Poetry Comprehension

Poetry can appear in the SET Stage 1 English paper, and many students find it the most challenging type of passage. The good news is that once you know how to approach a poem, you will discover that the skills you already have — inference, vocabulary, and understanding writer's craft — all apply. This lesson will show you how.

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How Is Poetry Different from Prose?

Prose is ordinary writing in sentences and paragraphs (like a novel or newspaper article). Poetry is different in several important ways:

Feature	Prose	Poetry
Layout	Sentences and paragraphs	Lines and stanzas (verses)
Language	Can be simple or complex	Often compressed — every word counts
Rhythm	Usually natural	Often has a beat or pattern
Rhyme	Rarely used	May use rhyme (but not always)
Imagery	Used sometimes	Used heavily — similes, metaphors, personification
Meaning	Usually clear on first reading	May need several readings to fully understand