Grade 7 Verse and Prose Knowledge

Verse Form, Metre and Rhythm

At the risk of sharing an unpopular opinion, I love the Grade 7 Verse and Prose questions on verse form, metre and rhythm! Maybe because if feels like a crossover of maths and literature, which are two of my favourite things.

Here are two of the questions your students will be asked in this exam:

The first hurdle is figuring out what you need to cover in each question, so you don’t have overlapping answers. The second hurdle is analysing the structure of the poem and explaining it clearly and correctly.

In this post I am going to use a really straightforward example: a modern sonnet called Mermaid by Susan Rogerson. I love using modern sonnets for Grade 7 Verse and Prose for two reasons: 1) they often follow Shakespearean sonnet form so can be easily analysed and 2) they are more accessible. You can find more modern sonnets in Poetry For Performance: An Anthology for Speech and Drama Teachers, which we published a few years ago.

Here’s the poem:

Give an explanation of the verse form used in this sonnet: