Reading and Comprehension (Poetry): Practice Set 2
Reading and Comprehension (Poetry): Practice Set 2 is a second full set of ISEB Common Entrance style poetry questions, giving further practice at reading one or two short poems 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 twice: once quickly for overall meaning and mood, then again to look closely at structure and language.
- Note the number of stanzas, the rhyme scheme (if any) and whether the rhythm is regular or irregular, and think about why the poet may have chosen this.
- Identify poetic techniques such as simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia and repetition, always linking each one to its effect.
- Use short, embedded quotations from the poem to support every point you make, rather than copying out long sections.
- For questions about the poem's mood or tone, look at word choice (diction) as well as imagery, since both contribute to how the poem feels.
- Match the length and number of points in your answer to the marks on offer, giving more developed points for higher-mark questions.
Worked example
In a poem about autumn, the poet writes: "The wind combs gold from every trembling tree." Identify the poetic technique used and explain its effect. (3 marks)
- Identify the technique: this is personification, since the wind is given the human action of combing, as though it were tidying hair.
- Note what is being described literally: the wind is blowing golden autumn leaves from the trees.
- Link this to meaning: describing the wind as "combing" makes it seem gentle, deliberate and almost careful, rather than violent or destructive.
- Comment on the effect on the reader: it creates a calm, almost tender picture of autumn, softening what could otherwise be a sad image of trees losing their leaves. Final answer: the personification of the wind combing gold from the trees makes the process of leaves falling feel gentle and deliberate rather than harsh, giving the poem a calm, wistful tone.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1In a poem, the line "Waves gnaw at the cliff's grey chin" contains an example of which technique?Show answer
Answer: Personification (the cliff is given a human "chin" and the waves are shown "gnawing", an action associated with animals or people).
Q2A poem has four lines per stanza with the rhyme pattern ABAB. What is this pattern called?Show answer
Answer: An alternate or ABAB rhyme scheme, where the first and third lines rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme.
Q3In the phrase "silent, secret snow", which technique is being used?Show answer
Answer: Alliteration (the repeated "s" sound at the start of "silent", "secret" and "snow").
Q4A poem describes a train as having a "rattling, roaring, rumbling" journey. Name the technique shown by these three words together.Show answer
Answer: Onomatopoeia (words that imitate the sounds they describe) combined with a triplet or list of three.
Q5If a poem's rhythm becomes short and broken in its final stanza after being steady throughout, what might this suggest?Show answer
Answer: It might suggest a change in mood, such as growing tension, urgency, or a sudden interruption to whatever calm feeling came before.
Q6A question asks you to "compare how the two poets present the sea." What is the best way to structure your answer?Show answer
Answer: Organise the answer around points of comparison, such as technique, mood or structure, discussing both poems together under each point, rather than describing each poem separately.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 13+ Common Entrance exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
In a poem about a river, the poet writes: "The river uncoils through the valley, patient and unhurried." Explain what this metaphor suggests about the river and comment on its effect on the reader.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Read this stanza from a poem about a storm: "Thunder stamps its heavy feet / Lightning cracks a jagged whip / Rain drums fingers on the street / Night holds its breath, then lets it slip." Explain how the poet uses personification to build a sense of the storm's power. Refer to at least two examples.
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Read this stanza from a poem about the sea at night: "The tide slides in on silver feet / Whispering secrets no one keeps / Stars scatter light across its face / While the shore, unmoving, waits and sleeps." Explain how the poet creates a calm, mysterious atmosphere in this stanza. Refer to at least three details or techniques.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 5 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the reading and comprehension (poetry): practice set 2 worksheet pack - 9 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 5 of 13+ English Workbook, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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