Monday 8th December

SMILE it’s PoetrySuccess Criteria:• I can understand how to deconstruct

a poem using SMILE• I can use TQE to analyse a familiar

poem

SMILE

S.M.I.L.E. is a good Acronym to help you remember what to look for when investigating poetry.

• It stands for:• Structure• Meaning• Imagery• Language• Effect

The Time is Now – Sheenagh PughNever saw a sky so blue,so keen a light, all summer long.The time is now:this month, this week, to walk

amongthe burning trees, till they snuff

out.

In the great park there stands an elm,

yellower than sun in its chain-mail

of shivering flame.The choir-school boys are playing

ball,team-kitted, shrill voiced, making

fun

behind Sir’s back, or watching where

a girl swings past. The note of red

rings in her hair;in rowan leaves; in the splashed

bloodof berries; in the smouldering

west.

The gates will shut before too long.

Late in the day; late in the year.They look so young,the girl with her bright fall of

hair,the boys in yellow, like the

trees.

S - STRUCTURE:

• How is this piece organised? ( How many stanzas/verses)

• How is the idea developed? (what words or phrases give the images or theme emphasis or clarity)

• What is the structure? (line length/rhyme scheme? Is there any rhythm/repetition/enjambment?

Use TQE!

M – Meaning:

• What is the poem about?• Does it have a message?• What is the poet discussing?• Is there an overall theme and idea in the

poem?

Use TQE!

I – IMAGERY:

• What pictures do you get in your mind when you read the poem?

• Does the poem contain similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, sibilance, repetition, personification, assonance, oxymoron?

• Why do you think the poet has included these images in the poem?

Use TQE!

L – LANGUAGE:

• What words has the poet used to create an image?

• Are there any complicated words? • Is the language simple to understand?• Which words and phrases create the

images? (Use quotations to prove your point).

• Ask yourself why to all of the answers!

Use TQE!

E – EFFECT:

• What is the effect of the poem?• What does the poem make you feel/think

about?• What opinion does it show about the

subject?• What is the poet trying to say about their

subject?

• This isn’t where you say the poem was rubbish because it didn’t rhyme or you didn’t understand it!!!!

Use TQE!

The Time is Now – Sheenagh PughNever saw a sky so blue,so keen a light, all summer long.The time is now:this month, this week, to walk

amongthe burning trees, till they snuff

out.

In the great park there stands an elm,

yellower than sun in its chain-mail

of shivering flame.The choir-school boys are playing

ball,team-kitted, shrill voiced, making

fun

behind Sir’s back, or watching where

a girl swings past. The note of red

rings in her hair;in rowan leaves; in the splashed

bloodof berries; in the smouldering

west.

The gates will shut before too long.

Late in the day; late in the year.They look so young,the girl with her bright fall of

hair,the boys in yellow, like the

trees.