Unseen Poetry

The Unseen Poetry exam section appears on Literature Exam Paper 2.

The whole exam paper is 2 hours 15 minutes long. This exam paper has three sections.

See below for the content of each section and timings:

Section A - An Inspector Calls (45 minutes)

Section B - Poetry Anthology (45 minutes)

Section C (a) - Analysing an unseen poem (35 minutes)

Section C (b) - Comparing the unseen poem in (a) with a new unseen poem (15 minutes)

What you need to do in the exam:

Question 1 is analysing one unseen poem.

1. In the poem, how does the poet present the speakers’ feelings? (24 marks)

Approach to Question 1

a. Read the poem.

b. Re-read the poem, underlining only the most important words and phrases.

c. Use MATS to think about the poem:

Meaning: what is the poem about?

Atmosphere: which feelings, mood or atmosphere are shown?

Techniques: which poetic techniques (imagery? repetition? others?) are used and why?

Structure: is it tightly structured or unstructured and why? is there a regular or irregular rhyme scheme (or free verse) and why?

When writing about the poem, in each paragraph you should consider:

What is one level of meaning in the poem?

Which are the most important words or phrases?

Why does the poet use the words, phrases and techniques?

Question 2 is comparing two unseen poems.

2. What are the similarities and differences in the ways the poets present those feelings? (8 marks)

Approach to Question 2

a. Read both poems.

b. Re-read both poem, underlining only the most important words and phrases.

c. Use MATS to think about the poems:

Meaning: what are the poems both about?

Atmosphere: which feelings, mood or atmosphere are shown?

Techniques: which poetic techniques (imagery? repetition? others?) are used and why?

Structure: is it tightly structured or unstructured and why? is there a regular or irregular rhyme scheme (or free verse) and why?

When writing about the poem, in each paragraph you should consider:

What is one similarity or difference in the poems? Both poems… [or] Whereas…

Which are the most important words or phrases?

Why do the poets use these words, phrases and techniques?