How to Write a Grade 9 Poetry Comparison Essay (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Written by: Kate Lee
Reviewed by: Jenna Quinn
How to Write a Grade 9 Poetry Anthology Comparison Essay
To get a Grade 9 in the Poetry Anthology section of the exam, you need to know how to write an effective comparison essay. Find out how to approach the exam question:
Exam skill 1: Analysing language, form and structure (AO2)
Exam skill 2: Exploring links and connections (AO3)
Top tips for a Grade 9
Exam skill 1: Analysing language, form and structure (AO2)
In Section B, there are two equally weighted assessment objectives (AO2 and AO3) and these are the two skills you are being assessed on. AO2 assesses your ability to comment on the poets’ use of language, structure and form. AO3 assesses your ability to compare both poems and to explore links and connections between them. We will explore each of these key skills separately.
Form and structure
When writing about form and structure in poetry, consider why the poet has chosen that particular form or structure and thе impact of their choices on the poem’s meaning.
Let’s take a look at an example. The following poem is ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ by Dylan Thomas. In this poem, the speaker implores his father, who is blind and close to death, to not accept death, despite its inevitability, but to resist it.
‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ by Dylan Thomas | Form and structure comments |
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
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The examiner expects you to comment on how the poets use 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 one poem:
Question focus | Analysis of form and structure (Grade 9) |
Compare how the writers present death in ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ and one other poem from the anthology | Dylan Thomas exploits the form and structure of his poem to express the speaker’s powerful emotion and fear of death in his poem. By using the villanelle form, Thomas heightens the emotional intensity of his poem. The progression from tercets to a concluding quatrain symbolises the escalating urgency of the speaker’s plea. As a villanelle’s structure generally lends itself to an almost relentless treatment of its subject, his use of this formal structure reinforces the intensity of the son’s plea and demonstrates the depth of love he has for his father. The repetitive refrains of ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ and ‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light’ act as persistent commands throughout the poem and reinforce the speaker’s insistence on defying the inevitability of death ty. The use of iambic pentameter and the regularity of this meter creates an element of stability and control amidst the turbulent emotions expressed in the poem, creating balance. |
Language
Being familiar with key literary terms can help to support your analysis of the poems. You always need to discuss the effects of the terms the poet uses, so focus on the impact on the reader.
Analysing language means that you consider the deliberate choices the poets have made to include specific words or phrases in their poems and why. As an example, we will explore some specific literary techniques and consider Dylan Thomas’s intentions using the same poem.
Language technique(s) | Examples | Language comments |
motif & repetition | “that good night", “close of day” and “dying of the light” |
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The examiner expects you to comment on how 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) |
Compare how the writers present death in ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ and one other poem from the anthology | Thomas’ use of language and poetic devices contribute to the presentation of death in his poem. In his poem, Dylan Thomas uses motifs to allude to the inevitability of death through the phrases: “that good night", “close of day” and “dying of the light”. He unusually uses light, typically symbolic of life and vitality, to refer to death and the fading of life. “That good night” and “close of day” have connotations of a peaceful and tranquil departure but Thomas infuses these phrases with a sense of urgency and defiance and urges resistance to the passive acceptance of death. Moreover, the poet uses repetition, with refrains echoing throughout the poem, and these amplify the urgency of the speaker’s plea to defy the natural order of death. |
Exam skill 2: Exploring links and connections (AO3)
As you know, the question in Section B is a comparison question so you need to cover both poems in your answer. While the coverage of your two poems does not need to be equally weighted in your response, the second poem should have substantial treatment.
If your response is unequal, you will not be able to access Level 3 (required for higher grades), where an explanation of the poets’ ideas and perspectives is required alongside developed comparisons between the poems. Remember, although some poems are much longer than others, the examiner will take this into consideration when marking your response.
As an example, we will explore some comparisons using two poems from the Edexcel Poetry Anthology: Dylan Thomas’ ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ (above) and ‘If—’ by Rudyard Kipling.
‘If—’ - Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can make one heap of all your winnings If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run— Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! |
Once you have identified both poets’ ideas and their use of form, structure and language, you need to compare them. Below are some similarities and differences which you might identify using these two poems.
Similarities between both poems | Differences between both poems |
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Review this model paragraph to see how to write comparative points and create an integrated and coherent paragraph:
IGCSE Edexcel English Literature Poetry Anthology |
How do the poets convey strong feelings in ‘If –’ and ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’? |
In ‘If –’ and ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ both poets use various poetic techniques to convey strong feelings, such as determination, resilience and defiance. Both poets use contrasts throughout their poems in order to convey these strong emotions. In ‘If-’ the poet presents the speaker’s stoical views about life and offers guidance and advice from an older speaker to a younger man (a father to his son) through the use of conditional clauses. The poem works with a series of contrasts to convey feelings such as trust and doubt, triumph and disaster, kings and common touch. While hopes and fears are important, Kipling warns against placing too much importance on either and advises that one should strive for a balanced approach to life. Indeed, ‘Triumph’ and ‘Disaster’ are personified as if to indicate that they can take a human form but are ‘impostors’ and should not be given too much importance. Similarly, in Dylan Thomas’ poem, the son’s love for his father is demonstrated through the use of powerful emotions and he desperately pleads with his father to fight against imminent death. In this poem, Thomas uses juxtaposition (‘Curse, bless’) and a range of contrasts to underscore his views: ‘gentle’ and ‘rage’, ‘night’ and ‘day’, ‘light’ and ‘dark’, ‘blind’ and ‘sight’. While the word ‘gentle’ suggests a peaceful and calm acceptance and perhaps a quiet surrender to fate, the word ‘rage’ evokes a powerful defiance and a refusal to yield. This contrast serves to convey the poem’s central conflict: the tension between accepting death and passionately fighting against it. |
This response explores the links and connections between both poems and integrates these comparisons throughout.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The structure of responses will vary. You may prefer to provide a response that compares like-for-like throughout their essay, or you may find this difficult and prefer to write about each poem separately and then draw comparisons at the end. Whichever method you choose to use, the full range of marks can be awarded for either approach.
Top grade tips for a Grade 9
How to plan a poetry comparison essay
Planning your essay is absolutely vital to achieve the highest marks. Your plan should include all aspects of your response, covering all of the assessment objectives:
Your overall argument, also known as a thesis
Your topic sentences for all your 3-4 paragraphs
The quotations you will be using from the given poem
The quotations and references you will be using and analysing from your second poem
Comments on why the poets have made the choices they have in terms of language, structure and form
Similarities and differences between the poems
How you should start a poetry comparison essay
Your introduction should clearly and briefly answer the question. The best way to do this is to include a thesis statement. You should include the exact words from the question in your thesis statement. Examiners want to see your own opinion – your interpretation of what the poets are trying to show – so your thesis statement should also attempt to explain why you think the poets have presented the idea or theme of the question in the way that they have. What are they trying to say overall? What are the poets’ messages?
How you should develop a poetry comparison essay
For each paragraph, include a clear introductory sentence (also known as a “topic sentence”) at the beginning. This topic sentence must make one clear point that is directly related to the focus of the question.
Beware of writing an overly structured paragraph that follows a set pattern. While you may have learned PEE, PEAL, PEED, or other structures for your paragraphs, examiners often say that these can be limiting in an exam, especially if you want a top grade.
How to end a poetry comparison essay
It is always a good idea to include a conclusion to your essay so that it reads coherently throughout. However, there is no need to spend a long time writing it. A conclusion for a poetry anthology comparison essay should only summarise the proof you have provided for your thesis. It only needs to be two or three sentences long and should include the words of the question and your thesis. Remember, you do not get rewarded for including the same information twice.
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