Poetry By Heart Judging Criteria Student performances in all rounds of the competition must be judged and scored using these criteria. Voice and presence 2-­‐15 points This category evaluates the sound, look and atmosphere of the recitation. What to look for: • The volume, rhythm and intonation of the recitation enhance the poem and are appropriate to its mood and meaning. • Appropriate pronunciation of all words in the student’s natural accent. If Scots language poetry is recited, students should pronounce this vocabulary appropriately and fluently. • Pacing which is appropriate to the poem. • Engagement with the audience through appropriate body language, confidence and eye contact. (Singing or distracting and excessive gestures are NOT desired; the performance should be proof that the poem has been internalised rather than dramatized.) Understanding and complexity 2-­‐15 points This category evaluates whether the student exhibits an understanding of the poem in his or her recitation and also considers the relative complexity of the poem. What to look for: • A performance in which the meaning of the poem is powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The student displays an interpretation that deepens and enlivens the poem. • Meaning, allusions, irony, tones of voice and other nuances are captured by the performance in a way that is sensitive to any subtleties of the poem. • Poems with difficult content which convey complex, sophisticated ideas that the student will be challenged to grasp and express and/or poems with difficult language that have complexity of diction and syntax, metre and rhyme scheme, and shifts in tone or mood. • Poem length can also be taken into account here but bear in mind that longer poems are not necessarily more difficult than shorter ones. • The diversity of a student’s recitations across both their poems can be considered here. Bonus 0-­‐6 points This category is a chance to reward a recitation that is more than the sum of its parts. What to look for: • Has the student captivated the audience with the language of the poem? • Does the student understand and show mastery in the art of recitation? • Has the recitation honoured the poem and brought the audience to a closer or deeper relationship with it? Accuracy 1-­‐4 points A separate judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation. Students will score a full 4 points for a word-­‐perfect recitation; 3 for a small number of errors which do not significantly affect meaning and/or flow; 2 for a recitation where the errors do affect meaning and/or flow; 1 for a recitation where occasional use is made of the prompter; 0 for a recitation which requires considerable prompting.