Poets use figurative language to make us see familiar things in new ways. In a poem about a city at night, streetlamps are “like patient soldiers” and a night bus “sighs”. These images make the city feel alive and watchful.
Mood is the feeling a poem creates: calm, mysterious, joyful or sad. Word choices, images and sounds all build mood.
When you write about a poem, quote a short phrase, name the technique and explain the picture and the mood it creates.
Worked example
What mood does “the office windows flicker like a thousand stars” create?
- Stars are gentle, distant lights in a dark sky.
- The simile makes the windows seem beautiful and quiet.
Answer:A calm, almost magical mood at night.
Key words
- mood
- the feeling a text creates
- image
- a picture made with words
- quote
- use the writer's exact words
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: RL.5.4