45 minutes to write a response to a poem that you have never seen before Using the following technique is a good way to do well SLOTO S ubject L anguage O rganisation T hemes O ID: 637399
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Slide1
Unseen Poetry
In your exam, you have approximately
45 minutes
to write
a response to a poem that you have never seen before.
Using the following technique is a good way to do well:
SLOTO
S
ubject
L
anguage
O
rganisation
T
hemes
O
pinionSlide2
SLOTO:
Subject
Having read through the poem twice, decide what you think is actually happening in the poem. For example, perhaps it is a poem that is describing the horrible conditions a soldier faced in the trenches in WW1.Slide3
SLOTO:
Language
Next, pick out any interesting/significant pieces of language that have been
chosen
by the poet and
explain
their
effect
.
Perhaps this could be an individual word. For example:
‘And
towards our distant
rest
began to
trudge
.’
Why choose the verb ‘trudge’? Why not ‘run’ or ‘walk’? ‘Trudge’ gives the impression that they’re tired; that moving is laboured and difficult.Slide4
SLOTO:
Language
You should also look out for whole phrases and specific
poetic devices
that have been used. For example, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia:
‘Knock-kneed
, coughing like
hags’.
Why use this particular simile (comparison with like or as)? It gives the impression that war has aged young soldiers and makes them seem ill.Slide5
SLOTO:
Organisation
How has the poem been structured? You could comment on the length of lines, the number of stanzas, the number of lines per stanza. Is a rhyme scheme used?
Can you give any explanation for why the poet has structured it in the way that they have? Slide6
SLOTO:
Theme
What overall messages or ideas are the poet trying to convey/raise through their poem?
Maybe the subject of the poem is soldiers fighting in some trenches, so the themes could include:
War
Death
SufferingSlide7
SLOTO:
Opinion
What is the poet’s opinion on the subject of the poem? For example, are they pro or anti war? Are they trying to suggest we should learn our lessons from past wars to avoid any more in the future? Are they critical of the government for going to war?
This does not mean, what is your opinion of the poem.