Approaching Unseen poetry Wednesday, 14 November 2018

English Literature Paper 2, Q1

APPROACH Read the question and underline any key points. Your format should always be the same – get used to it. S.L.I.M.E. This will lead to a 5 paragraph essay with a clear structure. 45 minutes for the question, worth 20 marks. Reading 1 – annotate simply – look for powerful language or unusual effects using structure, punctuation or language. Reading 2 – Find the VOICE and SITUATION. Who is speaking and does the situation produce a recognisable tone – angry, sad, scared…?

VOICE and SITUATION Who is speaking? Consider person… What is their perspective on the matters under discussion? SITUATION: Where, when (era), when (hour), who is involved, what actually happens.

Now you can develop further. Language is used to create images. Simple imagery (literal imagery) tells the reader “as it is”. It can be very direct and effective. More complex or “figurative” imagery uses metaphor or simile, for example and presents more challenging images that require the reader to respond to suggestion. It is vital that you comment on the effect of language choice rather than offer bland platitudes of the “makes the reader think” variety.

And finally - Respond – what do you feel? You will need to develop a personal response to the poem on the paper. Look at the poem that follows and annotate it in preparation for an essay. (It deals with the idea of response to the loss of a loved one and are autobiographical in content. Heaney was writing in the 1960s.)

An essay question Use bullet points well – they are your friends… They will be the same in each examination for the unseen poem. They fit the SLIME mnemonic – can you work out how?

Mid term break Mid-Term Break I sat all morning in the college sick bay Counting bells knelling classes to a close. At two o'clock our neighbors drove me home. In the porch I met my father crying-- He had always taken funerals in his stride-- And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow. The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram When I came in, and I was embarrassed By old men standing up to shake my hand And tell me they were 'sorry for my trouble,' Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest, Away at school, as my mother held my hand In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs. At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses. Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him For the first time in six weeks. Paler now, Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple, He lay in the four foot box as in his cot. No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear. A four foot box, a foot for every year. Seamus Heaney

Divide up, to feed back: A: What is the content of the poem and what is Heaney’s attitude to his subject? HOW DO YOU KNOW? B: What examples of figurative description can you find? What is the effect of two of these examples on the reader? C: What is the narrative perspective of the poem? Does it change at all? What might be the purpose of any change you find? D:What elements of language interest you other than the metaphors? Also, what can you say about the structure of the poem? E: What is the overall effect of the poem?