1. Year 11 revision session- Unseen Poetry

2. Starter:
Using the word that you have been given, note down all the connotations of that word.
Consider what your poem could be about.

3. Also, don’t neglect the title. It can tell you a lot.
Think, pair, share
Tip: If you’re really stuck in the exam with the poem you’ve been given ALWAYS look at a basic language level and see what you can pick up.
Also, don’t neglect the title. It can tell you a lot.
Join up with other people in your group.
You have all been given words from the same poem.
Discuss your words. Are there any links or themes that you could make about the poem? What do you think the poem might be about.
A SONG OF Hope- About and written by an Aboriginal woman about racism. Ballad structure.

4. Writing a lot about a little:
The exam board wants to know that you understand the basics of the poem i.e. what it’s about.
You must show understanding of both LANGUAGE, FORM & STRUCTURE too.
Add exam board notes

5. The Unseen Exam: Read the poem MORE THAN ONCE!
Remember the instructions- Answer BOTH questions.
Read the poem MORE THAN ONCE!
Read the question MORE THAN ONCE!
Consider WHAT the question is asking you to focus on e.g. FEELINGS and HOW the poet creates this (language, form, structure).

6. Mark scheme: see any similarities?!
Again, for top marks you need to be critical, comment on language, form, structure and use subject terminology.
Link everything back to its effects on the READER.

7. Remember in this question to focus on both poems.
Look at similarities AND differences.
Note: This question is worth significantly less marks. Spend more time on 27.1.

8. Mark scheme:
Notice that language, structure and subject terminology are part of the mark scheme again!

9. Poetic form & structure:
Look at the examples you have been given.
Can you identify the type of form & structure the poem has?
Look at different poems with different structures. What can you say about them structurally.

10. Rhythm
Rhythm gives a poem its sound, and there are many different ways that rhythm is used, and lots of elements in poetry that are related to rhythm.
Stress / Accent A line of poetry is filled with syllables. When a syllable is given emphasis, it is called a stressed syllable. Stress is the emphasis given to the syllable.
Example: “water” has two syllables: wa – ter The first syllable (“wa”) is the stressed syllable – it is pronounced with more emphasis than the second syllable (“ter”), which is the unstressed syllable.

11. Free verse Poetry that doesn’t rhyme or have a regular rhythm.
Often Free Verse gives poetry a natural feel, like the narrator/character is talking freely to the reader.

12. Sonnet
In general, sonnets have 14 lines. However, there are many different types of sonnets.
Petrarchan sonnet (or Italian sonnet): Each of its 14 lines will be written in iambic pentameter (How do / I love / thee? Let / me count / the ways. “Sonnet 43” Elizabeth Barrett Browning). There will be an octave (a group of 8 lines) at the beginning, and a sestet (a group of 6 lines) at the end.
Shakespearean sonnet (or English sonnet) Each of its 14 lines will be written in iambic pentameter. There will be three quatrains, and will end with a couplet. The rhyme scheme will be A-B-A-B, C-D-C-D, E-F-E-F,G,G

13. Elegy
Elegy A poem that is sad and thoughtful, and often said in lament of a person who has died.

14. Epic, Lyric & Narrative:
Epic: A long narrative poem
Lyric: A poem that express the personal mood, feeling, or meditation of a single speaker.
Narrative: A poem that tells a story

15. Ballad
Ballad A ballad is a poem that usually tells a story that is similar to a folktale. It is often written in quatrains, and usually in lines that are iambic trimeter.

16. TSMILE: Look at the full version of the poems you have been given.
You will be allocated a role.
Annotate your element of the TSMILE structure.
Title- What could the title suggest? Connotations?
Structure- What form is the poem? Lines? Stanzas?
Meaning- What is the poem about? Themes?
Imagery- What sensory information is the reader given? What lines create an image in your mind’s eye?
Language- What techniques has the poet employed (Senses, alliteration, similes, onomatopoeia, metaphor etc)?
Effects- What is the intended and overall effect on the reader? Does this change with modern readership vs. the original readers?
Challenge: Can you be critical about the poem/poet?

17. Group feedback from the poems.
Think, Pair, Share
Group feedback from the poems.

18. Plenary:

19. Exemplar response: 27.1

20. Exemplar response: 27.2