English Literature Unit TwoPoetry Anthology

Relationships

Complete the sentence on a post-it

A poem is like a cake because . . .

Unit Two Poetry Exam

23rd May in the afternoon

Section A – The Anthology, 36 marks (Relationships), 45 minutes

Section B – An unseen poem, 18 marks, 30 minutes

Example Questions

• Compare how poets use language to explore ideas and feelings in ‘Checking Out Me History’ (page 5) and in one other poem from Character and voice. (36 marks)

• Compare how poets present the effects of war in ‘Mametz Wood’ (page 36) and in one other poem from Conflict. (36 marks)

• Compare the ways poets explore strong feelings about another person in ‘Quickdraw’ (page 53) and in one other poem from Relationships. (36 marks)Which important word keeps appearing?

You must Compare!

• Last week we focused on the content and ideas of the poems and about the methods that the poets use, but for section A you must compare two poems.

• It is worth 36 marks. • Also, comparing is important for Language

Unit One Question Four so we must get it right.

How to compare

• Select one cake each so that every person in your group has a different cake.

• Do not eat the cake!• Discuss your cakes as a group thinking

carefully about the connective words that you use to compare (My cake has icing but yours has butter cream). One person in your group should write the words on post-it notes to create a ladder.

Let’s start to be a bit more specific

Think about the structure of your cakes.

Working with your shoulder partner first, make as many comparisons as you can of the structural (how it is put together) features of your cake. You might want to slice your cake open to have a look inside.Do not eat the cake!!!

Share your ideas

Share your two best comparisons of structure with your face partners.

Now, select the best comparison of structure that you came up with as a group and write it down. Interpret and analyse the difference between the two structural features thoroughly. Write a lot about a little. Do not eat the cake!!

Let’s think about the decoration

Another feature that makes your cake unique is the way it is presented and the little decorative flourishes that are used.

Which decorative features of your cakes could you compare? Write them in your cupcake outline.

How to compare

What about the flavour and the texture? How on earth could we possibly compare those features . . . ?

You may now eat your cake!

How to compare

Describe the flavour and texture of your cake to your partner. Try to be very specific and give them lots of details.

As you describe make sure that you are specific about what effect each of the features that we have identified have on the flavour and texture of your cake. So for example you could mention the effects of the sugar sprinkles on the top.

How to compare

Working with your partner fill a post-it note with a detailed a specific comparison of the flavours and textures of your cakes.

So, a cake is like a poem because?

• How can all of this help us to analyse poetry?

• You are all obviously very good at comparing now.

• You now need to work as a group to connect all of the stages in cake analysis and comparison to poetry analysis and comparison.

StructureHow can we link the structure of a cake to the structure of a poem?

DecorationHow can we link the decorative flourishes that you are used with cakes to the features of poetry?

FlavourWhat aspect of a poem might the idea of flavour link with?

TextureWhat aspect of a poem might the idea of texture link with?

ConnectivesHoweverWhereasWhileOn the other handIn comparison withIn the same withSimilarlyContrastinglyYet AlternativelyIn contrast to

StructureHow can we link the structure of a cake to the structure of a poem?Layers of a cake might be the verses/stanzasThe depth or width of the layers might be number of linesThe cream holding the cake together might be something like enjambementIcing holding everything together might be an idea that runs through the poem.

DecorationHow can we link the decorative flourishes that you are used with cakes to the features of poetry?I would link this to the style of the poem so sprinkles and visual features of a cake could be poetic techniques that create imagery – simile, metaphor, personification etc.Crispy parts of decoration could link to the sounds of poems created by techniques like alliteration, onomatopoeia, plosives etcYou could also link this to colours used in the decoration of a cake. Colours could help to create imagery and mood in a poem.

FlavourWhat aspect of a poem might the idea of flavour link with?The flavour of the cake might link with the tone of the voice in the poem.Just as we can have different flavours like vanilla, chocolate, coffee, marzipan we can have different tones to the poem such as happiness, sadness, celebratory, protesting, melancholy etc.

TextureWhat aspect of a poem might the idea of texture link with?The texture of the poem could simply be the meaning and what the poem is about. What ideas is the poet trying to convey to the reader or listener.

ConnectivesHoweverWhereasWhileOn the other handIn comparison withIn the same withSimilarlyContrastinglyYet AlternativelyIn contrast to

You were able to compare your cakes beautifully . . .

• Can you now do the same with two poems from your cluster?

• Find the poem that you are most confident with, making sure that it is different from your partner’s and add some initial ideas to your sheet. Don’t worry about writing in too much detail yet we’re just trying to get the idea of comparing right. You have five minutes.

Share with your partner

• Swap ideas with your partner and use their ideas to complete each comparison.

The structure of the poem . . .

whereas

The poet uses lots of interesting methods to . . .

Alternatively

The mood and tone of poem . . .

On the other hand

The meaning of this poem is . . .

This is different from . . .

ConnectivesHoweverWhereasWhileOn the other handIn comparison withIn the same withSimilarlyContrastinglyYet AlternativelyIn contrast to