Writing about poetry

This learning object suggests an approach to understanding poetry and to give a framework to help write about it. Aimed at learners, it uses two poems by Wilfred Owen as examples: 'Exposure' and 'Dulce et Decorum Est', and offers advice on writing an essay on a single poem or an essay comparing two poems. The object introduces 'SMILERS', an approach to carrying out an analysis of a poem. SMILERS stands for Subject, Movement, Imagery, Language, Emotion, Response and Sounds. The resource suggests using SMILERS to consider the following essay question: Discuss how Wilfred Owen writes about suffering in ‘Exposure’.
Date Published: 12 April 2012
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Contributors: Fleur Corfield
In Collection(s): Wilfred Owen
Keywords: Wilfred Owen, English literature, poetry, World War I, Exposure, Dulce et Decorum Est
Cite: Writing about poetry by Wilfred Owen at https://store.jisc.ac.uk/resource/6740 via https://dev.writersinspire.it.ox.ac.uk/content/writing-about-poetry. Published on 12 April 2012. Accessed on 10 May 2026.
If reusing this resource please attribute as follows: Writing about poetry (https://store.jisc.ac.uk/resource/6740) by Wilfred Owen, licensed as Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (2.0 UK).
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