsdraped in red bandanas of bloodfought fiercelyfor a squirming bundle.I threw a brick;they bared fangsflicked velvet tongues of scarletand scurried away,leaving a mutilated corpse −an infant dumped on a rubbish heap −'Oh! Baby in the Mangersleep wellon human dung.'Its motherhad melted into the rays of the rising sun,her face glittering with innocenceher heart as pure as untrampled dew.

This poem conveys the speaker's attitude toward and feelings about the mother's actions.

By close reference to the diction and imagery used in this poem, discuss the above statement in an essay of 250–300 words (about ONE page). [10]

MARKING MEMORANDUM:

AN ABANDONED BUNDLE – MBUYISENI OSWALD MTSHALI• Use the following, among others, as a guide to marking this question. Responses might differ, depending on the candidate's sensitivity to and understanding of the poem, and the poet's intention.

The focus of the question should begin with the attitude and feelings of the speaker.

ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CAN BE CONSIDERED:

• 'dumped': a deliberate act on the part of the mother; her lack of feelingsemphasised; suggestion that she regarded her baby as just so much rubbish she had to get rid of.• reference to the baby Jesus in 'Baby in the Manger' – suggests the baby's innocence/sacred quality• 'dung': disgusting image – suggests mother's callousness in dumping baby here • 'melted': suggests secretive/furtive way mother went away and/or she is a gentle, vulnerable figure• 'rays of the rising sun': new beginning for the mother (without the baby) suggests speaker's inability to comprehend how a mother could do this• 'glittering with innocence': sarcastic tone – speaker disgusted/shocked by her ability to pretend that nothing has happened. Could also suggest poet is sympathetic towards the mother – understands why she has done this: her poverty-stricken background, poor living conditions or equivocal in this regard

• This perception is soon corrected when we read that the mist and smoke 'flowed thick yellow as pus oozing from a gigantic sore' – the reality of the situation is revealed: filth/pollution, unhygienic conditions, urban decay, moral and social decay, poverty, inability to escape from township life. Disgusting image/simile: the whole township looks as disgusting as a 'gigantic sore' – evokes feelings of revulsion, sympathy towards township people• 'White City Jabavu' – name is ironic: it is a township for black people and it evokes a feeling of disgust• 'smothered': emphasises pollution – difficulty breathing• Simile – 'like fish caught in a net': suggests difficulty of escaping from this life in the township – sympathy for people; also that a large number of people live here • 'scavenging':emphasises hunger of dogs, lack of food in the township and links to the ferocity with which they fought over the bundle

• 'draped in red bandanas of blood': image of large splashes of blood over the dogs' bodies – highlights how horrific the incident was for the speaker• 'squirming': suggests baby was still alive when dumped and at the beginning of the attack – makes mother's action seem much worse• 'velvet tongues of scarlet': evokes understanding of the horror endured by the speaker – sight of baby's blood on the dogs' tongues• 'mutilated corpse': emphasises horrible way the baby died after being abandoned by its mother

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