Literature Section B

Literature Section B: Literature Poems

In the exam you will have to answer one question from a choice of three on the poet’s you have studied in class- either Heaney and Clarke and their pre-1914 poems OR Duffy and Armitage and their pre-1914 poems.

You will have one hour to plan, write and check your response- which should be around 6 paragraphs long.

In your response you will need to compare four poems this means that you will either;

Write 6 paragraphs about 2 main poems and throw in references to 2 other poems OR
Write 3 paragraphs comparing two poems and then another 3 paragraphs comparing 2 other poems

In this part of your exam points are awarded (out of 36) by the examiners for the following:

How well you structure your answer
Your personal response to the poet's ideas and purposes
Your selection of quotations to support your argument
How the poets intended for these quotations to be understood
What the effect of the language and structure are on their readers
Detailed and continuous comparison between the poems

Take 10 minutes to draw up a grid like the one below. Include brief ideas about the two main poems you will write about. THEN spend 5 minutes working out where you can throw in references to the other 2 poems

You should make sure you highlight similarities and differences so that when you write the essay you are comparing.

Content	Language	Structure
Both poems describe the power of nature	SOTI uses vivid imagery to show how the people are prepared for the power of the storm	PB uses repetition to convey the strength of the storm. However Sonnet looks at the beauty and tranquillity that nature can bring to some people
Both poets describe how they feel about the danger and destruction that nature can cause	Eagle uses similar images in the form of a simile to show this strenght	Both poets use enjambment to show how the strength is endless just like the lines in the poems

Each one of these boxes will then become a paragraph of writing.

As you write your essay you should be careful to use PEE paragraphs ( or PEACE if you have been taught this way of extending your writing)

What is the poem about? Comment on the ideas, themes and most importantly the feelings in the poems you are writing about.

You will need to know what each of the poems are about before the exam;

Heaney and Clarke

Nature: Digging/ Death of a naturalist/ At a potato digging/ Storm on the island/ The field mouse/ Difficult Birth/ Eagle/ Sonnet
Death: Mid term break/ On the train/ On my first sonne
Parent and Child Relationships: Follower/ Baby sitting/ Catrin/ Cold Knap Lake/ Song of the old mother/ On my first sonne/ Affliction of Margaret
Growing up/ Independence: Mid term break/ Death of a naturalist/ Cold Knap Lake/ Affliction of Margaret
Danger: At a potato digging/ Storm on the Island/ On the train/ The field mouse/ Difficult Birth/ Eagle/ Patrolling Barnegat

Duffy and Armitage

Love: Havisham/ Anne Hathaway/ Father/ Kid/ Sonnet 130
Violence: Salome/ Hitcher/ Education for leisure/ My Last Duchess/ Man he killed
Unusual characters: Havisham/ Salome/ Stealing/ Hitcher/ Kid/ My Last Duchess
Parent and Child Relationships: Before you were mine/ Mother/ Father/ Homecoming/ On my first sonne/
Loss: Anne Hathaway/ Mother/ On my first sonne/ My last duchess

How is the poem written? Comment on the language devices used and their effect as well as how they show the poet is feeling. Pick out quotation which show these language devices in action.

You will need to make sure you can identify the following language devices; Alliteration, Colloquialism, Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Personification, Simile, Phonetics, Pathetic Fallacy, Sibilance

How is the poem laid out on the page? You will need to comment on the structural devices and their effect as well as how they link to how the poet is feeling. Pick the best quotations you can to show these in action.

You will need to make sure you understand and can identify these devices before the exam; Stanza length, Line length, Enjambment, Punctuation, Repetition.

Give yourself one hour to plan, write and then check a 6 paragraph essay on these past questions

Heaney and Clarke:

(a) Compare how the adults feel towards children in Babysitting and Song of the Old Mother THEN (b) Compare how feelings towards the death of a child are shown in Mid Term Break and On my first sonne

Compare how attitudes are shown towards other people in four of these poems- you must choose two poems from list a and two poems from list b. List aà Follower, Digging, Catrin. List bà Song of the old mother, The man he killed, On my first sonne

(a) Compare the methods used to present nature in The eagle and Sonnet THEN (b) Compare the methods used to present nature in one poem by Gillian Clarke and one by Seamus Heaney

Compare how danger is presented in Storm on the Island and Patrolling Barnegat with two poems from the Pre 1914 poetry bank.

Duffy and Armitage:

Compare how death is shown in for of these poems- - you must choose two poems from list a and two poems from list b. List aà Salome, Education for leisure, November. List bà Man he killed, On my first Sonne, Laboratory

(a) Compare how attitudes to getting older are shown in Kid and Havisham THEN (b) Compare how attitudes of adults to children are shown in Song of the old mother and On my first sonne

Compare how the features of language in Stealing appeal to you with one poem by Simon Armitage and two poems from the Pre 1914 bank.

Compare how love is shown in Before you were mine and Mother with two poems from the pre 1914 poetry bank.