Reading and Comprehension (Poetry) Set 5
Reading and Comprehension (Poetry) Set 5 is further 13+ Common Entrance practice at reading a short poem and answering questions on meaning, structure, form and poetic technique.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the poem through at least twice: once for overall meaning, then again to notice structure, form, rhyme and any poetic techniques.
- Count the stanzas and lines, and check the rhyme scheme and rhythm, thinking about what effect a regular or irregular pattern creates.
- Identify techniques such as simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, sibilance and repetition, and always explain what effect each one has.
- Support every point with a short, embedded quotation rather than a long section copied from the poem.
- For questions that ask you to compare two poems, organise your answer by point of comparison, such as theme, technique or form, rather than describing each poem in turn.
- Match the length and number of points in your answer to the marks available, especially on longer comparison questions.
Worked example
In a poem about a blacksmith, the poet writes: 'His hammer sang against the iron, a bright, relentless bell.' Identify the poetic technique used and explain its effect.
- Identify the technique: this is a metaphor, since the sound of the hammer is directly described as a bell, not compared to one with 'like' or 'as'.
- Note the qualities of a bell being transferred to the hammer's sound: clear, ringing and repeated.
- Link this to the blacksmith: the metaphor suggests his work has a steady, musical rhythm, almost like a kind of ritual.
- Comment on the effect: it creates an admiring, almost celebratory tone, making the reader see the blacksmith's labour as skilled and purposeful rather than simply hard or noisy.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1What is the name for a poem with no regular rhyme scheme or fixed rhythm?Show answer
Answer: Free verse.
Q2Which two poetic techniques appear in the line 'The fire hissed and spat its sparks'?Show answer
Answer: Personification (the fire hisses and spits) and sibilance (the repeated soft 's' sounds).
Q3A poem has three-line stanzas with no rhyme at all. What effect might this irregular structure create?Show answer
Answer: It can create a plain, unpolished or natural feeling, or reflect a lack of order in what is being described.
Q4Find and copy one word from 'the anvil's patient, unmoving weight' that gives the anvil a human quality.Show answer
Answer: 'Patient'.
Q5A poem compares old age to 'a coat grown heavy with wear.' Name this technique.Show answer
Answer: Metaphor.
Q6Explain why a poet might choose short, one-syllable words to describe the strike of a hammer, rather than longer, softer words.Show answer
Answer: Short, hard-sounding words can imitate the sharp, sudden impact of the hammer, making the sound of the poem match its subject.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 13+ Common Entrance exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
'The sparks leapt upward, a swarm of small suns dying before they landed.' Identify the technique used and state what the sparks are compared to.
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Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
A poem about a forge is written in short, hard-sounding lines with frequent full stops, unlike the longer, flowing lines used earlier in the same poem to describe the quiet morning before work began. Explain the effect of this change in sentence length and structure.
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Two poems both describe the same blacksmith. Poem A is written in regular rhyming couplets and describes him fondly as a young man at work, while Poem B is written in free verse and describes the same forge decades later, now cold and silent. Compare how the two poets use form and language. Refer to both poems in your answer.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the reading and comprehension (poetry) set 5 worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 19 of 13+ English Workbook, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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