1. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Answer one question on An Inspector Calls (from a choice of two)
Answer one question on the poetry cluster you have studied from the Anthology
Answer two questions on poems you haven’t seen before
Section A – Modern text
Section B – Poetry
Section C – Unseen Poetry
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

2. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Answer one question on the poetry cluster you have studied from the Anthology
Section B – Poetry
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

3. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
In the exam, you have to compare two of the poems in a full essay. You have 45 minutes to do this.
There are 15 poems in the anthology that you need to know REALLY well.
Answer one question on the poetry cluster you have studied from the Anthology
Section B – Poetry
You will not have a choice of questions – which is why it is so important that you know the poems well.
We have chosen to study the poems about POWER and CONFLICT
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

4. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
There are three main ways to get marks in this exam;
1- Give your own thoughts and opinions on the poems and support them with quotes from the text.
2- Explain features like form, structure and language.
3- Describe the similarities and differences between poems and their contexts.
Answer one question on the poetry cluster you have studied from the Anthology
Section B – Poetry
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

5. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
Poem 9 – REMAINS– Simon Armitage
Armitage is an English poet, playwright and novelist. ‘Remains’ is from his collection, “The Not Dead”, which looks at the effect of war on ex-soldiers. It’s based on the account of a British soldier who served in Iraq.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

6. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

7. Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
On another occasion, we got sent out
to tackle looters raiding a bank.
And one of them legs it up the road,
probably armed, possibly not.
Well myself and somebody else and somebody else
are all of the same mind,
so all three of us open fire.
Three of a kind all letting fly, and I swear
I see every round as it rips through his life –
I see broad daylight on the other side.
So we’ve hit this looter a dozen times
and he’s there on the ground, sort of inside out,
pain itself, the image of agony.
One of my mates goes by
and tosses his guts back into his body.
Then he’s carted off in the back of a lorry.
End of story, except not really.
His blood-shadow stays on the street, and out on patrol
I walk right over it week after week.
Then I’m home on leave. But I blink
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

8. Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
and he bursts again through the doors of the bank.
Sleep, and he’s probably armed, and possibly not.
Dream, and he’s torn apart by a dozen rounds.
And the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out –
he’s here in my head when I close my eyes,
dug in behind enemy lines,
not left for dead in some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land
or six-feet-under in desert sand,
but near to the knuckle, here and now,
his bloody life in my bloody hands.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

9. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
1- Work out what the poem’s about
What’s the subject?
Look at the Narrative Voice - whether it’s written in the first person (I), second person (you) or third person (he/she). Think about who the poem is addressing (eg; the narrator’s lover, the reader etc).
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

10. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
2- Identify the form and structure of the poem
Is it rigid and regular or loose and irregular?
Does the poem rhyme?
Why has the poet chosen this form? What mood / effect does it create?
How is the poem laid out? Are lines and stanzas regular / irregular? Does it use enjambment? How does it use punctuation?
How does the ‘story’ of the poem evolve? How does the tone change?
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

11. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
3- What language is used to create these effects?
How does the language support your comments about mood and tone?
Look at any Language techniques that are used; eg; personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia. What is their effect?
Focus on how language creates imagery.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

12. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
4- Identify the feelings and attitudes in the poem.
What is the main emotion in the poem? Does it change?
Does the poet want you to share his/her feelings? Or do they just want you to understand (empathise with) their feelings?
How does the poem make you feel?
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

13. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Poem 9 – REMAINS– Simon Armitage .
A SUMMARY –
A group of soldiers shoot a man who’s running away from a bank raid he’s been involved in. His death is described in graphic detail.
The soldier telling the story isn’t sure whether the man was armed or not – this plays on his mind.
He can’t get the man’s death out of his head – he is haunted by it.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

14. Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
This sounds like one in a series of stories, and the reader is listening in.
On another occasion, we got sent out
to tackle looters raiding a bank.
And one of them legs it up the road,
probably armed, possibly not.
Well myself and somebody else and somebody else
are all of the same mind,
so all three of us open fire.
Three of a kind all letting fly, and I swear
I see every round as it rips through his life –
I see broad daylight on the other side.
So we’ve hit this looter a dozen times
and he’s there on the ground, sort of inside out,
Colloquial expression – makes it sound like an ordinary anecdote.
There’s doubt here, which contrasts strongly with the definite action which follows.
Repetition sounds like he’s keen for the reader to know it wasn’t just him – hints that he feels guilty.
This comes as a surprise – the sudden violence doesn’t fit with the casual tone.
Poetic voice switches to “I” - this is now more personal..
Repetition of “I see” emphasises the visual horror of the scene.
This violent metaphor contrasts shockingly with the colloquial style of the first two stanzas.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

15. Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
Quite a grotesque, exaggerated image – he says he can see straight through the bullet holes in the man’s body.
I see every round as it rips through his life –
I see broad daylight on the other side.
So we’ve hit this looter a dozen times
and he’s there on the ground, sort of inside out,
pain itself, the image of agony.
One of my mates goes by
and tosses his guts back into his body.
Then he’s carted off in the back of a lorry.
End of story, except not really.
His blood-shadow stays on the street, and out on patrol
I walk right over it week after week.
Then I’m home on leave. But I blink
This is an almost childish description of the man’s body – the speaker seems unable to process it in an adult way.
Two very casual, cold actions – no respect for the dead man. “Tosses” and “carted off” make it sound as if his body is a piece of rubbish”.
Volta in the poem (turning point). The speaker’s mood changes.
A visual reminder of the death – it foreshadows the memories that are going to haunt him.
Short, simple sentence suggests he thinks that once he’s home he’ll forget the terrible things he’s seen. The suddenness of the line also hints at the speaker being confused.
The stanza ending reflects the blinking – the enjambment carries you forwards, and the horror is still there when the next stanza starts.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

16. Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
Short words, separated from the rest of the line by caesurae, sound like gun shots.
Repetition of line 4 shows that he’s replaying the event in his mind and hints at his inner turmoil.
and he bursts again through the doors of the bank.
Sleep, and he’s probably armed, and possibly not.
Dream, and he’s torn apart by a dozen rounds.
And the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out –
he’s here in my head when I close my eyes,
dug in behind enemy lines,
not left for dead in some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land
or six-feet-under in desert sand,
but near to the knuckle, here and now,
his bloody life in my bloody hands.
The metaphor compares the memory stuck in his mind to a soldier in a trench.
The violent parts of the compound adjectives, “stunned” and “smothered”, show how the place is affected by war. The long lines and sibilance slow the pace and reflect the speaker’s lack of clear thought.
There could be a double meaning to “bloody” – he’s talking about the man’s blood, but also swearing in anger”
There’s no collective responsibility now – he feels completely responsible.
Possible reference to lady Macbeth – after persuading her husband to kill King Duncan, Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands. This allusion hints that the speaker has become unbalanced by his guilt, as Lady Macbeth was.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

17. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Poem 9 – REMAINS– Simon Armitage .
FORM AND STRUCTURE
There’s no regular line length or rhyme scheme, making it sound like someone telling a story. The speaker starts with the first person plural (“we”), but changes to first person singular (“I”) and the poem becomes more personal, sounding like a confession.
In the final couplet, both lines have the same metre – this gives a feeling of finality and hints that the guilt will stay with the soldier.
The poem begins as if it’s going to be an amusing anecdote, but it quickly turns into a graphic description of a man’s death.
There is a clear volta at the beginning of the fifth stanza, where the soldier’s tone, thoughts and emotions are changed by his guilt.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

18. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Poem 9 – REMAINS– Simon Armitage .
LANGUAGE
Graphic Imagery – The man’s death is described in gory detail, with the implication that his “guts” have spilt out onto the ground. The imagery reminds the reader of the horrors of war, but also shows how desensitised to violence and death the speaker was at the time – they had become part of his everyday life.
Colloquial Language – The first four stanzas have lots of chatty, familiar language, which helps make the poem sound like someone telling a story. However, this language also trivialises the man’s death.
Repetition – words are repeated to reflect the way that the killing is repeated in the speaker’s mind.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

19. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
Poem 9 – REMAINS– Simon Armitage
FEELINGS AND ATTITUDES
Nonchalance - Initially, there’s a very casual attitude towards the death of the man – the tone at the start of the poem is anecdotal. He’s shot without warning and his body is just thrown into a lorry and “carted off”.
Guilt – The speaker can’t get the memory of the killing out of his mind. He is tormented by thoughts of the man, and wondering whether he was armed or not. The poem ends with the speaker acknowledging that he has blood on his hands – he knows he’s guilty.
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.

20. English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes
Anthology Poetry – lesson ten
English Literature Paper 2 – 2 hours 15 minutes .
Poem 9 – REMAINS– Simon Armitage
Why do you think Armitage chose the title? Is it effective?
In anecdotes you usually use people’s names. Why does the speaker just say “somebody else”?
What does the phrase “near to the knuckle” suggest about how the death is affecting the speaker?
Bronze– identify skills required in the exam Silver – understand what the examiner will be looking for
Gold – Interpret a poem from the anthology
Platinum – Analyse a poem from the anthology, considering your own interpretation of it.