Character and Voice - Essay Structure

When analysing poetry we're going to use the STILTS formula to write our essay. This means 6 paragraphs, one paragraph for every aspect of STILTS.


S - subject (what is the poem about?)

T - theme (what is the overall message or idea the poem is trying to convey?)

I - imagery (what specific words are used to create images for the reader that are connected to the subject?)

L - language (what figurative language is there to convey ideas?)

T - tone (what voice is being used to convey the messages?)

S - structure (layout)

As this is a comparative essay in exam conditions you will need to do a PEAEAL paragraph for each STILTS with the first EA for one poem and the second of the other.

Here is an example 'subject' paragraph for an essay:

Question: Compare the ways Shelley and Agard present ideas about different peoples history in Ozymandias and Checking Out Me History.

Subject Paragraph: Both Ozymandias and Checking Out Me History are both poems about peoples history although one shows the desire to find out about history and the other shows how history is remembered. In Ozymandias it discusses the memory of a strong leader who has fallen, and is barely remembered. This is shown when Shelley says “My name is Ozymandias, King of kings… nothing besides remains. Round the decay.” This highlights that nothing lasts forever. Whereas Checking Out Me History is about someone who was denied access to his history and is now seeking it, as he’s “blind to [his] own history.” These poems together demonstrate the way in which history can be easily forgotten.

Here is an example 'language' paragraph for an essay:

Question: Compare the methods the poets use to explore a character’s sense of identity in ‘Casehistory: Alison (head injury)’ (page 20) and in one other poem from Character and voice.

Language Paragraph: Within in both The Hunchback in the Park and Casehistory: Alison (head injury) Thomas and Fanthorpe present broken identities through their use of similes.  Within THITP Thomas describes the ‘hunchback’ as “like the park birds” and “like the water”.  Here, he is painting the ‘hunchback’ as someone who has more in common with nature than people, therefore does not belong in the human world.  Through this comparison, it highlights his inability to be apart of the world in which he lives, portraying how his sense of identity is highly different to the norm, as it’s linked to unhuman characteristics.  However, in C: A(hi), Fanthorpe shows how Allison has lost her identity through the quote “like a Degas dancer’s”.  This quote compares how Allison used to be graceful, through mentioning a famous painting.  This shows that she is no longer this graceful person, but is now broken, therefore losing her sense of identity.

Here is an example 'theme' paragraph for an essay:

Question: Compare the ways poets present ideas about identity in ‘The Clown Punk’ (page 4) and one other poem from Character and voice. (36 marks)

Theme Paragraph: The Clown Park by Armitage and Singh Song by Nagra highlight different ideas of identity.  In TCP, Armitage highlights how the punk is proud of his identity, as his tattoos are painted on “every pixel of [his] skin” with “indelible ink”, meaning they cannot be removed.  This shows that he is proud of his identity, as he has covered his whole body with art that demonstrates who he is.  He is then presenting this image of himself to the world, illustrating his belief in who he is.  In SS, Nagra highlights how identity is not rigid, but can embrace different cultures and ideas.  The narrator’s wife wears “high heels” and a “tartan sari”, mixing both the traditional and British culture.  This illustrates how her identity is changeable and adaptive.  This is further illustrated through the narrators telling of his story, he uses both Indian and British dialects to demonstrate how he too has adapted and embraced a new identity.  Therefore highlighting the fluidity of the concept of identity.

Here is an example 'imagery' paragraph for an essay:

Question: Compare the ways poets present isolated characters in ‘The Hunchback in the Park’ (page 18) and one other poem from Character and voice.

Imagery Paragraph: Armitage and Thomas present isolated characters in their poems Give and The Hunchback in the Park through their use of imagery.  In Give, Armitage highlights how his character is isolated through the final line “I’m on my knees”.  This line has connotations of begging, demonstrating how the man has to beg in order to live.  As beggars are normally ostracised from society, it illustrates how this character has been isolated from society.  This idea of isolation is also presented in THITP.  In this poem, Thomas illustrates the characters isolation as he is constantly mocked by the younger generation; “laughing when he shook his paper”.  The idea of being laughed at represents his marginalisation from society, as others look him down upon.  This is further reinforced through the repetition of the idea that he sleeps in “his kennel”.  This is comparing the ‘hunchback’ to a dog, which again reinforces his isolation as he is not human, so therefore doesn’t need to be treated like a human.

Here is an example 'structure' paragraph for an essay:

Question: Compare the ways poets present powerful characters in ‘My Last Duchess’ (page 15) and one other poem from Character and voice. (36 marks)

Structure Paragraph: Ozymandias and My Last Duchess both present powerful characters through their use of structure.  In MLD, Browning demonstrates a powerful character through his choice of dramatic monologue to present his poem.  The initial line of the poem “That’s my last Duchess” illustrates his possessive nature over the woman in he portrait, through the use of “my”.  This shows that she belonged to him, and was not her own person.  This structural idea is repetitively portrayed throughout the entire poem, highlighting how the narrator has power over the Duchess.  In Ozymandias, Shelley presents a powerful figure through his choice of a sonnet.  Sonnets are traditionally love poems, but this choice highlights how the character, Ozymandias, was in love with himself, only to be ruined over time; “look on my words, ye Mighty and despair! Nothing beside remains”.  This idea highlights the ironic nature of power and how everything will eventually become irrelevant over time.

Here is an example 'tone' paragraph for an essay:

Question: Compare the ways poets present strong emotions in ‘Medusa’ (page 8) and one other poem from Character and voice.

Tone Paragraph:Strong emotions are created by Armitage in The Clown Punk and by Duffy in Medusa through their use of tone.  In TCP, Armitage presents a normally ignored character by society and asks his audience to pity this being.  Initially Armitage presents a dismissive tone to the punk, comparing him to a “basket of washing”, something mundane and not important.  However, in the final lines of the poem, the audience is led to pity the punk as children “wince and scream” when they see him, but only because of his looks, not because of who he is.  Therefore, Armitage is asking his audience to look beyond the exterior of people, and is explaining how humans are extremely judgemental, making the reader feel pity towards this punk.  In Medusa Duffy creates the emotion of jealousy through the possessive tone created within the poem.  This is portrayed through the numerous rhetorical questions throughout the poem.  She is showing that whatever she does is for him, and therefore he must do as she says and wants.  This highlights Duffy’s ability to create the emotion of jealousy throughout her poem.