Brighter Thinking

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PoetryGCSE English Literature for AQAStudent BookTrevor Millum and Andy MortSeries editor: Peter Thomas

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This section is designed for everyone studying the AQA Anthology. It develops your skills in reading and comparing the poems in your chosen cluster. Each of the clusters contains 15 poems. The poems in each cluster are thematically linked and were written between 1789 and the present day.

THE POETRY CLUSTERS

You will be studying just one of the two clusters, although if you do read poems from the other cluster, that will be very good practice for the ‘unseen poetry’ part of your question paper. You should study all 15 poems in your chosen cluster and be prepared to compare any of them in the examination.

The anthology poems cover most of what matters in human life: love and relationships, and power and confl ict. This book will help you understand the poems, appreciate the way they have been written and prepare you for successful answers in your Literature exam.

POEMS PAST AND PRESENT

Poetry comes in a variety of forms. Some are narrative, telling a story. Others are dramatic monologues – presenting a story or event from the point of view of a character – such as ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ (Cluster 1 Unit 6) or ‘My Last Duchess’ (Cluster 2 Unit 4). Other poems set out to celebrate something, such as ‘Letters from Yorkshire’ (Cluster 1 Unit 8) or ‘Tissue’ (Cluster 2 Unit 12). Some are written in praise of a person, such as ‘Follower’ (Cluster 1 Unit 10) or ‘War

Photographer’ (Cluster 2 Unit 11), or to bring to life a minor or a major event from the past, such as ‘Winter Swans’ (Cluster 1 Unit 13) or ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (Cluster 2 Unit 5).

Most of the poems are written to explore ideas and feelings related to the ups and downs of daily life – a lover’s tiff in ‘Neutral Tones’ (Cluster 1 Unit 5) and a frightening childhood experience in the extract from ‘The Prelude’ (Cluster 2 Unit 3). Some take a passionate stance in relation to ideas and principles, such as ‘Love’s Philosophy’ (Cluster 1 Unit 2) and ‘Checking Out Me History’ (Cluster 2 Unit 15), while others celebrate the achievements and dignity of ordinary people doing what they think best, such as ‘Mother, any distance’ (Cluster 1 Unit 11) and ‘Kamikaze’ (Cluster 2 Unit 14).

Whatever the kind of poem, one thing is clear. The writer will have had some purpose in writing it. This could be a private and personal purpose, like wanting to get some misery off their chest, or to confess feelings of regret, loss or a guilty conscience. Others may have a more public purpose, to make the reader think or feel something about the world around them. Both kinds of poems may have a purpose of changing people’s perceptions of life and may be political or philosophical, for example ‘London’ (Cluster 2 Unit 2), or refl ecting on private events and memories, for example ‘Walking Away’ (Cluster 1 Unit 7) or ‘The Emigrée’ (Cluster 2 Unit 13).

So, poetry can be narrative, dramatic, speculative, impressionistic, descriptive or argumentative. In all this mix, there is something for everyone.

Poems past and present

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GCSE English Literature for AQA: Poetry

GETTING STARTED – THE POEM AND YOU

This poem concerns the ending of a relationship and the response of someone who feels that they have been badly treated.

If you had been badly let down by someone, what would you do? For example would you be tempted to make your feelings public on social media? Would there be an element of revenge?

GETTING CLOSER – FOCUS ON DETAILS

First impressions

Now read the poem. It raises some questions: Who is he talking about? What has happened? How much do we know or can we deduce at this stage?

Create a table to help you tease out what you know. For example:

What you know or deduce How you know it

A relationship has ended

It took place a long time ago

‘To sever for years’

‘Thy vows are all broken’

Their relationship was a secret

The writer is bitt er

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Love and relationships

1 When We Two Parted

CLUSTER 1

Lord Byron (1788–1824) was an English poet and one of the most famous members of the Romantic movement. This poem is said to be about his love affair with Lady Frances Webster. Not only was she a married woman, but she was also the wife of one of his friends. Later, after their affair ended, Byron learned of Lady Frances’ new affair with the Duke of Wellington. There are plenty of books and websites that will give you more information on the life and loves of Byron, about whom it was famously said that he was ‘Mad, bad and dangerous to know’!

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If you could give the poem another title, what would it be?

Annotate a copy of the poem in order to begin organising your thoughts about it. For example:

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When we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted,

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss –

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

Images of grief and death

Long-lasting

A ‘cold kiss’ worse than none at all?

Only one of them was broken-hearted?

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Cluster 1: 1 When We Two Parted

WHEN WE TWO PARTED

When we two parted In silence and tears,Half broken-hearted, To sever for years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold, 5

Colder thy kiss – Truly that hour foretold Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning Sunk chill on my brow – 10

It felt like the warning Of what I feel now.Thy vows are all broken, And light is thy fame;I hear thy name spoken, 15

And share in its shame.

They name thee before me – A knell to mine ear;A shudder comes o’er me – Why wert thou so dear? 20

They know not I knew thee, Who knew thee too well;Long, long shall I rue thee, Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met, 25

In silence I grieveThat thy heart could forget, Thy spirit deceive.If I should meet thee After long years, 30

How should I greet thee? With silence and tears.

Lord Byron

Listen to the poem on Cambridge Elevate

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Context

Exam Question

fame (14): reputationknell (18): the sound of a bell, especially when rung for a death or funeralrue (23): regret bitterly

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GCSE English Literature for AQA: Poetry

PUTTING DETAILS TO USE

Interpreting themes, ideas, attitudes and feelings

In pairs or small groups, look at the following table. The left-hand column contains certain lines from the poem and the right-hand column shows different ways to interpret these lines. Discuss which interpretations you think are the most appropriate. There is not necessarily a right and wrong answer – but you do have to agree on a choice.

‘The dew of the morningSunk chill on my brow –It felt like the warningOf what I feel now.’

‘Thy vows are all broken,And light is thy fame;’

‘I hear thy name spoken,And share in its shame.‘

The morning dew was: • like a cold sweat, an omen of the suffering to follow• cold, like your feelings and a sign of the chill that

was to follow in my life• like a premonition of death.

You’ve broken promises and: • your reputation is in tatters • your behaviour is well known• you are talked about everywhere.

• I can’t bear to hear you talked about.• I feel ashamed of my association with you.• I’m embarrassed when people speak about what

you’re up to.

‘They name thee before me –A knell to mine ear;’

‘A shudder comes o’er me –’

‘They know not I knew thee,Who knew thee too well;’

‘Long, long shall I rue thee,Too deeply to tell.’

I overhear people talking about you and to me it is like: • a funeral bell• the sound of death• a foretaste of death.

It makes me: • shiver in horror• shake with sadness • convulse with despair.

• I knew you far better than they think.• I wish I had not known you so well. • They are ignorant of your true nature.

I regret: • ever knowing you • that we parted • that you broke your promises.

Share your decisions with the rest of the class. Do other groups disagree with some of your interpretations? If so, try to examine why.

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Cluster 1: 1 When We Two Parted

Show your skills

Although the rhythm of the fi rst verse is slightly irregular, the poem then settles down to a very clear beat. Read verses two and three aloud with a partner in a way that emphasises the regular beat:

The dew of the morning / Sank chill on my brow

Such a reading begins to sound very monotonous. Now experiment with reading those verses in a very different way. It may help to mark the lines with places where you intend to pause or to raise or lower the volume. You can decide your own abbreviations; this example uses the following: italics = quieter; // = pause (/// = longer pause); bold = louder; underline = slowing down.

The dew of the morning sank chill on my brow. // It felt like the warning /// of what I feel now.

Reading the poem in your own way will show that you have understood the importance of different words and phrases and are able to interpret them (and explain your choices). If possible, record your reading.

Choose three extracts from the poem and give your response to them, each time beginning your response with ‘Reading between the lines …’ For example:

In the second verse he says that he will regret ever knowing her for a very long time and these feelings of hurt are too deep to speak of. Reading between the lines and knowing something of his character, I feel that he is exaggerating how long it will take to get over her. Also, he is expressing his feelings in the poem so they are not too deep ‘to tell’ after all.

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They name thee before me – A knell to mine ear;A shudder comes o’er me – Why wert thou so dear?

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GCSE English Literature for AQA: Poetry

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GETTING IT INTO WRITING

From the work you have done already, you should now be able to tackle a longer piece of writing about the poem. Answer the following question: What are Byron’s feelings about the parting and how well do you think he expresses them?

Here are some of the aspects you should consider:

• Byron’s vocabulary – which words establish a particular feeling or tone?• The structure of the poem – does the verse form and rhythm influence the

way the poem makes you feel?• The argument – how he builds up a case against the woman.• The overall impact – do his words convince you? Do you think his reaction

is typical?

Comparing poems

As you read the other poems in this collection, look out for similarities and differences between them. Sometimes their form (the way they are constructed, perhaps with formal verse patterns) will be very different, but their themes and points of view may be similar.

GETTING CREATIVE

Here is the first verse, expanded with the addition of some extra words and phrases to create a version from the woman’s point of view. Choose another verse to adapt in a similar way. Here and there you may wish to change the word order, but try to stick to the original order as far as possible.

When we two parted, it was in silence and there were tears, of course. I was only half in love with you and could not pretend to be broken-hearted. It was not so hard to sever the ties. I had known you for years and knew your faults. Your cheek grew pale and cold, colder than the touch of your hand. Your parting kiss was truly the end, for it tasted of bitterness. I knew that hour that I had done the right thing. Our relationship only foretold sorrow. ‘Yes, it’s come to this,’ I said.

Your response

How would you feel if you received a message such as ‘When We Two Parted?’ Would you feel angry/resentful/remorseful/amused/irritated? How do you think the woman about whom the poem was written felt when she read it? You could write her reply!