How to Write a Grade 9 Unseen Poetry Essay (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)

Form

Explanation

Sonnet

• Traditionally made up of 14 lines, usually dealing with the theme of love

• Petrarchan (Italian) sonnets typically follow an ABBA, ABBA, CDE, CDE rhyme scheme

• Shakespearean (English) sonnets typically follow an ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rhyme scheme

Epic

• An ancient type of lengthy, narrative poem

• Typically deals with heroic deeds

Free verse

• A type of poetry defined by a lack of rules

• It can rhyme or not, have as many lines or stanzas as the poet wants and can be about any subject matter

Villanelle

• A old, rule-driven type of poetry made up of 19 lines

• It has five stanzas of three lines each (tercets) and a final stanza of four lines (quatrain)

• There are only two rhyming sounds (ABA) and a lot of repetition

Ode

• One of the oldest forms of poetry, originally performed with a musical instrument

• Typically written to praise a person, event or thing

• Usually quite short in length

Ballad

• An old, traditional form of poetry that typically tells a dramatic or emotional story

• Typically structured into quatrains with a rhyme scheme of ABAB or ABCB, although this can be modified to suit a writer’s needs

‘Slow Reader’ by Vicki Feaver

Form and structure features

He can make sculptures

And fabulous machines

Invent games, tell jokes

Give solemn, adult advice

But he is slow to read.

When I take him on my knee

With his Ladybird book*

He gazes into the air

Sighing and shaking his head

Like an old man

Who knows the mountains

Are impassable.

He toys with words

Letting them grow cold

As gristly* meat

Until I relent

And let him wriggle free –

A fish returning

To its element

Or a white-eyed colt*

Shying from the bit*

As if he sees

That if he takes it

In his mouth

He’ll never run

Quite free again.

Glossary

*Ladybird book – a popular series of books for children 

*gristly – chewy or hard to digest

*colt – a young horse

*bit – the part of a horse’s harness that fits in the mouth

• free verse

• two stanzas

• short lines

• juxtaposition

• enjambment 

Question focus

Analysis of form and structure (Grade 9)

Explore how the writer presents a child who is slow at learning to read in this poem.

In ‘Slow Reader’ Vicki Feaver empathically depicts a child who is struggling to read. This free verse poem consists of two stanzas and is recounted from an adult speaker’s point of view. The first stanza is one of detached observation and explores the boy’s proficiency in many activities. This is briefly juxtaposed with his difficulty in reading: he is “slow to read”. The first stanza positively highlights the boy’s remarkable abilities, how he can “make sculptures and give “solemn, adult advice”. The speaker in the second stanza becomes more involved and empathetic towards the child who is struggling to read and conveys how he wishes to escape from the situation. Indeed, the short lines in the second stanza seem to reflect the boy’s restlessness. Furthermore, the use of free verse and frequent use of enjambment throughout the poem conveys how the boy does not wish to be constrained by his struggles with reading and thus reflects his desire to break free. It symbolises the boy’s rejection of the rigid boundaries and rules which are generally connected to reading.

Language technique(s)

Quotes

Language comments

listing, adjectives, simile, hyperbole

“make sculptures”, “invent games”, “Give solemn, adult advice”, “slow to read”, “mountains/Are impassable”

• suggests the boy is artistic and inventive but also intelligent and sincere

• indicates the boy believes there are insuperable barriers in his way

Question focus

Analysis of language (Grade 9)

Explore how the writer presents a child who is slow at learning to read in this poem.

In ‘Slow Reader’ Vicki Feaver depicts a child who is struggling to read. Initially, the poet offers a list of the skills the boy has mastered. The speaker states that he can “make sculptures”, “Invent games, tell jokes / Give solemn, adult advice” which suggests that he is artistic and inventive. However, these skills are contrasted with his reading struggles: “he is slow to read”. The use of the simile “Like an old man” suggests that reading is a physical barrier or challenge that cannot be overcome. Feaver uses hyperbole to emphasise the scale of his challenge, describing the the “mountains” that “Are impassable”, suggesting that there are insuperable barriers in his way to learning to read.

IGCSE Edexcel English Literature Unseen Poetry

Explore how the writer presents a child who is slow at learning to read in this poem.

In your answer, you should consider the writer’s:

• descriptive skills

• choice of language

• use of form and structure

In ‘Slow Reader’ Vicki Feaver empathically describes a child who is struggling to read. The poem consists of two stanzas and is recounted from an adult’s point of view. The first stanza is one of detached observation and explores the boy’s proficiency in many activities. The poet begins by listing the skills that the boy does well: he can “make sculptures”, “Invent games, tell jokes / Give solemn, adult advice” which suggests that he is artistic and inventive. The description of him, using the adjectives “fabulous” and “solemn”, suggest that the boy is also both intelligent and sincere. However, the list of what the boy is good at is juxtaposed with his difficulty in reading: he is “slow to read”. In the second stanza the speaker becomes more involved and empathetic towards the child who is struggling to read and conveys how he wishes to escape from the situation. Indeed, the short lines in the second stanza reflect the boy’s restlessness. Furthermore, the use of free verse and frequent use of enjambment throughout the poem illustrates how the boy does not wish to be constrained by his struggles with reading and thus reflects his desire to break free. It symbolises the boy’s rejection of the rigid boundaries and rules which are generally connected to reading. The use of the simile “Like an old man” facing mountains highlights how the boy believes that reading is impossible for him. Here Feaver uses hyperbole to stress that the boy believes his difficulties cannot be overcome as she describes them as “mountains” that “Are impassable”, suggesting that there are insuperable barriers in his way.