How do I write an essay on an unprepared piece of poetry?

The key issue that arises in writing an essay on an unseen poem is panic. Often the meaning of a poem is initially unclear and requires careful thought and analysis to become evident. It is imperative to read the poem at least twice before even picking up your pen, and I like to recommend forty minutes be spent reading, thinking, analysing and planning. I also issue a sheet to all my students which summarises poetic techniques and methods (such as chiasmus, anaphora etc.) which is incredibly useful in analysing the poem.

Once you think you've worked out the meaning of the poem, you have to consider how the poet is getting across their message. It's important that you formulate a sense of argument - once you've decided what the underlying meaning is, the point of your essay is to point out exactly how this is conveyed and why your interpretation is worth considering. Do any literary devices stick out and help illustrate the meaning of the poem? An example of this might be choppy punctuation, awkward line breaks and caesuras in a poem dealing with issues of disorder and discomfort. I find the most effective way to write an essay on an unseen is usually to go through the poem chronologically, stanza by stanza and comment on every device that you think supports your argument. Stylistic analysis as well as interpretation is often the key to a good essay - it's one thing to say that the poem is about a sense of discomfort, but you will get a better mark if you point out how this is deliberately conveyed by the poet.