Writing about Poetry for English Literature GCSE

Writing about Poetry for English Literature GCSE How to excel

Writing about Poetry • You MUST answer the question precisely. They are worded in different but specific ways.

Writing about Poetry • Purpose (author) • Devices (form & language) • Comparisons (within & between) • Contrasts (within & between) • Control (detail and whole text)

Writing about Poetry • Analyse sensitive insight, independent & evaluative response • Explore developed, qualified, measured, independent response • Explain sustained and structured response • Identify structured comments

Writing about Poetry • You will HAVE to choose TWO poems from the pre-1914 batch, ONE by Simon Armitage and ONE by Carol Ann Duffy. • Think COUNTDOWN. "Two from the top row; one from the middle row; one from the bottom row."

Writing about Poetry • Think COUNTDOWN. "Two from the top row; one from the middle row; one from the bottom row.”

Writing about Poetry

Writing about Poetry • Opening paragraph should link all four poems: the red region, the bull's eye. • (Although the blue regions look important, revealing overlaps between three of the four poems, we advise for practical reasons to omit them.)

Writing about Poetry • Your essay will gain a lot of marks for COMPARISON, so use the GREEN sectors to focus on comparisons between pairs of poems. (The clever ones amongst you will realise that the green sectors therefore must subsume and include the blue sectors!) • Keep your eye on the bull's eye; bring back each comparison, however far you've gone, to the key red overlap.

Writing about Poetry • Spend ONE HOUR on the poem essay; there are more marks awarded to the poetry essay than to the prose (short story) essay. • You do not have to write the same amount on each poem. You MUST write something on each poem; the most marks are reserved for COMPARISON.

Writing about Poetry • You do not have to write the same amount on each poem. • You MUST write something on each poem. • The most marks are reserved for COMPARISON. • A more accurate Venn diagram might therefore look something like this.

Writing about Poetry • The clever ones amongst you might notice that although the basic circles here - mainly yellow- vary according to the poems chosen, the green areas - the key comparisons - remain broadly equal. • Interesting.

Writing about Poetry • When the examiners refer to 'comparison', they are also including 'contrast'. Think of comparisons and contrasts. • In comparing between 'old' and 'modern' poems, it is permissible to draw attention to the differences evident as a result of the periods in which they were composed. • The more you compare, the better your answer.

Writing about Poetry • Think of different responses and interpretations. You might want to compare and contrast the way readers might be expected to respond to each of the different poems. • Integrate comparisons within paragraphs. • Use concise quotations to support your argument.

Writing about Poetry • Use the MAGIC TRIANGLE to make sure you are making the right sort of points.

Writing about Poetry • Here is a sample question to consider: In Hitcher, Simon Armitage writes about a deviant or disturbed character. Compare Hitcher with one poem by Duffy and two pre-1914 poems that present deviant or disturbed personalities.

Writing about Poetry Discourse Markers: Managing Comparisons Similarly … In the same way … Also … We can see a similar effect … Just as … so … This is also true of … Equally …

Writing about Poetry Discourse Markers: Managing Contrasts On the other hand … But when we look at … Although … Whereas … While …

Writing about Poetry Discourse Markers: Managing Conclusions Finally, … In the end, … All the poets … When the reader considers all this, … To sum up … The most important reason …

Writing about Poetry Discourse Markers: Expressing attitude and feeling Possibly, … Probably, … Superficially, … Of course, … To be precise, … In my experience, … This could mean … It may be … Perhaps … It seems to me that …

Writing about Poetry Discourse Markers: Exploring different approached and interpretations Some people may think that … It is often said that … It could be that … Alternatively, … On the other hand, …

Writing about Poetry • Use technical terms to show your ability at analysing poetry. • Simile, metaphor • Personification, symbolism • Rhythm, rhyme • Colloquial language • Lexical field • Direct address to the reader • Dramatic monologue • Voice, persona • Imagery, motif • Closure, resolution • Ambiguity, ambivalence

Writing about Poetry • Tip: • Begin with the technical term and then make something of it. • (You won’t get high marks, will you, for just spotting the fact that two words rhyme. Year 7 know that.)

Writing about Poetry • Begin with the technical term and then make something of it. • “The image which Armitage presents us with at the beginning of the second stanza is violent and challenging.” • “Throughout the poem, internal rhyme is used to tighten the structure and to create a rather intense and focused mood.” • “Browning’s complex grammar suits the essentially evasive manner of the Duke.”

Writing about Poetry • See how all these sentences require a paragraph to develop and explain their ideas: • “The image which Armitage presents us with at the beginning of the second stanza is violent and challenging.” • “Throughout the poem, internal rhyme is used to tighten the structure and to create a rather intense and focused mood.” • “Browning’s complex grammar suits the essentially evasive manner of the Duke.”

Writing about Poetry • Use these techniques in the question about ‘poems from different cultures’ as well as in the English Literature essay on poetry. • This presentation is accessible on the school website.

Writing about Poetry for English Literature GCSE