“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood” “Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood” T.S.Eliot T.S.Eliot

Unseen Poetry How to tackle the last part of the Literature Examination

What does “Unseen” mean?  It will be a poem you have probably never seen before  You are being tested on your ability to “read and respond” thoughtfully  You are thinking about what the writer is trying to say  Every word of the poem will count

The Question  Write about the poem and its effect on you. You may wish to include some or all of these points:  The poem’s content – what it is about  The ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about  The mood or atmosphere of a poem  How it is written – words or phrases you find interesting, the way the poem is structured or organised  Your response to the poem

Content  What it’s about  What happens in each section  Is there an order or sequence?  Who’s speaking?  Story or idea?

Ideas  What did the poet want us to think about?  Is it a story  or an idea  or an expression of an emotion?  Is there a message?

Mood and atmosphere  What is the tone of the poem?  How does it make you feel as you read it?  Think about the 5 senses  Think about the setting

How it is written  Don’t just list or spot techniques  Pick out words or phrases that you find effective and try to say why  Think about the sound and rhythm of the poem. Does it have a beat? Or is it disjointed?  Look at repetition of sounds or words

Imagery: a quick reminder An image in poetry (or in writing generally) is a picture in the reader’s mind created by the words used. Literal images can be effective ; “roses in snow”. The reader sees this in an uncomplicated way. Similes and metaphors are figurative images – they are built on comparison :  SIMILE – “The sky was like a city”  METAPHOR – “The sun died” - this is also an example of personification

How it is written 2  Think about the structure or form  Is it regular, uneven, awkward or easy to read. Does that tie in with the content?  Look at the first line of each stanza to see how the meaning develops  Look at the title and last line to give you a clue as to what the writer intended

Your Response  It’s perfectly acceptable to say you find a poem confusing or misleading if you can explain why  Try to be positive about some aspect of the poem or explain how you relate to an idea or event in it  Uses phrases to show your sadness, surprise, enjoyment, anger, frustration, empathy……  The examiner basically wants to know you have read and thought about this poem

Things you should NEVER write!  At first I didn’t understand the poem but after reading it a couple of times I think…  The poem has no rhythm  I think the poem needed to rhyme more because I like poems that rhyme…  I think the poet has done a very good job of writing this poem and they obviously thought carefully about it…

Plan- you should use the bullet points attached to help you structure your essay You don’t need to plan in detail it is given to you.  The poem’s content – what it is about  The ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about  The mood or atmosphere of a poem  How it is written – words or phrases you find interesting, the way the poem is structured or organised  Your response to the poem, including how they are similar and different Comparison is key to success in this part of the exam.

Writing Options Introduction Write about poem one Write about poem 2 Write about poem to comparing to poem one as you go along Write your comparisons Personal Response

Band 1   Band 1- Very short, or with lots copied out unselectively, with important parts missing or wrong. At the top of the band, general responses, with no real detail. Very simple comparisons.

Band 2   More focus on the question, with basic selection, some discussion and awareness. Straightforward similarities and differences noted

Band 3 Selecting and highlighting of detail in a focused and systematic way, becoming increasingly thorough and thoughtful, including the discussion of similarities and differences.

Band 4   Analysis. Appreciation. Sensitivity. Overview. Evaluation. Exploration of texts, including similarities and differences.

Check your response  Have you explained?  Have you used details?  Is your writing on the poem sustained?  Are you beginning to explore?  Do you evaluate the writer’s techniques?

Remember:  Read the poems once through first  You have a whole hour so read carefully  Spend 20 minutes reading and annotating (10 mins per poem)  Spend half an hour answer bullet points 1- 4 (15 minutes per poem)  Spend the final 10 minutes writing your personal response and comparing)  Your introduction and essay plan are given to you  THERE ARE NO RIGHT AND WRONG ANSWERS!.

Writing your answer  Use the bullet points provided to structure your answer  Use P-E-E throughout  Make at least two points for each bullet point – that’s 10 marks!  Don’t panic if you don’t get it all – it is not a trick!

Practice makes perfect Practise annotating poems. Practise annotating poems. Remember to annotate in different ways: questions, points, meanings, links, language techniques, poet’s ideas Remember to annotate in different ways: questions, points, meanings, links, language techniques, poet’s ideas Thinking about the poems and questioning the ideas in them will help you be more confident in the exam. Thinking about the poems and questioning the ideas in them will help you be more confident in the exam.