Poetry: Analysis of Poems for the Term – JSS1 Literature-in-English Lesson Note (Second Term)

Poem analysis is the study of a poem’s background and themes, its setting and its poetic devices to see how it creates meaning.

Lesson details

• Subject: Literature in English
• Class: JSS 1
• Duration: 40 minutes
• Topic: Poetry: Analysis of Poems for the Term (Background and Thematic Preoccupation, Setting, and Poetic Devices)

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. State the background and main themes of the prescribed poems.
2. Identify the setting of a poem, with evidence from the text.
3. Recognise and explain the poetic devices used in a poem.
4. Explain how background, setting and devices work together to create meaning.

Previous knowledge

• Poetry: students know it as a literary genre with features, types and basic elements.
• Figures of speech: students can identify simple ones such as simile, metaphor and personification.

Teaching aids

• Copies of the prescribed poems for the term.
• A chart showing common poetic devices.
• Pictures related to the themes of the poems.
• An audio recording of the poems read aloud (if available).
• A whiteboard for analysing a sample poem.

Introduction (4 minutes)

1. The teacher reads one prescribed poem aloud with expression.
2. The teacher asks: What is this poem about?
3. The teacher asks: How does it make you feel?
4. The teacher asks: What pictures came to your mind as you listened?
5. The teacher asks: What special words or phrases did you notice?
6. The teacher explains that a good reader looks beyond the surface meaning to ask three things.
7. The three things are: what inspired the poem, where and when it takes place, and what techniques the poet uses.

What are the background and themes of a poem? (10 minutes)

The background is the poet’s life and the time and events that led to the poem, while the theme is the central idea the poem is about.

• Teacher’s note: use the actual prescribed poems for every example below. Repeat the same framework for each poem.

What is the background of a poem?

• The poet: give the name, nationality and the subjects the poet usually writes about.
• Historical context: the time period, events and social conditions when the poem was written.
• Personal context: the poet’s own experience, what inspired the poem and what the poet wanted to achieve.
• Sample: a poem written during a war may come from a poet who lost family and wanted to show the pain of war and the hope for peace.

What is a theme?

A theme is the central idea or message about life that a poem presents.

• Main theme: state it as one complete sentence, such as “War brings suffering to innocent people”.
• Another example: “Nature provides comfort during difficult times”.
• Supporting themes: smaller ideas that the poem also deals with.

What is the difference between subject matter and theme?

• Subject matter: what happens or is described in the poem.
• Theme: the idea about life that the poem teaches through that subject matter.

How do poets present their themes?

• Imagery: pictures in words that show what the theme looks and feels like.
• Tone: the poet’s attitude (sad, angry, hopeful, nostalgic or celebratory) which supports the theme.
• Experience: the situation the poem describes, which shows the theme in action.
• Emotion: the feelings expressed, which link to the theme.

How do we find the message and relevance of a poem?

• Message: what the poet wants readers to understand or feel.
• Relevance: why the theme matters to human experience and to society today.
• Personal connection: students say how the theme connects to their own lives.

How are the themes of two poems compared?

• Similarities: themes or concerns that appear in more than one poem.
• Differences: different approaches, different views on the same idea, or themes found in one poem only.
• Class discussion: which poem’s theme is most relevant to your life, and why?

What is the setting of a poem? (8 minutes)

The setting of a poem is where and when its events or descriptions take place.

• Sometimes the setting is stated clearly. At other times students work it out from clues.

How is setting shown in poetry?

Poetry often suggests setting briefly, unlike prose, which usually describes it in detail.

• Short descriptions: a few lines that paint the place.
• Key words: words that point to a place or a time.
• Images: pictures that bring a particular environment to mind.
• Cultural or historical markers: references to customs, objects or events.

What are the kinds of setting?

There are four kinds of setting: physical, time, atmospheric and cultural.

• Time clues to look for: historical era, season (rainy season, harmattan, harvest time), time of day, and how long the poem covers.
• Evidence: always quote the lines that show the setting.

Why is setting important?

1. It supports the theme: a village setting can support a theme of traditional values and modern change.
2. It affects mood: the place creates the feeling of the poem.
3. It gives context: it helps us understand what is happening.
4. It may be a symbol: a river can stand for the flow of time and the course of life.

How are the settings of two poems compared?

• Similarities: shared places, times or atmospheres.
• Differences: different places or different moods created.
• Purpose: why each poet chose that setting.

Class activity

• Students close their eyes while the teacher reads a poem.
• They then draw the setting they pictured.

What are poetic devices? (16 minutes)

Poetic devices are special techniques poets use to express ideas powerfully and make poems beautiful and memorable.

• Teacher’s note: for each device, find a real example in the prescribed poems. The examples below are samples.
• This lesson covers fourteen devices in three groups: meaning devices, sound devices and feeling devices.

What are the devices of meaning and comparison?

• Simile: compares two things using “like” or “as”. Sample: “The sun rose like a ball of fire.”
• Metaphor: says one thing is another. Sample: “The classroom was a zoo.”
• Personification: gives human qualities to non-human things. Sample: “The wind whispered secrets through the trees” gives the wind the ability to whisper and creates a gentle, mysterious mood.
• Symbolism: an object or image that stands for a deeper meaning. A river is literally water but may stand for the course of life.
• Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration for effect. Sample: “I have told you a million times.”
• Imagery: words that create pictures or sensations in the mind using the senses.

What are the types of imagery?

There are five types of imagery, one for each sense: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.

What are the sound devices?

• Alliteration: repeats consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Sample: “Silent shadows slipped away” repeats the s sound.
• Assonance: repeats vowel sounds in nearby words. Sample: “the lone road home” repeats the long o sound.
• Onomatopoeia: uses words that sound like what they describe, such as buzz, bang and sizzle.
• Repetition: repeats words, phrases or lines to stress an idea, build emotion and make it memorable.
• Rhyme: uses similar sounds, usually at the ends of lines, to give music and unity.
• Rhythm and metre: rhythm is the beat of the poem, and metre is its pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

How do we describe rhyme?

• Rhyme scheme: the pattern of end rhymes, such as ABAB or AABB.
• End rhyme: rhyme at the end of lines.
• Internal rhyme: rhyme within a line.
• Perfect rhyme: the sounds match exactly. Near rhyme: the sounds are close but not identical.

What are tone and mood?

• Tone: the poet’s attitude towards the subject, such as sad, angry, hopeful or reflective.
• Mood: the feeling the poem creates in the reader, such as peaceful, tense or sorrowful.

How do we analyse a device in a poem?

1. Quote the line from the poem.
2. Name the device.
3. Explain what the line means.
4. State the effect on the reader, the mood or the theme.

How do devices support themes?

• Imagery: makes the theme easy to see and feel.
• Repetition: keeps the central idea in the reader’s mind.
• Symbolism: gives the theme a deeper meaning.
• Tone: shows how the poet feels about the theme.

How can devices be compared across poems?

• Similar techniques: devices that all the poems use.
• Different approaches: the device each poem relies on most.
• Most effective device: students choose one and give a reason.

Class activities

1. Students identify three poetic devices in a stanza and explain their effects.
2. In pairs, students pick a favourite line and explain which devices make it powerful.
3. Students write one original line using two different devices and share it with the class.

Evaluation (2 minutes)

1. What is the main theme of one prescribed poem, and why did the poet write it?
2. Describe the setting of a prescribed poem and say how it supports the theme.
3. Identify and explain three poetic devices used in a prescribed poem.
4. Quote one example of imagery from a poem and explain the picture it creates.
5. What is the difference between tone and mood?

Assignment

Choose one prescribed poem and write a one-page analysis.

1. State the main theme in one complete sentence.
2. Describe the setting (where, when and mood), with one quotation as evidence.
3. Make a table with three columns: Device, Example from the poem, and Effect.
4. List at least five different devices in the table.