How To Get Full Marks (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Unseen Poetry: How To Get Full Marks

Regardless of which two poems appear on your Edexcel GCSE English Literature exam paper, the type of question set in Section B part (b) of Paper 2 will always be the same: you will be asked to compare and analyse two unseen poems. “Unseen” here means that you won’t have studied the poems as part of your English lessons before, which can feel very daunting, especially since you have not only to analyse, but also compare these two contemporary poems. However, following this guide will ensure that you answer the question in the way the examiners are looking for.

 Below you will find sections on:

• What skills are required

• Steps for success

What skills are required

Some questions on your exam paper have dominant assessment objectives. For Section B part (b) the main assessment objectives are AO1 and AO2. AO1 assesses you on your ability to understand the ideas of both poems as well as select appropriate quotations, while AO2 requires you to analyse the ways in which the poets use language, form and structure to shape meanings.

The following sections explore the skills required for two of these AOs in more detail:

• Interpretation of a text (AO1) - 40%

• Language, structure and form (AO2) - 60%

Interpretation of a text (AO1)

AO1 requires you to develop an informed personal response while maintaining a critical style throughout. Discerning references to both poems should be an integral part of your response. Throughout your response you should aim to adopt a critical and mature style so that you demonstrate a perceptive understanding of both poems. You should also aim to add your own interpretations and ensure that all of your points are fully developed

When approaching AO1, you need to ensure your response keeps a clear focus on the question. Any quotations you choose to use should always be directly relevant to the focus of the question.

When approaching this unseen poetry question, you should:

• Try to respond flexibly and imaginatively to the demands of the question set

• Give a personal and unique response to both poems:

  • Examiners will reward original and well-focused answers

• Synthesise a developing argument (make the same argument clearly all the way through your answer)

• If possible, you should give alternative interpretations of the aspect being discussed:

  • For example, “On the one hand… however, this could also be seen to represent…”

• Quotations should always relate to the point being made and be relevant to the ideas being discussed

But how do you understand what an unseen poem is even about? Well, keep reading for a simple strategy for approaching the unseen poetry question in the exam. You should be confident in the repertoire of tools and strategies you already have in order to help you unlock what the poems are about.

• When approaching the unseen poems, you should try not to worry about understanding what each poem means the first time you read them:

  • Often that meaning is not unlocked on a first reading so you need to be able to read, pause, reflect and re-read the poems in order to uncover their meanings

• It is important to understand the difference between a surface reading of a poem and an inferential reading:

  • The distinction here is between what the poem says and what the poem means:

    • A surface reading tells you what is going on in the poem

    • An inferential reading tells you what the poem means: its message

  • For the highest marks, the examiner wants to see what you think the poem means, not what the poem says

Using an active and reflective reading strategy, like the one outlined below, can help you to develop a personal response to the poems:

Approaching an unseen poem can seem very intimidating, especially as you will have to comment on a poem that you probably have not come across before. However, examiners just want to see you demonstrating your ability to “notice” things in the text. They do not expect you to know and understand everything about a poem you have just read for the first time, so you should try not to be anxious about addressing this section of the exam. Indeed, examiners often comment that students generally excel in this section, as it is an opportunity for them to write about their own ideas and interpretations of the poem.

Analysing language, structure and form (AO2)

Language techniques arе thе deliberate and stratеgic choicеs poets makе to convеy their ideas, create specific effects and engage thе rеadеr. Understanding and idеntifying thеsе tеchniquеs arе important skills for analysing and intеrprеting any poem.

• It is crucial to look more deeply into the poems and to identify any interesting instances of language or structural features

• This is very much about noticing things and considering why they stand out:

  • You should try to start to see patterns emerging and begin to see how language and structure are working together to make meanings

• Structure is about the small and big building blocks of the poems:

  • It is about how the poems have been put together and the impact this has on the reader to make meaning

• Think about what the poets have chosen to include at the beginning, middle and end of their poem:

  • Can you spot any changes in mood or tone as the poems progress?

• How the poems are structured is part of being able to explore what is said, how it is written and what it might mean:

  • Some examples a poet might make in terms of structure are: repetition, use of white space, pace created by punctuation, enjambment, caesura or rhythm:

    • Think: how do these structural devices impact the meaning of the poems? What other aspects of structure do you “notice” as you read the poems? How does the structure link to the opening and final lines of the poems?

• You should also consider the language choices the poets have made in order to create meaning:

  • Scan the poems and look for any repeated words, linked words, phrases, images, or any other connections that you can make in relation to language choices:

    • Think: can you identify any particular vivid words or phrases, or any that stand out to you? Can you identify any emotive words? Can you find examples of imagery? How does the imagery help you to understand the ideas in the poem? What patterns can you see?

Much more important than knowing a long list of poetic techniques, or analysing a poem’s language, form and structure separately, is to try to understand the meaning of the unseen poems, and the ideas the poets explore in their poems. Below are some ideas on how to explore perspective and tense within the poems.

Perspective and tense

• Considering perspective is another sophisticated way to explore a poet’s intention and messages

• Perspective in poetry is the point of view from which the poem is being told:

  • It could be narrated in the first person (using the pronoun “I”)

  • It could be narrated in the third person (“he”; “she”; “they”, etc.)

• Poems often also contain a persona:

  • A persona, or speaker, is the invented character through which the poem is narrated

  • Remember, the persona of a poem is not the same as the poet themselves, and this separation allows poets to explore ideas with more nuance and subtlety

• Poets often create a fictional narrator (a persona) when writing in the first person:

  • Sometimes, writing in the first person can give a poem more immediacy

  • Perspective is therefore a very deliberate choice made by the poet in order to better get across their ideas and message

• Considering the tense of the poem also contributes to the speaker’s perspective:

  • Different tenses will create different tones and perspectives, and the poets will have made a deliberate choice over which tense they have used

  • For example, is the speaker looking back (past tense), speaking about now (present tense) or looking forward (future tense)?

Steps for success

It is tempting to jump straight in and start writing your response immediately. However, completing the steps below first will ensure you answer the question in the way that examiners are looking for:

1.   Read the question carefully and highlight the focus of the question:

   1.   Ensure that you have identified what the focus is

2.   Plan your answer:

   1.   Write an introductory statement which demonstrates to the examiner that you have understood the focus of the question 

   2.   Select any quotations or close textual references from the poems you will be using in your response

3.   Consider different interpretations of the poems:

   1.   Explore how the poets use language, form and structure to convey meaning

4.   Follow your plan and write your response:

   1.   Ensure each paragraph starts with a confident sentence which sets out the main idea discussed in that paragraph

   2.   Then flesh out each paragraph with a series of “sub-points” which develop your argument

5.   Re-read and check your work for overall sense and accuracy