Poetry

1. How to Read a Poem (3-Step Reading Method)

First Reading – Overall Impression

1. Read the poem silently all the way through.
2. Identify and define any unfamiliar words.
3. Get a general sense of the tone, subject, and voice.
4. Jot down initial emotions or reactions.
5. Spot any strong connotations.

Second Reading – Sound & Language

1. Read the poem aloud if possible—listen for rhythm and tone.
2. Pay attention to punctuation, pauses, and phrasing.
3. Highlight sound devices: alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme, etc.
4. Ask: How do the sound patterns shape the mood or impact?

Third Reading – Structure & Meaning

1. Analyse figurative language: metaphors, similes, personification, symbolism.
2. Look at form: sonnet? free verse? quatrains? rhymed couplets?
3. Translate the poem into plain prose—what’s it saying?
4. Reflect on theme, message, and emotional arc.

2. Poetic Terms & Techniques

Imagery (sensory language)

1. Visual – sight ("bright blue sky")
2. Aural – sound ("whispers in the wind")
3. Olfactory – smell ("the scent of burnt toast")
4. Tactile – touch ("frozen skin")
5. Gustatory – taste ("bitter words")
6. Organic – internal sensations ("knees trembling")

Figurative Language

Structure and Form

1. Stanza – a grouped set of lines
2. Quatrain – 4-line stanza
3. Couplet – 2 rhyming lines
4. Caesura – a pause within a line
5. Enjambment – a sentence continues past the end of a line
6. Refrain – repeated phrase or line
7. Free verse – no regular rhythm/rhyme
8. Dramatic monologue – speaker addresses a silent listener

Sound Devices

3. How to Analyse a Poem – Acronym Strategies:

SCASNI (for first impressions)

SPEC FILMS (for deeper analytical reading)

Poetry Model Answer

Text Extract

Poem Title: The Window
Poet: Elena Marlowe

I pressed my face to the cold glass pane,
The world outside was quiet, grey, unknown.
A sparrow blinked at me through autumn rain,
Then flitted off—its motion barely shown.

My breath misted the glass; the image blurred.
Inside was warmth, but I could not feel heat.
I turned to speak, but no one heard—
Their laughter faded down the hallway street.

How strange, to be so rooted, yet adrift.
The carpet held my feet, the walls my frame.
But somewhere in me, silence cracked and slipped,
And I no longer answered to my name.

A window is a border made of air—
Too thin to trap, too thick to pass through clean.
I looked once more. The sparrow wasn’t there.
Just sky. Just grey. Just everything between.

Guiding Question

How does Elena Marlowe use language and structure to explore the theme of isolation in the poem The Window?

Essay Outline:

1. Introduction
   1. Context: Introduce The Window as a reflective lyric poem focused on a speaker suspended between the world inside and outside.
   2. Theme: Isolation as an emotional and psychological state—more internal than physical.
   3. Thesis:
      Elena Marlowe uses the window as a central metaphor for emotional disconnection. Through sensory imagery, symbolism, and structural framing, she portrays the speaker’s isolation as both a personal and existential condition—quiet, continuous, and inescapable.
2. Body Paragraph 1 – Physical Isolation and Sensory Imagery (PEEL)
   1. P – Point:
      Marlowe opens the poem by portraying the speaker’s physical separation from the outside world, using sensory and visual imagery to establish tone and theme.
   2. E – Evidence:
      1. “I pressed my face to the cold glass pane”
      2. “quiet, grey, unknown”
      3. “My breath misted the glass; the image blurred”
   3. E – Explanation:
      1. The adjective “cold” implies emotional distance, while the monochromatic palette of “grey” and “unknown” builds a bleak emotional atmosphere. The window is both a literal barrier and a symbol of disconnection. The breath misting the glass blurs the view—symbolising how her own presence prevents clarity and connection, suggesting that isolation is self-perpetuating.
   4. L – Link:
      1. Through these images, Marlowe presents isolation as something that blurs both the world and the self—an internal fog that makes intimacy feel unreachable.
3. Body Paragraph 2 – Social and Psychological Disconnection (PEEL)
   1. P – Point:
      The speaker’s failed attempts at communication deepen the sense of social exclusion, which evolves into a loss of identity.
   2. E – Evidence:
      1. “I turned to speak, but no one heard”
      2. “Their laughter faded down the hallway street”
      3. “I no longer answered to my name”
   3. E – Explanation:
      1. The enjambment in the line about speaking mirrors how the speaker’s voice trails off without response—emphasising her emotional invisibility. The contrast between her silence and distant laughter suggests that life continues without her. When she no longer responds to her name—a fundamental symbol of identity—it signals that isolation has not only severed her connection to others, but also to her sense of self.
   4. L – Link:
      1. Marlowe shows that isolation leads to more than loneliness—it causes the speaker to dissolve from her own identity, becoming ghostlike in her own life.
4. Body Paragraph 3 – Symbolism of the Window and Structural Closure (PEEL)
   1. P – Point:
      In the final stanza, Marlowe reimagines the window as an extended metaphor for emotional entrapment, and uses cyclical structure to reinforce the inescapable nature of the speaker’s isolation.
   2. E – Evidence:
      1. “A window is a border made of air”
      2. “Too thin to trap, too thick to pass through clean”
      3. “Just sky. Just grey. Just everything between”
   3. E – Explanation:
      1. The paradox of the window reflects a boundary that is invisible yet completely effective—capturing the essence of emotional isolation.
      2. The repetition of “just” minimises the external world, reducing it to a blank emotional limbo.
      3. The return to the window in the final line and the disappearance of the sparrow reinforce that the speaker remains suspended in emotional stasis.
      4. The poem’s cyclical structure—beginning and ending with the window—mirrors the speaker’s entrapment.
   4. L – Link:
      1. By framing the poem around the metaphor of the window, Marlowe suggests that isolation is not simply a temporary state—it is an ongoing, inescapable reality.
5. Conclusion
   1. Restate Thesis:
      Marlowe’s The Window explores isolation not as a loud or dramatic rupture, but as a slow erosion of connection and identity.
   2. Summarise Methods:
      Through sensory detail, symbolism, and structural repetition, she reveals how isolation can trap an individual in a liminal space—present, but unseen; alive, but emotionally absent.
   3. Final Insight:
      The poem’s stillness and quietness echo the speaker’s condition, leaving us with a haunting realisation: isolation is not just about being alone—it’s about being forgotten, even by yourself.

Model Answer (20/20 Response)

In The Window, Elena Marlowe presents a quiet but devastating portrayal of emotional and psychological isolation. The speaker stands before a window, physically close to others and the world outside, yet emotionally detached and internally fragmented. Marlowe uses the window as a central metaphor, symbolising the speaker’s entrapment in a state of in-betweenness. Through carefully layered sensory imagery, symbolism, and a cyclical structure, the poem explores how isolation is not always loud or dramatic, but soft, subtle, and unshakably complete.

From the outset, Marlowe establishes the speaker’s physical separation from the outside world using vivid sensory imagery. The opening line, “I pressed my face to the cold glass pane,” introduces the window as both a literal and symbolic barrier. The word “cold” conveys not just temperature, but emotional distance, setting the tone for the speaker’s detachment. The world beyond is described as “quiet, grey, unknown”—a triadic list of adjectives that reinforces the speaker’s estrangement. Even when life briefly appears in the form of a sparrow, it is subdued: “its motion barely shown.” The sparrow’s minimal movement suggests a world that continues to exist, but at a remove from the speaker. Furthermore, the line “My breath misted the glass; the image blurred” introduces an important symbolic moment—the speaker’s own breath obstructs her vision. This detail reflects how her very presence contributes to her inability to connect, underscoring the idea that isolation is not just external, but internalised.

As the poem progresses, Marlowe deepens the theme of isolation by portraying the speaker’s failure to connect with others and the resulting loss of self. In the second stanza, the line “I turned to speak, but no one heard” is delivered in plain diction, yet it resonates profoundly. This moment of silence highlights the speaker’s invisibility—she exists, but is no longer recognised. The enjambment in this stanza allows the speaker’s thoughts to spill over, suggesting that even her words are aimless and unheard. “Their laughter faded down the hallway street” uses auditory imagery to illustrate how joy and community are still present—but always at a distance, out of reach. The stanza’s emotional peak comes with the line “And I no longer answered to my name,” a moment that signals a fractured sense of identity. The name, a marker of selfhood, no longer feels like hers. This suggests that prolonged disconnection has not only isolated her from others, but from her own sense of being.

In the final stanza, Marlowe expands the symbolic power of the window through paradox and structural framing. The line “A window is a border made of air— / Too thin to trap, too thick to pass through clean” transforms the window into a metaphor for intangible alienation. The paradox of air being both insubstantial and impenetrable reflects the speaker’s condition: the barrier is almost nothing, yet impossibly strong. This metaphor captures the emotional reality of isolation—not always visible, but deeply felt. The disappearance of the sparrow—“The sparrow wasn’t there”—eliminates the only moment of potential connection, reinforcing the speaker’s solitude. The poem closes with a tricolon: “Just sky. Just grey. Just everything between.” The repetition of “just” minimises the speaker’s surroundings, reducing them to a grey liminal space. Ending on the word “between” circles back to the title and the poem’s central theme: being caught in an undefined emotional territory, with no clear way forward or back. Structurally, the return to the window in the final lines mirrors the speaker’s entrapment and the cyclical nature of isolation.

In conclusion, Elena Marlowe’s The Window masterfully conveys isolation as a quiet but all-encompassing condition. Through symbolism, imagery, and a repeating structure, the poet illustrates how detachment from others can dissolve one’s sense of place and self. The poem does not offer resolution or relief, but instead captures the essence of what it means to live in the “in-between”—to be surrounded by the world, yet unable to feel a part of it. In its stillness and precision, The Window leaves the reader with a profound sense of the loneliness that comes not from being alone, but from being unseen.

Why This is a 20/20 Model Answer Based on the IB Paper 1 Marking Criteria

This response achieves full marks by excelling in all four IB Paper 1 marking criteria:

Criterion A: Understanding and Interpretation (5/5)

1. The essay shows a deep, nuanced understanding of the poem’s central theme of isolation—not just as physical loneliness, but as existential detachment, emotional invisibility, and identity loss.
2. The candidate recognises the emotional implications of the speaker's actions (e.g., not responding to their own name), and how this reflects broader ideas about disconnection and psychological limbo.
3. There is a consistent awareness of what the poet is saying about human experience and how that is embedded in every layer of the poem—form, imagery, and tone.

Criterion B: Analysis and Evaluation (5/5)

1. The essay thoroughly analyses literary techniques like sensory imagery, paradox, repetition, metaphor, enjambment, and cyclical structure—and explains their precise effects on meaning and tone.
2. Each paragraph evaluates not just the presence of devices, but how they function to shape mood, character, and theme.
3. There’s detailed commentary on how structure (e.g. the poem’s cyclical framing) mirrors the speaker’s emotional trap, showing sophisticated analysis.

Criterion C: Focus and Organization (5/5)

1. The essay has a clear thesis and tightly structured arguments—each body paragraph follows a PEEL format, making the progression logical and easy to follow.
2. Each paragraph explores a different aspect of isolation: physical, social/psychological, and metaphorical/structural—creating a cohesive and well-developed argument.
3. Points are clearly linked back to the guiding question, showing sustained focus on the central theme.

Criterion D: Language (5/5)

1. The plan anticipates the use of precise literary vocabulary: e.g. “enjambment,” “tricolon,” “monochromatic diction,” “extended metaphor,” “emotional fragmentation.”
2. Sentence structures are varied (analytical → explanatory → evaluative), ensuring natural academic rhythm.
3. The tone is analytical, fluent, and formal, appropriate for literary commentary. There’s no vague language or casual phrasing.