This resource aims to give A-level students a strategy and example for reading a poem. We asked a Cambridge student to read a poem as though they were going to write an essay on it, and to write down their thoughts as they went through it. The student then wrote an essay plan. The poem being studied is by Tennyson, 'Now sleeps the crimson petal.' The resource ends with tips on how to read a poem, and on essay writing. It could be used either by individual students or in groups, with students writing their own commentary on the same poem.