Unseen Poem: Method to Solve Unseen Poems, Literary Devices and Poetic Forms — Patwari Notes
This page gives the method to solve an Unseen Poem, the most frequently asked literary devices (figures of speech), the method for working out rhyme scheme, and poetic forms such as sonnet, elegy and ode, all from the exam's point of view. This topic often carries several questions in the English language section, so it is a part that can earn good marks in English.
- Secondary-level poetry comprehension
- 10 min read
The 5-Step Method to Solve an Unseen Poem
An Unseen Poem gives a poem or an extract of one that may be outside the textbook, and several questions are asked based on it. Its purpose is to test whether the candidate can understand a poem's language, feeling and craft. Most questions are not about the poem's meaning but about its poetic technique — literary devices, rhyme scheme and poetic form.
Step 1 — Read the whole poem twice: the first time only to understand the feeling, the second time marking the difficult words and lines. Step 2 — Form the title or central idea in one sentence in your mind; the 'suitable title' question is solved from this. Step 3 — Read the questions and go straight to the line number mentioned (e.g. 'the seventh line', 'last four lines'), counting the lines from the top. Step 4 — For a device question, first check for 'like/as' (simile), then a non-living thing given a human quality (personification), then a repeated initial sound (alliteration). Step 5 — For rhyme scheme, write down the last word of each line and assign it a letter.
Remember that in poetry questions, the answer must come from what the poem says, not from your own guess. For questions like 'The poet wants to say…', choose the option that matches the feeling of the whole poem, not just one line. A single line can contain several devices at once, so practise finding the 'most obvious' device in each line.
The Most Frequently Asked Literary Devices
| Device | How to recognise it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | A comparison of two different things using 'like' or 'as' | The words fall like swords; as brave as a lion |
| Metaphor | A direct comparison without like/as — calling one thing another | Words are ghosts that haunt me; Time is a thief |
| Personification | Giving a non-living thing, feeling or animal a human quality/action | The wind whispered; Pain has left its scar |
| Alliteration | Nearby words beginning with the same consonant sound | Bats and Bricks; Stones and sticks |
| Assonance | Repetition of the same vowel sound within nearby words | Hear the mellow wedding bells (the /e/ sound) |
| Onomatopoeia | A word whose sound itself conveys its meaning | buzz, hiss, splash, tick-tock |
| Hyperbole | Deliberately exaggerating something far beyond reality | I have told you a million times |
| Oxymoron | Two contradictory words placed together | sweet sorrow, deafening silence |
| Apostrophe | Directly addressing an absent person or a non-living thing | O Death, where is thy sting? |
| Transferred Epithet | An adjective that is really a person's quality, attached instead to a thing | a sleepless night, a sad day |
| Repetition | Deliberate repetition of a word or whole line, for emphasis | Miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep |
| Imagery | Words that create a picture for the senses — sight, hearing, touch, etc. | the golden daffodils fluttering in the breeze |
Alliteration = the consonant sound at the start of words; Assonance = the vowel sound within words. Look at the sound, not the spelling — 'cat' and 'kite' do have alliteration.
Rhyme, Rhyme Scheme and Stanza
Rhyme occurs when the final sound of two words matches, as in tender–remember, song–long, sort–short. Rhyme that comes at the end of lines is called end rhyme, and rhyme within a single line is called internal rhyme.
Method to work out rhyme scheme: give the last word of the first line the letter 'a'. If the last word of the next line rhymes with it, it also gets 'a'; if not, it gets 'b'. Each new sound gets the next letter in the same way. Example — the first stanza of Oliver Goldsmith's 'An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog': sort (a), song (b), short (a), long (b) — i.e. abab. If the last words in order are day, way, night, light, the scheme is aabb, and if they are yes, sky, high, less, it is abba.
A stanza is a group of lines in a poem. A group of two lines is a couplet, three a tercet, four a quatrain, six a sestet and eight an octave. Blank verse has no rhyme but does have a fixed rhythm (iambic pentameter), while free verse has neither a fixed rhyme nor a fixed rhythm.
Major Forms of Poetry
| Form | Main feature | Remember for the exam |
|---|---|---|
| Sonnet | A 14-line poem, originally from Italy | Petrarchan (Italian) = octave (abbaabba) + sestet (cdecde or cdcdcd); Shakespearean (English) = three quatrains + a final couplet (abab cdcd efef gg) |
| Elegy | A mourning song on someone's death | Goldsmith's 'An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog' (1766) is a humorous, mock elegy |
| Ode | A serious, heartfelt song of praise addressed to a person, thing or feeling | Recognise it by the title 'Ode to …' |
| Lyric | A short, song-like poem expressing the poet's personal feelings | Sonnet, ode and elegy are all considered sub-types of the lyric |
| Ballad | A narrative, song-like poem that tells a story, often in quatrains | Rooted in folk tradition, with dialogue and repetition |
| Limerick | A 5-line humorous poem, rhyme scheme aabba | The 'There was an old man…' type |
| Haiku | A 3-line poem of Japanese origin | Traditionally 5-7-5 syllables, depicting nature |
If you see 'octave and sestet', it's a Petrarchan sonnet; if you see a 'final couplet', it's a Shakespearean sonnet.
Memory Trick
Remember the order 'L-P-S' for spotting a device: first look for Like/As (if found, it's a Simile), then check whether a non-living thing is doing something human-like (Personification), then match the starting Sound of words (Alliteration). If none of these fit and there's a direct comparison, it's a Metaphor. For sonnets: '14 lines — Italy's 8+6, England's 4+4+4+2'.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Alliteration and Assonance?+
In Alliteration, nearby words share the same starting consonant sound (Bats and Bricks). In Assonance, the vowel sound within words is repeated, even if the consonants differ.
How do I tell Simile and Metaphor apart?+
A Simile compares using 'like' or 'as' (fall like swords); a Metaphor calls one thing another directly, without these words (words are ghosts).
How many lines does a sonnet have, and what are its types?+
A sonnet has 14 lines. The main types are Petrarchan or Italian (octave + sestet) and Shakespearean or English (three quatrains + a couplet).
What is an elegy?+
A mourning poem written on someone's death is called an elegy. Oliver Goldsmith's 'An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog' is a humorous, satirical poem in this form.