Poetry Across Time- 1 ¼ hours Section A: Moon on the tide Anthology- Poetry of Conflict 45mins (36 marks) Section B: Unseen Poetry analysis: 30 Minutes (18 marks)

Literature Key Skills Show an understanding of the message/meaning of a text Identify the key themes/ideas Identify key features of language and structure: language- similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, imagery, word choice etc Structure- Repetition, sentence structure, sentence length, enjambment, foreshadowing, dramatic irony etc Explain the effect on the reader Compare texts (conflict poetry only)

What Not to Do! Don’t be vague! Don’t forget to answer the question! Don’t forget to explain why the writer has used a technique! Don’t forget to explain in detail! Don’t forget to plan!

Meaning Examiners report: “What some candidates find difficult is to link a comment on a feature of the writing with how it relates to what the writer is actually saying.” Mark Scheme: AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas themes and settings Meaning Meaning

Flag The poem explores the dangers of how a flag can become a symbol of patriotism often to justify morally questionable actions

The Right Word The poem explores how abstract words can be used to differentiate, define and divide people whereas we should seek for understanding and empathy

Futility The poem explores the futility of life that only leads to death (especially in conflict). It asks why man even came into existence if he uses that existence to end life.

Falling Leaves The poem uses the extended metaphor of falling leaves to represent the transitory nature of life and the tragedy of soldiers cut down in their prime

Mametz Wood The poem explores the impact of conflict on the environment and the importance of remembering those who died without a voice

Bayonet Charge The poem explores the brutal realities of war where the reasons and justifications for conflict become ‘luxuries’ in the face of the desperate fight for survival.

Out of the Blue The poem focuses on the experience of the individual in a mass tragedy to try to help the reader empathise on a personal level in response to a large scale event.

Belfast Confetti The poem explores how living in a place surrounded by conflict can dislocate and trap an individual leading them to lose a sense of their own identity

Poppies The poem explores the response of a mother seeing her son go to war. It contrasts images of conflict with those of childhood, linking the idea of remembrance for those lost in conflict to the mother’s remembrance of the bond of childhood now lost.

Come on Come Back The poem explores the devastating impact of war on the individual as something that you can not ‘come back’ from, while also emphasising the circularity and pointlessness of conflict.

Next to of course god… The poem presents a speaker who is criticised by the poet for using patriotic rhetoric to justify the death of young soldiers. The confused dislocated style reflects the poet’s opinion that the speakers arguments are nonsensical.

Charge of the light brigade The poem eulogises the heroic tragedy of soldiers sent to their death. It asks us to remember the sacrifice they made and honour the nobility of a heroic endeavour against the odds.

At the Border 1979 The poem explores the impact of conflict on refugees who have been separated from their homes. It looks at the patriotism and division caused by national and cultural boundaries, and emphasises the natural continuity of the landscape in contrast to the barriers mankind imposes.

The Yellow Palm The poem juxtaposes the beauty of a culture/society in contrast with the ongoing impact of a conflict on the people and the place.

Hawk Roosting The poem is a monologue from the point of view of a hawk. The hawk is portrayed as narcissistic and ruthless. He can be seen as representative of either a dictatorial leader or of the savagery of nature.

Themes Impact of conflict on a society/culture Impact on the individual Experience of conflict Patriotism Response to death Remembrance Attitudes created by conflict Violence of conflict Impact on nature

Approaching the question 4 Steps to success! Step 1: Analyse the question Step 2: Choose a poem Step 3: Plan Step 4: Write your essay!

Analyse the question Compare how the poets write about death in Mametz Wood and one other poem

Choose a Poem Mametz Wood and… ? Compare how the poets write about death in Mametz Wood and one other poem Mametz Wood and… ?

Simple Essay Structure Intro: What happens in the poems+ key themes + address the question. Main body: Named poem/Poem 2 Language key quotes Structure key quotes Conclusion: What is the overall message of the poems? How do they deal with the theme of the question? MEANING LS

Plan Mametz Wood Futility Meaning- What is the message of the poem? How does this link to the question? Which quote sums up the poem? Mametz wood- the way death has effected the landscape and the importance of remembering those who died without a voice. “have only now with this unearthing slipped from their absent tongues Futility- The grief at the death of a friend which turns into anger at the nature of man’s destructive nature causing death where nature is aimed at producing life. “what made the fatuous sunbeams toil” Language- Which techniques have been used? Imagery etc.? “The china plate of a shoulder blade” fragility of soldiers/dehumanising “whispering of fields half sown”- died too soon, assonance creates a sense of grief, nature disrupted. Structure- Rhyme, rhythm, line length, stanza arrangement etc. Uniform 3 line stanzas represent soldiers in grave Juxtaposition between 1st and second stanza moves from grief/denial to anger Conclusion: Both represent the tragedy of death. Futility is hopeful but leads to anger. Mametz wood shows the need for remembrance. Different attitudes due to when they were written? Futility more immediate?

PEEDCEED Point- Link a feature you have spotted in poem 1 to the question. Evidence- Short effective quote Explain- What does the quote show (link to question) Develop- Analyse what makes the quote effective (key words) and the impact on the reader Compare- similarity/difference between how theme/idea in the question is presented in poem 2 Evidence- Explain- SAME THING! Develop-

PEEDCEED- Point Evidence Explain Develop Compare Evidence Explain Develop In Mametz Wood one way the poet writes about death is… Evidence for this is “…” This shows… because … The words “…” are effective because… The effect on the reader is… Similarly/in contrast in Futility one way the poet writes about death is… Evidence for this is “…” This shows… because … The words “…” are effective because… The effect on the reader is…

Your Task: Produce a plan for the question below Compare how poets present the experience of Soldiers in Bayonet Charge and one other poem (36 marks)

Plan What is the overall message of the poems? How do they deal with the theme of the question? Poem 1 Poem 2 Meaning Language Structure

Unseen Poetry 30 minutes (18 marks)

Re-cap: Key Literature Skills Show an understanding of the message/meaning of a text Identify the key themes/ideas Identify key features of language and structure: language- similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, imagery, word choice etc Structure- Repetition, sentence structure, sentence length, enjambment, foreshadowing, dramatic irony etc Explain the effect on the reader Compare texts (conflict poetry only)

Format of Question Foundation- 2 parts: Part a) will ask you to show your understanding of a theme/idea in the poem Part b) will ask you to explain how the poet has presented this theme/idea Higher- 1 question but it will still ask you to show understanding of a key idea and then explain the methods used to present it!

Approaching the Unseen Poetry 5 Steps to success! Step 1: Analyse the question Step 2: Understand the poem Step 3: Annotate the poem (LIES/FLIRTS/SMILE etc.) Step 4: Plan your essay Step 5: Write your essay!

Example plan- Does your planning look like this?

Analyse the question Question: answer both parts A and B: Part (a) What is the significance of water in the poem? And Part (b) How does the poet present the importance of water in the poem?

What is the poem about? (meaning) Blessing: The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water. Imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god. Sometimes, the sudden rush of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, silver crashes to the ground and the flow has found a roar of tongues. From the huts, a congregation : every man woman child for streets around butts in, with pots, brass, copper, aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands, and naked children screaming in the liquid sun, their highlights polished to perfection, flashing light, as the blessing sings over their small bones. Key Questions: What happens in the poem? What is the mood of the poem? What does it make us think about? What is the central message of the poem?

Annotate the poem (LIES) Blessing: The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water. Imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god. Sometimes, the sudden rush of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, silver crashes to the ground and the flow has found a roar of tongues. From the huts, a congregation : every man woman child for streets around butts in, with pots, brass, copper, aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands, and naked children screaming in the liquid sun, their highlights polished to perfection, flashing light, as the blessing sings over their small bones. Described as “silver” valuable Image of water as a benign Deity- shows importance LIES Excitement/joy water brings “sings” shows overflow of emotion Long, list-like sentence Shows frantic excitement/ mirrors Flow of water (contrast to Start)

Plan your essay MEANING LIES Intro: (part a) What happens in the poem+ how is the key theme/idea mentioned in the question presented? Main body: (part b) Language key quote Imagery key quote Emotion key quote Structure key quote Conclusion: What is the overall message of the poems? How do they deal with the theme of the question? MEANING LIES

Plan Intro (What is the poem about- Link to key words in the question): Poem describes a pipe bursting in a village. Exciting/important event. The poem is about the importance of water in developing countries where it is scarce. The water is a blessing. Main body (2-4 paras on techniques used): Language key quote “The municipal pipe bursts, silver crashes to the ground” Imagery key quote “the voice of a kindly god.” Emotion key quote “as the blessing sings over their small bones.” Structure key quote “butts in, with pots, brass, copper, aluminum, plastic buckets, frantic hands” Conclusion: Makes us think about the importance of basic human needs (like water) which we take for granted. Shows how community can be brought together by good fortune. The importance of water is huge both for survival and as a positive force, a gift from God.

PEED/PEEA Format Point: One way (key idea/theme in the question) is presented by the poet is… Example: Evidence for this is “…” Explain: This shows… Develop/analyse: The words “…” are effective because… The effect on the reader is…

Exemplar One way the importance of water is presented by the poet in Blessing is the use of the extended metaphor of water as a “blessing”. An example of this is “the blessing sings over their small bones”. This shows that water has almost a divine importance in their culture and that it is almost acting as a baptism, purifying the children. The word “sings” creates a jubilant, celebratory association with the water and the description of children with their “small bones” suggests the water is nurturing as well as linking it to the innocence and purity of youth. The effect on the reader is to emphasise the importance of water in developing countries and to make the point that something we see as abundant and common is actually extremely precious and valued in these societies, similar to a gift from God. Address the question Evidence Technique Explanation/analysis Effect on the reader

PEED Format Point: One way (key idea/theme in the question) is presented by the poet is… Example: Evidence for this is “…” Explain: This shows… Develop: The words “…” are effective because… The effect on the reader is…