Matrix Blog
Year 7-8 English 7-8

Analysing Poetry for Year 7–8: Key Techniques You Need to Know

Ever read a poem and thought, “What does that even mean?” This guide breaks it down with key poetry techniques and analysing poems examples made just for Year 7–8 students.

Written by:
Matrix Education

Analysing poetry is more than just spotting fancy words or rhyming lines—it’s seeing how writers express emotions, tell stories, and explore ideas. Whether it’s a sonnet, free verse, or spoken word, poetry helps us see the world from different perspectives.

If you’re in Year 7 or 8, this blog will guide you through how poets use language, structure and style. By the end, you’ll be ready to explore poetry in English class and even try writing your own!

Table of contents:

The definition of poetry

Poetry is hard to define, but most people agree that poetry:

  • Uses condensed and expressive language
  • May follow established forms (such as sonnets, haikus, limericks) or be written in free verse
  • May use rhythmical structures like metre (for example, Shakespeare’s sonnets are written in iambic pentameter) 
  • May use rhyme structures like:
    • Internal rhyme (where two or more words rhyme within the same line)
    • End rhyme (where the endings of multiple lines rhyme)
    • Partial rhyme/pararhyme (where words have similar but not identical sounds)

Learn how to analyse poetry from the experts!

Try Matrix for free!

Expert teachers, detailed feedback and one-to-one help. Book your free trial today and join a class!

 Start free trial

Why poetry matters

Authors use poetry to express ideas, emotions and perspectives. It helps us:

  • Understand different cultures: Many poems explore First Nations Australian traditions, history, and identity.
  • Develop creativity: Poetry allows us to experiment with language and think outside the box.
  • Sharpen communication skills: Composing and analysing poetry are practices that improve critical thinking and writing abilities.

Whether you’re studying Shakespeare, poetry by First Nations people, or contemporary verse, poetry provides a deeper understanding of human experiences.

Curious about Shakespeare? Read our step-by-step guide on How to Analyse Shakespeare.

matrix education analysing poetry Key poetry techniques

Poets do more than put words on a page—they shape how we see and feel. Here’s a look at some key poetic techniques and how they work.

Understanding these tools can help you unpack their deeper meanings when asked to analyse a poem.

1. Poetry forms

Different Types of Poetry and How They Work

TermDefinitionExample
SonnetA 14-line poem, often about love or deep emotions Shakespeare’s sonnets
HaikuA short Japanese poem with three lines (5-7-5 syllables), focusing on nature and simplicity.Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) and Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703-1775) are just two famous haiku poets
LimerickA five-line poem with the rhyme scheme aabba, usually to produce a humorous effect A Book of Nonsense (1846) by Edward Lear
Spoken wordA performance-based poetry style, meant to be heard rather than read.“Whitey on the Moon” (1970) by Gil Scott-Heron

“A Bird Made of Birds” (2019) by Sarah Kay

BalladA narrative poem that tells a story, often with a rhythm and repeated refrains.“It was not Death, for I stood up” by Emily Dickinson
GhazalAn Arabic and Persian form made up of couplets and complex rhyme schemes.Rumi’s ghazal 163 (approx. 1247)

“Tonight” (2003) by Agha Shahid Ali

Free verseA poem with no set structure, rhythm, or rhyme, allowing more creativity with rhythm, rhyme and meter.Leaves of Grass (1855) by Walt Whitman

“Tulips” (1962) by Sylvia Plath

2. Poetry structures

TermDefinitionExample
Sound DevicesUsed to create effects through sound, enhancing meaning and experience.Onomatopoeia 
RhythmThe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry, creating a beat.Meter, stressed and unstressed syllables
RhymeThe repetition of similar sounds, typically at the end of lines, to create musicality.Fast, last, cast, mast
MeterA structured pattern of rhythm in poetry, often measured in feet (units of stressed and unstressed syllables).Iambic pentameter
SyllableA single, unbroken sound unit within a word.Cus|tard, oc|cu|pa|tion
LineA single row of words in a poem, contributing to its rhythm and meaning.“Me, we” (1975), a single-line poem by Muhammad Ali
StanzaA grouped set of lines in a poem, often separated by spaces, functioning like a paragraph.“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

– Emily Dickinson, first stanza

matrix education analysing poetry

3. Figurative and descriptive language

When creating poetry, a poet carefully chooses words to create an effective, whether to spark emotions or to create a vivid picture in your mind’s eye. 

TechniqueDefinitionExampleFamous Poem
MetaphorA direct comparison between two unrelated things“Hope is the thing with feathers“Hope is the thing with feathers – Emily Dickinson
SimileA comparison using “like” or “as”“Like a patient etherised upon a table“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock – T.S. Eliot
PersonificationGiving human qualities to non-human things“Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me”Because I Could Not Stop for Death – Emily Dickinson
AlliterationRepetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary”The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe
OnomatopoeiaWords that imitate sounds“How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle”The Bells – Edgar Allan Poe
ImageryDescriptive or figurative language that appeals to the senses, helping the reader visualise scenes, objects, or emotions.“The fragrance of a fumy pipe;

The smell of apples, newly ripe;

And printer’s ink on leaden type.”

“Smells” by Christopher Morley

Try Matrix for free!

Curious about Matrix? Try a class risk-free and see how Matrix can help you succeed.

 Start free trial

Tips for analysing poetry

When analysing a poem, ask yourself these key questions:

  • What is the poem about? What is the central idea or theme? Is it about love, loss, identity, nature, or society?
  • Who is the speaker? Is the poet speaking directly, or is it a character’s voice?
  • How is the poem structured? Does it follow a set rhyme scheme or meter, or is it free verse?
  • What poetic devices are used? Look for figurative language, sound devices, and imagery.
  • How does the poem make you feel? What emotions does the poet want you to experience?

Below is a model response analysing Wildred Owen’s war poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”: 

ParagraphPartExample
IntroductionThesisOwen’s war poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” represents the horrors and trauma of war from the first-person perspective of the persona, a soldier who directly experiences warfare.
ExplanationOwen shows how the soldier observes the horrors of war first-hand, then reflects on his experience and shows how he feels haunted by these horrifying memories.
PEEL (Body)TopicOwen’s war poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”  represents the first-person perspective of a soldier. The persona observes his comrades, a group of tired and wounded British soldiers on the battlefield, as they try to escape enemy attacks of flares and gas bombs.
ExplanationOwen represents the horrors of war by using sensory imagery that immerses the reader and lets them experience the “gas-shells dropping” and the “haunting flares.”
Evidence  (Use 2-4)

 

Owen uses the simile comparing the tired soldiers to “old beggars under sacks” to emphasise their exhaustion and show how difficult life on the battlefield is. Owen appeals to pathos by awakening the reader’s emotions of pity, compassion and sympathy for the soldiers as they experience the exhausting effects of warfare.
Evidence 

 

When a gas bomb explodes and the soldier fails to put on his gas mask in time, Owen uses a metaphor of the soldier “drowning”  “as under a green sea” to show how this soldier experiences a horrible death.
Evidence 

 

He uses violent imagery when the persona describes how the soldier “plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” to highlight the gruesome effects of the gas on the soldier.
EvidenceOwen represents the persona appealing to the reader as “my friends”: He argues that if they were to take the perspective of a soldier who experiences the horrors of war first-hand, then they would not glorify war. And they would not repeat the lie of the motto “dulce et decorum est/ pro patria mori” (it is sweet and right to die for your country).
LinkOwen creates a horrifying and disturbing representation of war from the perspective of a soldier to warn people against having an idealised and glorified representation of war.

To put your skills to the test, try analysing “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. What themes and poetic devices can you identify?

Composing your own poetry

Imaginative writing, including poems and other fiction texts, is a key skill in high school English. Even when you’re not asked to write a poem, you can still use the techniques of poetry to create expressive language!

Now that you know how poetry works, why not try writing your own? Here’s how:

  • Start with an idea: Think of a topic or emotion you want to explore.
  • Choose a structure: Will you follow a specific form (like a haiku) or go for free verse?
  • Use poetic devices: Experiment with metaphors, similes, and imagery to enhance meaning.
  • Read it aloud: Poetry is about sound as well as meaning, so check how it flows.
  • Revise and refine: Poetry is all about precision, so tweak words and lines until they feel just right.

Try this exercise: Write a poem about a place you love, using at least one metaphor and one sensory image.

Try Matrix for free!

Expert teachers, detailed feedback and one-to-one help. Book your free trial today and join a class!

Start free trial

Written by Matrix Education

Matrix is Sydney's No.1 High School Tuition provider. Come read our blog regularly for study hacks, subject breakdowns, and all the other academic insights you need.

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Related courses

Related articles

Loading