Unseen poetry

Literature paper 2 Section C: 

Unseen poetry:

• Section C for unseen poetry has two sections: 

• 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Part a: write about one unseen poem. 

                    2. Part b: compare this poem to a new one.

• In part a, you will be given an unseen poem to write about. You will be assessed against A01 and A02 on this poem. You will be expected to discuss ideas and techniques presented in the poem.

• In part b, you will be asked to compare a new poem with the first unseen poem. You are marked just on A02 on this question; therefore your responses need to be sharply focused on language and techniques used in both poems.

Assessment Objectives:

A01: 

This tests your ability to come up with your own interpretations (an informed, personal response), as well as your ability to make close reference to the poem (including selecting and commenting on short quotations). 

A02:  

Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate. Here are some examples of Language, form and structure techniques you could comment on:

Language: 

• Imagery including personification, (extended) metaphors and similes. 

• Pronouns. 

• Hyperbole.

• Irony. 

• Pathetic fallacy. 

• Onomatopoeia. 

• Symbolism. 

Structure:

• Stanza length. 

• Line lengths and changes in line length, including the use of enjambment. 

• Use of punctuation in a poem (caesuras, end-stopped lines).

• Rhythm and sound (alliteration, sibilance, assonance, consonance, mono or polysyllabic words).

• Rhyme scheme.

• Repetition.

• Changes in ideas across the poem. 

• Echoes in ideas across the poem. 

• Significance of the title.

• Significance of the last line. 

• Parallelism (patterns in ideas / language across the poem). 

• Juxtapositions / contrasts in ideas. 

• Climax of a poem. 

Refer to the Subject Terminology glossary  if you are unsure of the meanings of any of the above terms.