Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

Closing paragraph
Thus, Browning has effectively used the
characteristics usually associated specifically with
poetry – rhythm and cadence, concentration of
diction, imagery and rhyme – to create a valid form
for what he was trying to express: the intense
excitement involved in two lovers meeting after a
parting. None of the diction that Browning uses is
that unusual, indeed, it is mostly simple, almost
mundane, but it is in the combinations of words
used, creating the rise and fall of the cadence of the
verse, and with a subtle use of rhyming pattern ,
that he manages to create a short poem of two six-
line stanzas that is an outstanding example of how
poetic form and theme can merge successfully to
communicate deep feeling.
74
H
OW TO WRITE ESSAYS

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A
NALYSIS
The opening paragraph
The first sentence addresses the topic immediately and explains what the
poem is about.
Sentence two mentions the specific poetic characteristics employed by
the poet to make the poem effective.
Sentence three makes the point that the climax of the poem has been led
up to in the preceding lines.
Paragraph 2
Having discussed the poem as a whole in the first paragraph, the essay
now deals with the first verse.
Sentences two to six provide detailed analysis of the verse, using quotes
and commenting appropriately. They also use subject-specific terms
such as ‘cadence’, ‘metaphor’, ‘rhyming pattern’ and ‘alliteration’.
Paragraph 3
The use of linking word ‘then’ links the previous paragraph to this one.
Sentence one is the key sentence focusing on the cadence of the verse.
Sentences two, three and four analyse the cadence in detail with quotes
from the poem.
75
8 – S
AMPLE ESSAY
3:
WRITING ABOUT POETRY

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Paragraph 4
The linking word is ‘similarly’ which makes a connection for the reader
with what is to be discussed now and what previous paragraphs have
analysed.
Sentences two to six give a very detailed analysis with the use of
appropriate quotes (note that these have inverted commas or quotation
marks round them).