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KS3 English · Year 8Chapter 3 · Reading poetry: form, voice and sound across periods
Year 8 · Chapter 3

Reading poetry: form, voice and sound across periods

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

  • Identify a sonnet by its line count, rhyme scheme and turn
  • Name a rhyme scheme and say what it does to the reader
  • Find the volta and explain how the poem changes direction after it
  • Explain how a persona shapes the voice and tone of a poem
  • Explain the effect of sound patterns, enjambment and an extended metaphor

You should already know

  • Form, imagery and sound in a poem (Year 7, Chapter 3 of this book)
  • Simile, metaphor and personification (Year 6 poetry work)

Where this leads

  • Reading drama: structure, tension and staging (Chapter 4 of this book)
  • Comparing texts: themes, perspectives and methods (Chapter 6 of this book)

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 3 English, Year 8. Content: Read poetry from different periods, including a public-domain sonnet and an original poem (KS3 reading, R1), Identify fixed forms, stanza and rhyme scheme, and explain how form shapes meaning (KS3 reading, R8), Explain the turn (volta) of a sonnet, and the effect of a shift in argument or feeling (KS3 reading, R8), Explain persona and voice, and how a speaker's situation shapes a poem (KS3 reading, R3), Analyse sound patterns, rhythm and extended metaphor across a poem (KS3 reading, R3 and R8).

Exercise P  Do you remember?

1
FWrite the word for a comparison that says one thing is another thing, without like or as. Write one word.
2
FWrite the word for a group of lines in a poem. Write one word.
3
FWrite the word for the repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of words, such as the big bear. Write one word.
4
FWrite the word for a poem of fourteen lines. Write one word.
5
FWrite the word for the person who speaks in a poem, who may not be the poet. Write one word.
3.1

Form and fixed forms

Year 8
Identify fixed forms, stanza and rhyme scheme, and explain how form shapes meaning (KS3 reading, R8)
Video lesson: Form and fixed formsComing soon
Story. A poet chooses a form before writing. A sonnet has fourteen lines and a set rhyme scheme, and the form asks the poet to make an argument that is both controlled and turns at a key point.

Poem A: The sorting (original sonnet)

1At closing time I sort the day's loose post

into the pigeonholes of my mind:

the bills, the birthday card, the news that cost

a week of sleep, the letters left behind.

5Then comes one envelope in my mother's hand

that asks, in few words, if I'm all right.

I hold it, and the sorting, and I stand

still at the counter of the lit-up night.

But I shall not reply. I'll wait until

10the morning, when the post is light and clear,

and open her small question, which is still

the kindest letter I will sort this year.

Tomorrow I will write. I'll say I'm fine,

and nearly mean it when I sign.

Poem C: Sonnet 18, by William Shakespeare (first published 1609)

1Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

5Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

10Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Key ideas

  • A sonnet has fourteen lines. Many sonnets are in iambic pentameter, which has five stressed beats in each line.
  • A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme at the ends of lines, labelled with letters: ABAB, for example.
  • The Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final couplet, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
Worked example 3.1.1
What is the rhyme scheme of Poem A, the sorting sonnet?

Method. Match the line endings, one pair at a time.

  1. Pair the first lines. Line 1 "post" rhymes with line 3 "cost", so these are A.
    post and cost
  2. Pair the next lines. Line 2 "mind" rhymes with line 4 "behind", so these are B.
    mind and behind
  3. Name the scheme. Pairs of the same letter form a pattern, ending with a couplet.
    ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
  4. Write the answer.
    ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Check. The scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. ✓

Worked example 3.1.2
Which form is Poem A? Choose one: a sonnet of fourteen lines, a ballad of four-line stanzas or a free verse poem with no rhyme.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. It has fourteen lines, and its rhyme scheme is a sonnet pattern.
    a sonnet of fourteen lines fits
  3. Reject the other choices. A ballad uses four-line stanzas with a different rhythm, and free verse has no set rhyme scheme.
    a ballad of four-line stanzas and a free verse poem with no rhyme do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    a sonnet of fourteen lines

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 3.1.3
What is the metre of Sonnet 18 most often?

Method. Read the first line, and count the beats.

  1. Read the line. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
    Shall I compare thee
  2. Count the beats. It has ten syllables, with five stressed beats.
    ten syllables
  3. Name the metre. Five iambic beats make iambic pentameter.
    iambic pentameter
  4. Write the answer.
    iambic pentameter

Check. The metre is iambic pentameter. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a rhyme scheme is named by letters, not by the rhyming words. Two lines that rhyme share one letter.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Name the form, then the rhyme scheme, then say what the form does to the reader.

Exercise 3A  Practice: form and fixed forms

1
FHow many lines does Poem A have?
2
FWhich line rhymes with line 1, "post"? Give the line number.
3
FWhich line rhymes with line 2, "mind"? Give the line number.
4
FWhich rhyme scheme matches the first four lines of Poem A? Choose one: ABAB, AABB, ABCB or AAAA.
5
FWhat is the rhyme scheme of the final two lines of Poem A?
6
FHow many quatrains (four-line stanzas) does Sonnet 18 have before its final couplet?
7
FWhat is the name of the sonnet form with three quatrains and a couplet? Choose one: Shakespearean sonnet, Petrarchan sonnet, limerick or haiku.
8
PSWhich is the best reason a poet might choose a sonnet form for a message to a mother? Choose one: the fixed length makes the poem feel controlled and careful, the poem must be exactly one line long, sonnets are always about love or the form has no rules.
9
PSIs the metre of Poem A strictly regular? Write yes or no.
10
FWhich line of Sonnet 18 rhymes with line 1? Give the line number.
11
FWrite the rhyme pair that ends the final couplet of Sonnet 18.
12
RExplain in one sentence why the fixed length of a sonnet might suit a poet who wants to hold back strong feeling.
13
FWhich line of Poem A ends with the word "still"? Give the line number.
14
FWhich description of Poem A is accurate? Choose one: It is a fourteen-line poem with a rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG., It is a free verse poem with no rhyme., It is a limerick with five lines. or It is a ballad with four-line stanzas..
15
RExplain how the rhyme of line 1 and line 3 helps the reader follow the sonnet's argument.
16
FHow many syllables does a regular iambic pentameter line have? Write the number only.
17
RChallenge: explain how the fixed form of a sonnet shapes the way the speaker of Sonnet 18 argues.
3.2

The volta: the turn in a sonnet

Year 8
Explain the turn (volta) of a sonnet, and the effect of a shift in argument or feeling (KS3 reading, R8)
Video lesson: The volta: the turn in a sonnetComing soon
Story. In a sonnet, the argument often turns at a key line. The turn is called the volta, from the Italian word for turn. After the volta, the poem changes its direction, its mood, or its claim.

In Poem A, the turn comes when the speaker says "But I shall not reply." In Sonnet 18, the turn comes when the speaker says "But thy eternal summer shall not fade."

Key ideas

  • The volta is the point in a sonnet where the argument turns or the mood changes.
  • In a Shakespearean sonnet the volta often comes at line 9, the start of the final section.
  • When you explain a volta, name the line, say what the poem changes, and say what effect the change has on the reader.
Worked example 3.2.1
Which line is the volta in Sonnet 18? Give the line number.

Method. Find where the argument changes direction.

  1. Find the change. The first eight lines compare the beloved to a summer day that fades.
    Shall I compare thee
  2. Find the turn. Line 9 begins with "But", and it says the summer will not fade.
    But thy eternal summer shall not fade
  3. Give the number. The turn is at line 9.
    9
  4. Write the answer.
    9

Check. The volta is at line 9. ✓

Worked example 3.2.2
What does the volta in Poem A do? Choose one: It turns from the ordinary post to a choice to wait and reply kindly., It lists more bills and cards. or It ends the poem with a question about the weather..

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. Line 9 says "But I shall not reply", so the poem shifts to the choice to wait for the morning.
    It turns from the ordinary post to a choice to wait and reply kindly. fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The poem does not list more bills, and it does not end with a question about the weather.
    It lists more bills and cards. and It ends the poem with a question about the weather. do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    It turns from the ordinary post to a choice to wait and reply kindly.

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 3.2.3
Why does the volta in Sonnet 18 matter?

Method. Read the lines after the volta and say what they claim.

  1. Read the lines. Thy eternal summer shall not fade.
    eternal summer
  2. Read the claim. The poem says the beloved lives in the lines of the poem.
    eternal lines
  3. Explain the effect. The turn shifts from loss to lasting life.
    it claims that the beloved will live forever in the poem
  4. Write the answer.
    it claims that the beloved will live forever in the poem

Check. The volta and its claim are explained. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a volta is a turn, not just a new line. Look for a change in argument, feeling or direction.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Write "The volta at line ... shows ... because ..." to link the turn to the meaning.

Exercise 3B  Practice: the volta

1
FCopy the words of the line that begins the turn in Poem A.
2
FWhich line begins with the word "But" in Poem A? Give the line number.
3
FWhich line of Sonnet 18 is the volta? Give the line number.
4
FBefore the volta in Poem A, what is the speaker doing? Choose one: sorting the post, the bills and the cards, sending a letter or sleeping.
5
FAfter the volta in Poem A, what does the speaker choose to do? Choose one: wait until the morning and reply, throw away the letter or shout at the post office.
6
PSExplain what the volta in Poem A reveals about the speaker, in one sentence.
7
PSWhat is the effect of the volta in Sonnet 18 on the reader? Choose one: it shifts from a comparison of loss to a claim of lasting life, it describes the weather or it lists the summer months.
8
FCopy the words that show the beloved will not fade in line 9.
9
FWrite the word that ends line 11 of Sonnet 18. It rhymes with the word that ends line 9.
10
RExplain one reason the volta in Poem A matters to the poem as a whole.
11
RWhat does the word "But" at the start of the volta signal? Choose one: a change in direction, a list of items or a repetition of the first line.
12
RExplain how the volta in Sonnet 18 links to the rest of the poem.
13
PSWhich phrase in Sonnet 18 is the best evidence of the turn? Choose one: But thy eternal summer shall not fade,, Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, or Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,.
14
RChallenge: explain why the volta in a sonnet is often placed at line 9, rather than earlier or later.
3.3

Voice and persona

Year 8
Explain persona and voice, and how a speaker's situation shapes a poem (KS3 reading, R3)
Video lesson: Voice and personaComing soon
Story. A poem may have a speaker who is not the poet. The speaker's voice, tone and situation are created by the poet, and this is called persona.

Poem B: Cold coffee (original, free verse)

1I wipe the tables after the last fare,

and the coffee in the cup has gone to skin.

Nobody sees the hour I spend here:

the hum of the fridge, the mop's slow drip, the radio

5murmuring a traffic report to no one.

I like the empty chairs. They do not ask

how I am, or where my daughter is,

or whether I have eaten. They just wait,

pushed in and tidy, the way I was taught.

10Tomorrow someone else will fill them up

with noise and laughter, and by morning

they will not remember me. I do not mind.

I leave the lights on for the early bakers,

and I go home with the sky going pale behind me,

15carrying my key, my bag, and the quiet.

Key ideas

  • A persona is a character or role that a poem's speaker takes on.
  • Voice is the way a speaker sounds: the tone, the words chosen and the attitude to the reader.
  • A speaker's situation, such as a night shift, shapes what they notice and how they feel.
Worked example 3.3.1
Who is the speaker of Poem B?

Method. Look at the speaker's actions and situation.

  1. Find the actions. The speaker wipes tables after the last fare.
    I wipe the tables
  2. Find the setting. The speaker works late, with the sky going pale.
    the sky going pale
  3. Name the persona. The persona is a worker who cleans a café late at night.
    a worker who cleans a café late at night
  4. Write the answer.
    a worker who cleans a café late at night

Check. The persona is named from the actions. ✓

Worked example 3.3.2
What is the tone of "I do not mind"? Choose one: quiet acceptance, anger or excitement.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. The speaker says the fact calmly, with no complaint, which shows acceptance.
    quiet acceptance fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The speaker is not angry, and the line is not excited.
    anger and excitement do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    quiet acceptance

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 3.3.3
What does "carrying my key, my bag, and the quiet" suggest about the speaker's feelings?

Method. Look at what the speaker carries, then what the quiet means.

  1. Find the objects. The speaker carries a key and a bag.
    my key, my bag
  2. Find the quiet. The quiet is the last thing the speaker carries.
    the quiet
  3. Explain the feeling. The speaker has found peace in the quiet end of the shift.
    they find peace in the quiet
  4. Write the answer.
    they find peace in the quiet

Check. The feeling is explained from the image. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: the speaker is not always the poet. Ask what the speaker is like, not what the poet is like.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Name the persona, then describe the voice and say what the situation shows about the speaker.

Exercise 3C  Practice: voice and persona

1
FCopy the words that show the speaker is working alone late at night.
2
FWhich word best describes the speaker's voice in Poem B? Choose one: calm, furious, excited or boastful.
3
FWhich is the speaker of Poem B most likely to be? Choose one: a cleaner who works in a café at night, a teacher in a classroom, a pilot in the sky or a child at school.
4
PSExplain one detail that shows the speaker's situation, using a quotation.
5
PSWhich phrase shows the speaker is thoughtful about the other people in the café? Choose one: they will not remember me, I wipe the tables or the hum of the fridge.
6
RExplain what "I do not mind" shows about the speaker.
7
FCopy the words that show the speaker is kind to the bakers.
8
RWhat does "I like the empty chairs" show about the speaker? Choose one: a quiet, gentle affection for the empty room, a wish to sit down or a dislike of the café.
9
RExplain how the speaker's questions about the family show care, using the line "how I am, or where my daughter is".
10
RWhich is the most likely reason the speaker says "they just wait"? Choose one: the chairs are waiting for the next customers, as if they have patience, the speaker is waiting for a bus or the speaker is angry with the chairs.
11
RExplain how the persona makes the poem feel honest, in one sentence.
12
RWhich best describes the speaker's attitude to the future? Choose one: calm, expecting that the café will be busy again, frightened about losing the job or angry with the morning.
13
RChallenge: explain how the speaker's situation changes the way the reader sees the quiet at the end of the poem.
14
FWhich is an example of voice in Poem B? Choose one: the calm words "I do not mind", the title or the number of lines.
3.4

Sound, rhythm and extended metaphor

Year 8
Analyse sound patterns, rhythm and extended metaphor across a poem (KS3 reading, R3 and R8)
Video lesson: Sound, rhythm and extended metaphorComing soon
Story. A poet chooses sounds as well as meanings. A repeated sound, a broken line or a run-on line can all change how a poem is felt by the reader.

An extended metaphor carries one comparison through the whole poem. In Poem A, sorting the post stands for sorting the memories of a day.

Key ideas

  • Sibilance is the repetition of s and sh sounds; it can sound soft, or hiss like a secret.
  • Enjambment is a line that runs on into the next line without a full stop, so the sense flows over the line break.
  • Caesura is a pause in the middle of a line, marked by punctuation or a natural break.
  • An extended metaphor carries one comparison through several lines, or the whole poem.
Worked example 3.4.1
Give one example of enjambment in Poem A, and say what it does.

Method. Find a line that runs on, then say what the run-on does.

  1. Find the run-on. Line 1 ends with "post", but the sentence continues into line 2.
    loose post
  2. Quote the run-on. The words flow from line 1 into line 2.
    into the pigeonholes
  3. Explain the effect. The run-on makes the sorting feel steady and continuous.
    steady and continuous
  4. Write the answer.
    the post into the pigeonholes

Check. The enjambment and its effect are explained. ✓

Worked example 3.4.2
Which sound pattern is in "the mop's slow drip"? Choose one: sibilance, assonance only or onomatopoeia.

Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.

  1. Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
  2. Test the choice. The repeated s sounds in "slow" and "mop's" give a soft, hissing sound.
    sibilance fits
  3. Reject the other choices. The sound is mainly s, so assonance is not the main pattern, and the words do not imitate a sound directly.
    assonance only and onomatopoeia do not fit
  4. Write the answer.
    sibilance

Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓

Worked example 3.4.3
What is the extended metaphor in Poem A?

Method. Find the comparison, then check it runs through the whole poem.

  1. Find the comparison. The post is sorted into pigeonholes, like memories.
    pigeonholes of my mind
  2. Check the poem. The sorting continues to the final couplet.
    the kindest letter
  3. Name the metaphor. Sorting the post stands for sorting the memories of the day.
    sorting the memories of the day
  4. Write the answer.
    sorting the post is sorting the memories of the day

Check. The extended metaphor is named across the poem. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a sound pattern is only useful if you say what it does. "There is alliteration" is not enough; add the effect on the reader.

Exam tip

Exam tip. Name the sound or form device, quote the line, and then explain the effect.

Exercise 3D  Practice: sound, rhythm and extended metaphor

1
FCopy the words that include the repeated s sound in "the mop's slow drip".
2
FWhich device is the run-on from line 1 to line 2 of Poem A? Choose one: enjambment, caesura, rhyme or personification.
3
FWhich device is "Tomorrow I will write. I'll say I'm fine," in line 13? Choose one: caesura, alliteration, enjambment or a simile.
4
PSName the device in "the hum of the fridge, the mop's slow drip", and explain its effect.
5
PSName the sound pattern in "so long as men can breathe", and explain its effect.
6
FHow many lines at the start of Poem A describe the post, before the word "Then" begins line 5? Write the number.
7
RExplain how the extended metaphor of sorting the post links the first line to the last.
8
PSName the device in "the news that cost a week of sleep" and explain its effect.
9
RWhat is the effect of the run-on line from line 9 to line 10 of Poem A? Choose one: it makes the wait feel like it flows into the morning, it stops the poem with a full stop, it adds a list of bills or it repeats the first line.
10
RName the sound device in "that asks, in few words, if I'm all right", and explain its effect in one sentence.
11
RWhich is an extended metaphor, rather than a single comparison? Choose one: sorting the post as sorting memories through the whole poem, the pigeonholes in one line or the rain in line 1.
12
RWhich image is the extended metaphor of Sonnet 18? Choose one: summer, which stands for the beloved and lasts, winter, which stands for the sea, rain, which stands for tears or the wind, which stands for the post.
13
RChallenge: explain how the extended metaphor of summer in Sonnet 18 gives the beloved lasting life.

Chapter summary

SkillMethod

Can you…?

    Key terms

    Exercise 3Z  Check-up

    1
    How many lines does Poem A have?
    2
    Which line in Poem A begins the turn? Give the line number.
    3
    What is the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 18's final couplet? Write the letters.
    4
    Which form is Poem A? Choose one: a sonnet of fourteen lines, a haiku of three lines, a limerick of five lines or a free verse poem with no lines.
    5
    What is the speaker's persona in Poem B? Choose one: a worker who cleans a café late at night, a bus driver or a child at school.
    6
    Name the device in "the sky going pale behind me" and explain its effect in one sentence.
    7
    Which best describes the volta of Sonnet 18? Choose one: the turn from loss to lasting life at line 9, a list of summer days or a question at the end.
    8
    What does the enjambment in Poem A do between lines 9 and 10? Choose one: it makes the wait flow into the morning, it stops the poem with a full stop or it adds a bill to the list.
    9
    Explain the extended metaphor in Poem A in one sentence.
    10
    Explain what the speaker of Poem B feels about the empty chairs.

    Total 20 marks. Allow about 20 minutes.

    Exercise 3X  Practice test questions

    1
    FName the form of this poem: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate." Write one word.[1 mark]
    2
    FName the rhyme scheme of the first four lines: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate: / Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, / And summer's lease hath all too short a date;"[1 mark]
    3
    PSIn Poem A, the speaker says "But I shall not reply. I'll wait until the morning". Explain what this turn shows about the speaker, in one sentence.[2 marks]
    4
    RName the sound device in the line "the mop's slow drip", and explain its effect in one sentence.[2 marks]
    5
    RExplain the persona of a speaker who says "I wipe the tables after the last fare" and "I do not mind". Give one reason from the lines.[3 marks]
    6
    RName the device in "Thy eternal summer shall not fade" and explain its effect in one sentence.[2 marks]
    7
    RExplain what the volta does in Sonnet 18, using the words "But thy eternal summer shall not fade" in your answer.[3 marks]
    8
    FName the rhyme pair that ends the final couplet of Sonnet 18. Write the two words.[1 mark]
    9
    RExplain the difference between a volta and a rhyme scheme, in one or two sentences.[2 marks]
    10
    RExplain how the extended metaphor of sorting the post shapes the reader's view of memory in Poem A. Use the line "into the pigeonholes of my mind".[3 marks]
    ← Chapter 2: Analysing language, structure and effect across a textChapter 4: Reading drama: structure, tension and staging →

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