Unseen Poetry Mark Scheme and Model Answers (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature)

GCSE Eduqas English Literature, Unseen Poetry question

Write about the poem ‘Teacher’ by Carol Ann Duffy, and its effect on you.

You may wish to consider:

• what the poem is about and how it is organised

• the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about

• the poet’s choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• how you respond to the poem

‘Teacher’

When you teach me,

your hands bless the air

where chalk dust sparkles.

And when you talk,

the six wives of Henry VIII

stand in the room like bridesmaids,

or the Nile drifts past the classroom window,

the Pyramids baking like giant cakes

on the playing fields.

You teach with your voice,

so a tiger prowls from a poem

and pads between desks, black and gold

in the shadow and sunlight,

or the golden apples of the sun drop

from a branch in my mind’s eye.

I bow my head again

to this tattered, doodled book

and learn what love is.

Grade 9 full model answer

In the poem ‘Teacher’, Duffy encapsulates the speaker’s reverence and admiration that a student feels towards their teacher. [Introduction immediately engages with the poem and identifies central theme of reverence and admiration (AO1)] 

Duffy presents her speaker as in awe of the teacher, and his teaching, throughout the poem [Clear topic sentence introduces the argument of the paragraph (AO1)]. Although the poem conveys a nostalgic recollection, Duffy employs the present tense throughout, through verbs such as “teach”, “talk” and “prowls” which adds a sense of immediacy and conveys the enduring impact of the speaker’s fond memories of the classroom. The speaker describes the teacher with great reverence in the first tercet of the poem. The religious connotations of the phrase “your hands bless the air” suggests that the teacher’s influence and grace touch everything around them. [Offers a personal and evaluative response (AO1)] The repeated linked similes describe the way the teacher makes the learning come alive, making distant times and places feel more immediate. For example, the teacher’s stories cause “the six wives of Henry VIII [to] stand in the room like bridesmaids” which transforms the classroom into a place where history, and learning, are fully animated. Furthermore, the pyramids are humorously described as “baking like giant cakes on the playing fields” which further illustrates how the teacher is able to make distant concepts more concrete and relatable to the student. [Analyses use of similes to convey the poet’s positive presentation of the teacher (AO2)] 

Duffy also emphasises how special the relationship between teacher and student was throughout her poem. Duffy directly addresses the teacher using the second person throughout the majority of the poem, and the repetition of “you” reinforces the centrality of the teacher’s role on the student’s learning experience. However, in the final tercet, Duffy shifts to the first person and this transition creates an intimacy, revealing how the teacher continues to influence the speaker as an adult [Sophisticated analysis of poet’s language choices allow for developed interpretations (AO1)]. Duffy also uses various phonological devices that contribute to the poem’s musical quality, and suggest an enduring influence of the teacher on the speaker. The soft “s” sounds in “hands bless” and “dust sparkles” create a soothing and magical effect which further alludes to the enchanting influence of the teacher. [Evaluates use of phonological devices in Duffy’s magical portrayal of the teacher (AO2)]

GCSE Eduqas English Literature, Unseen Poetry question

 Now compare ‘Change’ by Dave Calder and ‘Teacher’ by Carol Ann Duffy.

 You should compare:

• what the poems are about and how they are organised

• the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about

• the poets’ choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• how you respond to the poems

‘Change’

For months he taught us, stiff-faced.

His old tweed jacket closely buttoned up,

his gestures careful and deliberate.

We didn’t understand what he was teaching us.

It was as if a veil, a gauzy bandage, got between

what he was showing us and what we thought we saw.

He had the air of a gardener, fussily protective

of young seedlings, but we couldn’t tell

if he was hiding something or we simply couldn’t see it.

At first we noticed there were often scraps of leaves

on the floor where he had stood. Later, thin wisps

of thread like spider’s web fell from his jacket.

Finally we grew to understand the work. And on that day

he opened his jacket, which to our surprise

seemed lined with patterned fabric of many shimmering hues.

Then he smiled and sighed. And with this movement

the lining rippled and instantly the room was filled

with a flickering storm of swirling butterflies.

Grade 9 model answer paragraph

Both ‘Teacher’ and ‘Change’ explore the impact teachers can have on their students. In ‘Teacher’, Duffy depicts an idealised view of a teacher who captivates and inspires their students through passionate and imaginative teaching methods. Duffy uses vivid imagery and personification and similes to depict the teacher’s lessons. For example, “The six wives of Henry VII / stand in the room like bridesmaids” and “a tiger prowls from a poem”, which convey the teacher’s ability to bring abstract concepts to life and captivate the student’s imagination. [Integrates quotes and references from the poem to support developed points (AO1)]  In contrast, Calder’s ‘Change’ initially portrays a more enigmatic teacher whose true nature and teaching are initially obscured from the students’ understanding. Calder therefore uses more subtle language with phrases such as “a veil, a gauzy bandage”, which reflects the students’ initial confusion and inability to fully appreciate the teacher’s methods. However, as the poem progresses, Calder uses more powerful and explosive imagery, such as “the lining rippled and instantly the room was filled/with a flickering storm of swirling butterflies” to convey the teacher’s eventual revelation and the transformative impact of their teaching. [Examines the shift in the poem used by the poet to effectively reveal aspects of the teacher (AO2)] Duffy’s poem is written entirely in the present tense, using verbs such as “teach”, “talk” and “prowls” which adds a sense of immediacy and vividness to the memories. It also alludes to the lasting impression that they have left on the student. In contrast, Calder’s poem is primarily written in the past tense through verbs such as “taught” and “noticed” which adds an element of retrospection and nostalgia, as the poem recounts the students’ journey of gradually understanding the teacher’s methods over time.  [Explores use of tense and its intended effect on both poems (AO2)]

GCSE Eduqas English Literature, Unseen Poetry question

Read the two poems, ‘Watching a Dancer’ by James Berry and ‘The Busker’ by Gerard Benson. In both of these poems the poets write about people performing.

Compare ‘The Busker’ by Gerard Benson and ‘Watching a Dancer’ by James Berry. 

You should compare:

• what the poems are about and how they are organised

• the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about

• the poets’ choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• how you respond to the poems

‘Watching a Dancer’ 

She wears a red costume for her dance. 

Her body is trim 

and shapely and strong. 

Before she begins 

she waits composed, 

waiting to hear the music start. 

The music moves her. 

She hears it keenly. The music 

pulses her body with its rhythms

It delights her. It haunts her body 

into patterns of curves and angles. 

She rocks. She spins. 

She stretches entranced. She looks 

she could swim and could fly. 

She would stay airborne from a leap. 

Her busy head, arms, legs, all know 

she shows how the music looks. 

Posture changes and movements are

the language of the sounds, that 

she and the music use together 

and reveal their unfolding story

‘The Busker’

His elbow jerks, an old mechanical toy. 

Feet planted astride, knees flexed, one instep 

Arched over the cobbles, he scratches a tune 

From a bony violin, grating the spine. 

His left hand, a dancing spider, performs 

Its polka on the taut web strings, his right, 

Daintier than a lady taking tea, 

Guides the thin bow in dangerous little stabs,

Littering the yard with snips and snaps of sound, 

Sharper than pins. Coins drop into his hat, 

But sparingly, and pigeons on pink unhurried feet 

Waddle, chatting by; refuse, point-blank, to dance.  

Grade 9 model answer

Both ‘Watching a Dancer’ by James Berry and ‘The Busker’ by Gerard Benson explore the theme of music and performance though their portrayal differs. ‘Watching a Dancer’ is written from the perspective of an observer and celebrates the dancer’s skill. In contrast, in ‘The Busker’ Benson presents a more mundane depiction of a street performer’s struggle for recognition and appreciation. [Introduction includes succinct and clear focus on the task and a comparison of both poems (AO1)]

In ‘Watching a Dancer’ music is depicted as a powerful, almost mystical force that guides the dancer’s body [Topic sentence clearly sets out point of the paragraph (AO1)]. This can be seen in phrases such as, “The music moves her. She hears it keenly”. Music is personified through phrases such as “pulses her body with its rhythms” and “haunts her body into patterns and curves” which conveys a mystical connection between the dancer and the music: it implies that the music possesses and controls her movements. [Analyses the use of literary devices to convey particular moods and themes (AO2)] The poem also describes the dancer as being “entranced” and “delighted”, which further alludes to a state of transcendence. Berry’s poem uses vivid imagery to bring the dancer’s movements to life and the phrase “She rocks. She spins” conveys the dancer’s physicality and grace. The repetition of “She” enhances the dancer’s centrality and reinforces the focus of her movements. [Provides direct references to the poem to support analysis (AO1)] Further, Berry’s poem is written in free verse which adds to the fluidity of the poem and conveys the movements of the dancer. The lack of punctuation and enjambment creates a continuous motion, mirroring the dancer’s performance.

Similarly, Benson’s poem uses imagery to depict the busker’s movements, and the sound he produces, but from a different perspective. The comparison of his elbow to “an old mechanical toy” illustrates his jerky movements, suggesting a lack of fluidity or grace, which is in sharp contrast to the ethereal quality of the dance depicted in Berry’s poem. The use of the adjective “grating” and the verbs “snips” and “snaps” convey the abrasive quality of the sounds produced and the imagery of the “bony violin” also alludes to its harshness. [Analyses use of language to signify thematic differences between the two poems (AO2)]  A metaphor is used to compare the busker’s left hand to a “dancing spider”, symbolising the intricate and precise movements required to play the instrument and likening them to the delicate motions of a spider weaving its web. This is juxtaposed with the imagery of his right hand guiding the bow “in dangerous stabs”, suggesting his performance is both delicate and intense. In contrast to Berry’s poem, ‘The Busker’ is written in a more structured form with three quatrains and a steady rhythm which contrasts with the abrasive nature of the busker’s performance [Comparison of both poems is maintained throughout this paragraph (AO1)].

Both poems use the perspective of an observer and explore the relationship between performer and audience, but from opposing perspectives [Nuanced comparison considers subtle differences in the portrayal of subjects of both poems (AO1)]. Berry’s observer is moved by the dancer and they celebrate the dancer’s ability to translate music into a visual “unfolding story” that captivates them. Conversely, Benson’s observer is more detached, noting the busker’s struggles and the audience’s lack of interest. [Contrasts are explored in detailed and developed analysis (AO2)] The indifference of the pigeons who “refuse , point-blank, to dance” adds humour to the final scene. Further, the use of present tense in both poems adds an immediacy though the intended effects are different: Berry’s use of present tense captures the ongoing enchantment of the dancer’s performance, while Benson’s use of present tense conveys the busker’s continuous, yet unnoticed, efforts. [Evaluates use of present tense by both poets, noting the differing aspects in each poem (AO1)]

Overall, however, both poems explore music and performance and convey a sense of transformation through their contrasting portrayals of the performers. (Concluding sentence offers a summary statement that compares both poems thematically (AO1)]