This book is a superb all-in-one guide to success GCSE English Language and English Literature - GCSE English 2003

Style and Structure in Poetry
Section Four — Poetry

Look at the poem 'as a whole' first. Different structures and styles are chosen for different kinds of poem, and it's worth writing about what you notice...

Learn the Different Types of Poem

There are different types or forms of poems.

Writing about the right form when you spot one WILL get you extra marks.

Ballads

They have a regular rhythm and are usually in four-line verses.

They usually tell an epic or dramatic story.(e.g. 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner') and often have a chorus (e.g. Irish folk songs).

Elegies

An elegy is written for someone who has died, and is usually quite a slow, thoughtful poem.

Free Verse

Sonnets

Sonnets are usually 14 lines long, with a regular rhyme scheme.

Popular with Shakespeare himself, and many other traditional writers.

You should be able to recognise these four types of poem

Some poems have structures that are easy to write about (e.g. sonnets). But you can write about any poem's structure, even if it's to make the point that it doesn't have a regular one.

Style and Structure in Poetry

Learn How to Describe the Structure

You've got no excuses for not knowing these words — they're really easy, and they make you sound ten times more convincing if you use them.

Work Out the Voice of the Poem

Examiners will be very impressed if you spot the type of narrator, and say how it makes you feel.

You can spot a first-person narrator pretty easily. They're the ones that use "I" and "me".

Write about structure to get lots of good marks

The structure is vital to mention. And it's great because you can write about it even if you don't really understand what the actual poem is going on about. So get cracking and learn it all properly.