SECTION B - THE UNSEEN POEM

I will try and put everything you need to answer Section B into 1 post so that you don't have loads to read.

Section B is worth less marks than section A. You should only spend about 30 minutes on it.

Realistically, you will only be able to plan and write about 5/6 paragraphs.

The question(s) will be about a poem which you will not have seen or read before. That is the whole point.

If the question is in multiple parts, have a look how much each part is worth. Make sure you split up your time in accordance with how many marks each question is worth. More marks = more time.

The question will ask you something like,

"What do you learn from the poem about...."
"How does the poet present his ideas about...."

The important part of the question is the bit at the end, because this will refer to the poem in particular.

So then, with that in mind, all you have to do is go through the poem with your highlighter and look out for all the following things:

Structure

What is the structure of the poem like? Does this link to the question?

*If the structure or rhyme scheme is regular or constant, it could be a clue that the poet thinks whatever is going on in the poem is quite normal, happy, regular, constant etc.

*If the structure is unpredictable, or there is no real rhyme scheme, then it is usually a clue that the poet wants you to look more closely at what is going on in the poem. Usually there is something unusual or untidy going on in the poem.

*Has the poet repeated any important words?

*Has the poet used enjambment?

*Look at the words which are first and last in each stanza/line. Are these important? Have they been placed there for a reason?

Language

What sort of groups of words (lexical field) has the poet used? Does this link to the question?

*For example, has the poet used lots of words about a particular subject like death/money/love/work/emotions/religion etc? Highlight them, and link them all together.

Which words has the poet used that really stand out?

*Has the poet used any large/unusual/interesting words that link to the question? Highlught them and point them out.

Imagery

Has the poet used any SIMILES, METAPHORS, PERSONIFICATIONS, ALLITERATION or ONOMATOPOEIA which remind you of the question?


Then, once you have found yourself about 5-6 different points from the poem, start turning these points into PEE paragraphs using the normal method:

POINT - The first thing the poet has done which links to the question is....

EVIDENCE - We can see this where it says..." QUOTE " (Try to use more than one quote if possible)

EXPLAIN - This links to the question because...

Write about 6 of these and you're done!