Revision Poems and Poetic Techniques

What is the theme of a poem?

• What the poem is about/the subject of the poem

• The mood of the poem

• The language in the poem

• The structure of the poem

What is rhythm?

• When words sound the same in a poem

• When beats are arranged in a particular way in a poem

• When one object is compared to another object

• When words start with the same letter

Who wrote the poem 'Caged Bird' ?

• Maya Angelou

• William Wordsworth

• Carol Ann Duffy

• Siegfried

  Sassoon

What is the theme of the poem 'Base Details'?

• Love

• Family

• War

• Death

Who are 'fierce, bald and short of breath' in the poem?

• The young soldiers

• The Majors

• The Roll of Honour

• The poppies

The Majors are described as 'scarlet' in the poem. What colour is scarlet?

• Blue

• Red

• Khaki

• Yellow

"And speed glum heroes up the line to death". What does the word 'glum' mean?

• Sad

• Happy

• Angry

• Indifferent (they don't care)

Why does the poet call the young soldiers 'heroes'?

What poetic technique is evident in the following phrase from the poem:

'puffy petulant face'?

• Onomatopoeia

• personification

• alliteration

• sibilance

Answer explanation

The answer is alliteration. The sounds of the 'p' are plosive (sharp sounds with air) which creates an 'angry' sound, reflecting the tone of the poem. The poet is angry at the Majors. The word 'petulant' implies that they are sulking.

There are two poetic techniques demonstrated in the phrase 'guzzling and gulping'. What are they?

• alliteration and simile

• Onomatopoeia and personification

• Personification and alliteration

• Onomatopoeia and alliteration.