How to Write a Grade 9 Unseen Poetry Essay (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Written by: Nick Redgrove
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
How to Write a Grade 9 Unseen Poetry Essay
To get a Grade 9 in the Unseen Poetry section of the exam, you need to know how to write an effective essay. In Section C, you are assessed on two assessment objectives: AO1 and AO2.
Find out how to approach the exam question:
Exam skill 1: Developing an informed personal response (AO1)
Exam skill 2: Analysing form, structure and language (AO2)
Exam skill 3: Comparing poems
Exam skill 1: Developing an informed personal response (AO1)
In both parts of Section C you are assessed on AO1. Assessment objective 1 requires you to show an understanding of the two unseen poems, maintain a critical style, present an informed personal response and use textual references to support your interpretations. Writing an “informed personal response” means offering your individual thoughts and feelings about the poems. A “critical style” means interrogating the poems, which means sharing your own unique insights, interpretations or any connections you draw from the poems.
Let’s look at the type of question you could be asked for the first question in Section C. The poem we will focus on is ‘Midwinter’ by Grahame Davies. In this poem the speaker reflects on the bleakness and stillness of the winter season.
Write about the poem ‘Midwinter’ by Grahame Davies, and its effect on you. You may wish to:
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For this question, you will always be asked to write a response that explores how the poet conveys their message in the poem. You will not be given a theme to explore, so you should always try to think about the meaning of the poem. What emotions or ideas are depicted in the poem? What do you think the poet is trying to say about the subject(s) depicted in their poem?
First, let’s read through the poem:
‘Midwinter’ No breezes move the branches; no birds sing; December’s frost has turned the world to grey. The earth in winter trusting for the spring. The silver hedges where the dead leaves cling; the clouds that shroud the winter sun away. No breezes move the branches; no birds sing; The bitter cold that makes your fingers sting; forms icy mist from anything you say. The earth in winter trusting for the spring. No life, no movement now in anything; no difference between dawn and dusk and day. No breezes move the branches; no birds sing; The solstice of the year, when everything is balanced between increase and decay. The earth in winter trusting for the spring. No sign of what another day may bring; the seeds of hope are frozen in the clay. No breezes move the branches; no birds sing; The earth in winter trusting for the spring. |
To demonstrate AO1 skills you could include some of these points in your response to this question:
AO1 comments | |
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Once you have identified points which address the question, you need to develop these into a fully developed response. Consider this model answer which develops some of these bullet points.
Question focus | Informed personal response (AO1) |
Write about the poem ‘Midwinter’ by Grahame Davies, and its effect on you | The poem ‘Midwinter’ depicts a world devoid of life and movement. Phrases such as “No breezes move the branches” and “no birds sing” convey a stillness and silence and illustrate the dormancy of nature during winter. However, amid this bleakness, there is a “trust” that life will reappear. This alludes to the faith in the natural cycle where the harshness of winter is a necessary phase before the renewal and rebirth of spring. [Uses multiple, specific references and quotes to support analysis (AO1)]The poem explores the transition between winter and spring and focuses on it as a significant moment. The solstice is described as a time “when everything is balanced between increase and decay” and represents the turning point where the darkest, coldest days begin to give way to the gradual return of light and warmth. This is a transitional moment within the poem. The setting of the poem is stark and desolate and the imagery of the “December’s frost” turning the “world to grey” depicts nature in a state of hibernation. The speaker’s experience of winter is marked by discomfort, yet despite this, the poem maintains a tone of quiet endurance to reflect a trust in the eventual return of spring. [Engages with the poem to offer a personal and evaluative response (AO1)] |
Examiners are looking for a personal judgement, with evidence, in the form of references and quotations, from throughout your text. Add your own interpretations and make sure all of your points are fully developed.
Exam skill 2: Analysing form, structure and language (AO2)
When analysing the form and structure of a poem, it’s essential to explore the reasons behind the poet’s selection of a specific form or structure and how these choices influence the poem’s meaning.
Form
When writing about form, it is important to consider why the poet has chosen that particular form. It’s especially important, if they have altered the rules of that particular poetry form, to interrogate why they might have done so. It is also useful to consider how the form reflects the theme of the poem.
Some of the primary forms of poetry are:
Form | Explanation
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Sonnet |
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Epic |
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Free verse |
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Villanelle |
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Ode |
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Ballad |
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Pay particular attention to the type of verse used in your unseen poem: for example, is the poem written in free verse? Then consider why you think the poet has chosen to use this particular form.
Structure
Think about how the poem has been put together in its particular form. A poet might make use of structural devices such as juxtaposition, enjambment, caesura or stanza length for example, or the poem’s rhyme scheme and metre.
How do these structural devices impact the meaning of the poem? What other aspects of structure do you notice as you read the poem? How does the structure link to the opening and final lines of the poem? Can you spot any changes in mood or tone as the poem progresses?
Let’s take a look at an example. The following poem is ‘Home’ by Fran Landesman. In this poem, the speaker explores the contradictory feelings associated with the concept of home.
‘Home’ by Fran Landesman
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Home is where you hang your hat And can’t get a break Home is what you ought to want But can’t really make
Home is where you’re always wrong Too fat or too thin Home’s an endless argument You never can win Home is a test you always fail Emotions you have to fake Where everybody does his thing For somebody else’s sake
Home is where love’s old sweet song Just won’t set you free Home is where you’re not the way They want you to be
Home sweet home will haunt your dreams Wherever you go Home is what there’s no place like But didn’t you know Home is where the heartache Really started |
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The examiner expects you to comment on how the poet uses form and structure for effect. Throughout your response, add your own interpretation and ensure that all of your points are fully developed. Consider this model answer which explores form and structure in Landesman’s poem.
Question focus | Analysis of form and structure (Grade 9) |
Write about the poem ‘Home’ by Fran Landesman and its effect on you | In ‘Home’ by Fran Landesman the poet reveals the duality of home as a place of both longing and tension. The poem is composed of five stanzas (four quatrains apart from the final stanza) which may symbolise the repetitive and inescapable nature of home, underscoring the continuous, unresolved tensions where there is always an “endless argument”. The partial rhyme scheme of ABCB and the regular quatrains contrasts with the chaotic and conflicting emotions described. The relentless flow of the poem through the use of enjambment creates a conversational tone and as the poem has no punctuation within its lines, Landesman reinforces the theme of an ongoing, inescapable conflict. [Examines the use of enjambment to link to the theme of tension (AO2)] Further, the repetition of the word “home” at the beginning of each stanza creates a haunting effect. The final stanza shifts to a six-line stanza, disrupting the established rhyme and rhythm which may further signify how this idealised vision of home is often disrupted by the harsh reality. [Evaluates the structural shift in the final stanza as a symbolic disruption (AO2)] |
Exam skill 2: Analysing language (AO2)
Analysing language means that you consider the deliberate choices the poets have made to include specific words or phrases in their poems. 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. 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 poems? What patterns can you see?
When commenting on words and phrases from the poems, consider why you think the poets have chosen that particular word to use. Being familiar with key literary terms can also help to support your analysis of the unseen poems. As an example, we will explore some specific literary techniques and consider Fran Landesman’s intentions using the same poem.
Language technique(s) | Quotes | Language comments |
Imagery, juxtaposition, clichés, pronouns, second-person perspective |
“home is where the heartache started”
“you” and “they”
“wrong”, “heartache” and “haunt”
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The examiner expects you to comment on how the poets use language for effect. Throughout your response, add your own interpretation and ensure that all of your points are fully developed. Review this model paragraph to see how to use literary terms in your analysis:
Question focus | Analysis of language (Grade 9) |
Write about the poem Home by Fran Landesman and its effect on you | Landesman’s poem uses negative imagery to subvert the idyllic notion of home. The tone is solemn and phrases like “home is where the heartache started” is a poignant rewording of the cliché “Home is where the heart is”, transforming a familiar phrase into something both painful and disillusioning. This subversion creates a mocking and bitter tone and highlights the tension and conflict in the speaker’s experience of home. The use of the pronouns “you” and “they” sets up an opposition and illustrates the conflict between the individual and others’ expectations, portraying a constant battle between personal identity and the demands imposed by others. [Analyses language devices and their intended effect (AO2)] The repetition of negative experiences and emotions, “wrong”, “heartache” and “haunt” reinforces the idea that home, rather than being a place of solace and comfort, is a source of ongoing strife and unfilled expectations. The use of the second person also creates a sense of detachment which links to the emotional distance and lack of connection the speaker feels within the home. Additionally, it also makes the poem’s message appear more universal, suggesting that these experiences of conflict, disappointment and longing are common to many. [Apt references and developed discussion (AO1)] |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Give your own personal, unique and alternative ideas and interpretations of the poem. For example, in Fran Landesman’s poem, you could comment on the poem’s connections to contemporary issues, like body image, toxic relationships, and the lasting “triggering” effects of experiences. You could choose to explore this as part of the current themes and concerns of society.
Exam skill 3: Comparing poems
In Section C you will be presented with two unseen poems from the 20th and/or 21st centuries. In the first question you will be asked to write about a previously unseen poem. In the second question, you will be asked to write about a second previously unseen poem and compare it to the first. Each question will have four bullet points which you should use to help guide your response.
The ultimate goal of comparing two poems is to draw insights from the similarities and differences you have identified. What do these shared and distinct elements reveal about the poets’ intentions and perspectives? Do these comparisons shed light on the larger themes within which these poems exist?
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You must compare both poems in the second question of Section C.
You could compare:
Content (what they are about)
Wider ideas and themes
Mood or atmosphere
Words and phrases
Techniques and the way the poems are written
Your views on the poems
Here are some words and phrases that can be used to signal comparisons and contrasts in your response:
Words to compare | similarly | likewise | equally |
both | comparably | in the same way | |
Words to contrast | on the other hand | although | however |
while | whereas | in contrast |
Let’s look at the type of question you could be asked for the second question in Section C. The poems we will focus on are ‘Home’ by Fran Landesman and ‘Coming Home’ by William Cooke. Both poems describe thoughts and feelings about home.
Let’s read through Cooke’s poem first:
‘Coming Home’
After a summer’s absence I return in early darkness. The house, unlit,
looks drear, extinct. My key scratches in the lock and I enter half-surprised
by shrouded fustiness. Each room’s familiar yet strange with a stored silence.
No room is living. Plants look queasy, On the window sill lie flies and one big moth.
Yet at my coming life revives. I resurrect the clock and listen to its gentle pulse,
sweep back the curtains and open windows wide to sweeter air. The room breathes, relaxes.
But outside the garden crouches in the dark, a wild thing, thirsting. Roses have bled.
I go out, a rain-god, sprinkling my largesse to tame, reclaim. Soil hisses, yields.
I hear its dank slow satisfying draught. Going indoors, I feel the house becoming home. |
Here are some similarities and differences which you might draw from both poems.
Similarities | Differences |
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Examiner Tips and Tricks
There are different ways in which you could structure your comparison. You can do either of the following:
Analyse the second poem but make links back to the first poem to compare as you go along
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Analyse the second poem and then write about the points of comparison between both poems separately
Review this model paragraph to see how you might compare both of these poems.
Question focus | Comparison of both poems (Grade 9) |
Compare ‘Coming Home’ by William Cooke with ‘Home’ by Fran Landesman | Both Landesman’s ‘Home’ and Cooke’s ‘Coming Home’ explore the concept of returning home but with contrasting perspectives. Cooke presents home initially as a dreary and almost extinct place, with a “stored silence” conveying an emptiness and neglect. However, as the poem progresses the tone becomes much more positive. This contrasts with the consistently negative mood in Landesman’s poem, where home is described as a place of eternal conflict as evidenced in the line “Home is an endless argument you never can win”. [Analyses the differing tones and perspective in the poems, highlighting Cooke’s shift and Landesman’s consistent negativity (AO2)] Similarly, both poets use personification to convey the emotional significance of home. Cooke describes the room as “breathing” and the garden as a “wild thing, thirsting”. The use of personification here highlights the theme of renewal and positive transformation. [Evaluates the use of personification and how it links to the wider themes presented in the poem (AO2)] In contrast, Landesman personifies home as a place that “will haunt your dreams”. Here, personification is used to symbolise the oppressive and lingering presence of negative experiences and unresolved conflicts associated with this space, suggesting that these are not easily left behind. [Evaluates the use of the same technique, but for a different purpose (AO2)] Additionally, the use of the first person in ‘Coming Home’ reveals the speaker’s personal and intimate connection with home, whereas the use of the second person creates a detachment which links to the emotional distance and lack of connection which Landesman’s speaker feels. The structure of the poems also contributes to their contrasting perspectives. ‘Home’ has a relatively consistent rhyme scheme and rhythm which is used to reinforce the speaker’s inescapable discontent, whereas ‘Coming Home’ is written in free verse which conveys the transformation from lifelessness to renewal. [Consistently sustains focus on the task, noting the similarities and differences between both poems (AO1)] |
For a full model answer, see our Grade 9 answer.
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