Recap
In the poetry analysis essay, a thesis is a defensible interpretation of the poem that responds to the prompt; it is not a restatement, a summary or a list of devices. A line of reasoning is the logical sequence of claims that defends it; each body paragraph proves one claim. Commentary explains how the evidence supports the claim and how the claim supports the thesis; it is where most of the credit is earned. A thesis may preview the reasoning, but it need not list techniques or evidence. The full explanation, with worked examples on Hardy and Shakespeare, is in the study guide.
Key relationships
| Part | What it does | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Thesis | States a defensible interpretation | Could a reasonable reader disagree, and would I need evidence to answer? |
| Line of reasoning | Orders the claims that prove the thesis | Do the claims add up to the thesis, in a logical order? |
| Claim | Opens a paragraph; one step in the argument | Is it my own statement, not a quotation? |
| Evidence | Short, specific, accurate detail from the poem | Is it embedded in my sentence? |
| Commentary | Device, effect, meaning, thesis | Does it explain how, not just what? |
| Link | Ties the paragraph back to the thesis | Does the last sentence connect upward? |
Essay scoring (suggested Marlbridge summary): thesis 1 point, evidence and commentary up to 4 points, sophistication 1 point, six in all.
Conditions to remember
- The thesis answers the prompt about this poem; keep it at the level of meaning.
- Several sentences can make up a thesis if they are close together.
- Commentary needs a verb of effect (suggests, exposes, delays, undercuts), not just “shows”.
- Sophistication must be sustained: handling tension, explaining significance, or setting the reading in a wider context.
Mistakes to avoid
- Restating the prompt as a thesis.
- Writing “the poet uses X, Y and Z” and stopping.
- Summarising instead of explaining.
- Ending paragraphs without a link to the thesis.
- Adding a sophisticated-sounding last sentence to an unsophisticated essay.
Worked mini-example
Prompt: how does Hardy present the speaker’s attitude toward the man he killed? Thesis: the speaker clings to the logic of war, but his faltering speech reveals an unease he cannot hide. Claim 1: the imagined meeting at an inn shows the dead man as an ordinary person. Claim 2: the stumbling “Because he was my foe” shows the justification failing as it is spoken. Each paragraph then runs claim, short quotation, device, effect, meaning, thesis, and ends with a link.
Quick self-check
- Which of these is a thesis: a summary, a restatement of the prompt, a list of devices, or a defensible interpretation?
- What is a line of reasoning?
- Give the four moves of a body paragraph.
- What is the commentary chain?
- How many points are available for thesis, evidence and commentary, and sophistication?
Answers.
- A defensible interpretation.
- The logical sequence of claims that together defend the thesis.
- Claim, evidence, commentary, link.
- Device, effect, meaning, thesis.
- 1, 4 and 1 (six in all).
Next: the practice questions.