“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood”

T.S.Eliot 1888-1965

Unseen Poetry

How to tackle the last part of the Literature

Examination

What does “Unseen” mean?

It will be a poem you have probably never seen before

You are being tested on your ability to “read and respond” thoughtfully

You are thinking about what the writer is trying to say

Every word of the poem will count

The Question

Write about the poem and its effect on you.

You may wish to include some or all of these points:

The poem’s content – what it is about The ideas the poet may have wanted us to think

about The mood or atmosphere of a poem How it is written – words or phrases you find

interesting, the way the poem is structured or organised

Your response to the poem

Content

What it’s about

What happens in each section

Is there an order or sequence?

Who’s speaking?

Story or idea?

Ideas

What did the poet want us to think about?

Is it a story

or an idea

or an expression of an emotion?

Is there a message?

Mood and atmosphere

What is the tone of the poem?

How does it make you feel as you read it?

Think about the 5 senses

Think about the setting

How it is written

Don’t just list or spot techniques

Pick out words or phrases that you find effective and try to say why

Think about the sound and rhythm of the poem. Does it have a beat? Or is it disjointed?

Look at repetition of sounds or words

Imagery: a quick reminder

An image in poetry (or in writing generally) is a picture in the reader’s mind created by the words used.

Literal images can be effective ; “roses in snow”. The reader sees this in an uncomplicated way.

Similes and metaphors are figurative images – they are built on comparison :

SIMILE – “The pigeon bursts like a city”

METAPHOR – “The sun died” - this is also an example of personification

How it is written 2

Think about the structure or form

Is it regular, uneven, awkward or easy to read. Does that tie in with the content?

Look at the first line of each stanza to see how the meaning develops

Look at the title and last line to give you a clue as to what the writer intended

Your Response

It’s perfectly acceptable to say you find a poem confusing or misleading if you can explain why

Try to be positive about some aspect of the poem or explain how you relate to an idea or event in it

Uses phrases to show your sadness, surprise, enjoyment, anger, frustration, empathy……

The examiner basically wants to know you have read and thought about this poem

Things you should NEVER write!

At first I didn’t understand the poem but after reading it a couple of times I think…

The poem has no rhythm

I think the poem needed to rhyme more because I like poems that rhyme…

I think the poet has done a very good job of writing this poem and they obviously thought carefully about it…

Ok – so let’s try an example

It is absolutely essential to get into the habit of reading the poem at least twice before even trying to think of what you will write.

Try to hear the poem aloud in your head – notice how it makes you feel and which words felt important as you read it.

TRAMP By William Marshall

He liked he said

rainbows and the sky

and children who passed him in the

street

without staring.

And he liked he said the

ordinary things

like

roses in snow

and the way he

remembered

the first time

the first time he

really smelt the

rain on

a green hillside

back home

just before the sun died

And he liked he said thinking about who slept beneath the red brick roofs he walked by in the early part of the day from Land’s End to John O’Groats. but he said as a full time tramp with no other place to go he was worried where he would die - Land’s End or John O’Groats.

Start by annotating ….

Tramp

He liked he said

rainbows and the sky

and children who passed him in

the

street

without staring.

Any tramp –

no name

The speaker is

someone reporting

The tramp’s opinions

Like a child

– a simple

treat

Most children stare - likes the ones

who don’t – why?

Using P-E-E

Making sure you always use P-E-E statements in the poetry question will help you get a C

Write two P-E-E statements about this poem now

Point Evidence Explanation

How to get a C

sustained response to situation/ideas or author's purposes

effective use of details to support answer

explanation of features of language interest

explanation of effects achieved/authors' purposes

How to get a B

qualified, developed response, exploring writers' ideas or methods

details from poem linked to authors' intentions and purposes

exploration of effects achieved/authors' purposes

qualified/exploratory response to writers' ideas or methods

Check your response

Have you explained?

Have you used details?

Is your writing on the poem sustained?

Are you beginning to explore?

Do you evaluate the writer’s techniques?

Improving your answer

Go back and think about what you need to add to your notes to ensure you get a C or B

Remember:

Read the poem carefully more than once Annotate the poem quickly You have 30 minutes Spend 5 mins reading the poem and

annotating Think about the poem.

Writing your answer

Use the bullet points provided to structure your answer

Use P-E-E throughout

Make at least two points for each bullet point – that’s 10 marks!

Don’t panic if you don’t get it all – it is not a trick!

Practice makes perfect

Practise annotating poems.

Remember to annotate in different ways: questions, points, meanings, links, language techniques, poet’s ideas

Thinking about the poems and questioning the ideas in them will help you be more confident in the exam.