Character and Voice: Poetry Techniques

This exam will ask you to make links between poems - here are some based on poetry techniques.

Monologues – Addressing the Audience

Give	My Last Duchess
•       The narrator starts by addressing the listener as “dear”. This sounds romantic and affectionate but we soon realise it is sarcastic •       The repetition of “you” in the final line is angry and accusing •       Sounds as if the homeless person is speaking directly to the reader so that we might question our treatment of vulnerable people	•       The Duke addresses his guest as “you” •       This makes him sound as though he is trying to justify his actions •       The silent listener in the poem makes the Duke seem more powerful because he dominates the conversation

Dialogues and Narrative Poems

Singh Song!	The Ruined Maid
•       This poem features a conversation between the narrator and his new bride •       It is written phonetically in an Indian-English accent which emphasises the importance of their identity •       Their dialogue is light-hearted and romantic	•       The dialogue contrasts Melia’s worldliness with her friend’s naivety •       Her friend points out the change in Melia’s accent from a country dialect •       Repetition and rhythm make the conversation seem light hearted even though it deals with morality

Narrative Poems telling a story

The Clown Punk	The Hunchback in the Park
•       This poem tells the story of the brief moment when the narrator crosses paths with an aging punk •       The poem’s narrative element is emphasised when the narrator offers a moral and tells the kids “remember the clown punk” •       The moral lesson at the end is also directed at the reader- we are left to think about how time affects us all	•       The poem is structured as a series of snapshots of the hunchback’s life •       The narrator refers to “the fountain basin where I sailed my ship” •       This emphasises that these are personal memories •       He doesn’t pass judgement or describe his own emotions about the hunchback. This leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions about the hunchback’s life and how he is treated

A Sonnet

The Clown Punk	Ozymandias
•       The sonnet is split into stanzas. Broken lines and enjambment create uncomfortable pauses and suggest that something is wrong in the poem •       This is emphasised by the half-rhymes which suggest things are out of balance •       It’s ironic because the punk seems so ugly and sonnets are usually about beauty and love	•       The sonnet is divided into an 8 line section followed by a 6 line section •       The two sections of the poem are linked by rhyme •       This is an unusual rhyme scheme for a sonnet which suggests an unbalance •       The sonnet is about pride instead of love- perhaps too much love for himself

An elegy or Ballad

On a portrait of a deaf man	The ruined maid
•       The poem has elements of a traditional elegy •       It’s unusual for an elegy that the narrator dwells on the gruesome physical details of his father’s body and the decay •       Elegies are often read at funerals so it’s ironic that the narrator questions his faith at the end	•       This ballad sounds quite light-hearted because of the strong rhythm •       Some words are deliberately divided into syllables to emphasise rhythm “compa-ny/la-dy” these sound jaunty but also artificial because the rhythm is forced •       Ballads are a conventional form for describing a character as they build a portrait of the person

Couplets – making the poem seemed ordered

My Last Duchess

Give

•       Rhyming couplets make the poem sound quite formal •       They represent strict social rules governing the Duchess’s behaviour •       They suggest that the Duke wants to show that he is self-controlled. •       Iambic Pentameter makes his narrative flow like speech

•       The poet uses a couplet at the beginning of the poem •       The makes the poem sound like a love poem at first because it emphasises the intimate tone of the speaker •       Once the rhyme scheme breaks down we realise that things are more complex •       There’s another rhyming couplet at the end of the poem between “you” and “you”. •       The repetition strengthens the rhyme and emphasises the homeless narrator’s sarcasm

Quatrains and Stanzas of Four Lines

On A portrait of a deaf man

Checking Out Me History

•       The poem is written in quatrains in which lines 2 and 4 always rhyme •       This gives the impression of an ordered, controlled poetic tribute •       It’s emphasised by the first three lines of the quatrain which usually praise the narrator’s father in a way that is appropriate to an elegy •       The narrator’s morbid thoughts are usually described in line 4 so that they undermine the strict, ordered rhyming scheme

•       The poem uses a variety of verse forms including quatrains. The strict formal quatrains suggest how restrictive the narrators education was •       The quatrains have an AAAA, AABB, AABA rhyming structure •       These simple rhymes are like nursery rhymes, making the British history he has been taught seem trivial

Repetition for emphasis

Brendan Gallacher	Give
•       The phrase “my Brendon Gallacher” is repeated to emphasise the narrator’s feelings of love for her friend •       “my” becomes ironic when we realise he was her own creation and becomes sad at the end as it provokes a feeling of loss	•       The repeated structure of the first four lines of the poem makes the narrator seem in control of their language at first. •       “coppers/silver/gold” repeat the value of money •       “You” is repeated to show the direct address and to give a desperate and accusing tone

Repetition – like a song

Singh Song!	Checking Out Me History
•       The repeated refrain of “my bride” in the fifth stanza suggests he can’t stop thinking about how proud he is of his new wife •       It is light-hearted and playful like their relationship	•       Repetition is linked to the oral tradition of poetry •       It has a strong rhythm because it’s meant to be spoken out loud •       It makes the poem sound like a chant or song

Metaphors – to make someone seem powerful

Les Grand Seigneurs	Horse Whisperer
•       The narrator uses lists of metaphors to describe the men of her past and emphasise their qualities •       The men were protective “buttresses”, vain “peacocks” and entertaining “rocking-horses” •       She uses romantic metaphors to describe herself as regal “queen”	•       The narrator used to be the horses’ “life-blood” this suggests he was necessary for their existence because he was part of them •       “stampede” suggests he left the village like a herd of wild animals

Similes – emphasising a person’s physical qualities

The Hunchback in the Park	Casehistory: Alison (head injury)
•       The hunchback is “like the park birds” and “like the water” which suggests he has more in common with the natural world than humans •       “straight as a young elm” links the woman with nature and suggests her strength can protect him	•       “like a Degas dancer”- Degas was a painter of ballet dancers so it emphasises her past gracefulness •       This makes her former self seem frozen in time like a painting that will never change

Order and Structure – different time frames

Horse Whisperer	Casehistory: Alison (head injury)
•       The narrator begins by looking to the past when the horses needed him •       The warning of the tractor creates a sense of foreboding and the mood becomes more tense •       In the final stanza the narrator shifts to the present tense to show how things have changed	•       The narrator flits between recollections of her past to contrast them with the present situation •       The jumbled sequence of memories reflect her confused mental state