How would I go about analysing a poem?

When analysing a poem it is best to be as clear and concise as possible. At A-Level, while there is some room for personal interpretation, you will not really be expected to give your opinion on the piece - instead, you should be looking for more technical poetic features and commenting on their effect. It is also important to relate these back to the literary, social, and/or historical context surrounding the poem.
   The best way to start an analysis is to have a copy of the poem in front of you, and go through line-by-line and annotate it. Try to have a checklist of features that you are looking for - certain poems will have more than others and will use them in different ways, but some examples are alliteration, assonance, enjambment, rhyme or half-rhyme, and so on. Also try to comment on the form - is the poem a ballad, a sonnet, is it in blank verse? If you pick out one example from within the poem for each item on your checklist and comment on it, then move on to the next item, you will keep your analysis concise and to the point. When it comes to writing the analysis, it is helpful to use the formula "Point-Explain-Evidence" - so make a statement about the poem, explain why you think this is the case, and then back your point up with a short quotation from the poem. This ensures a well-supported argument.