English Literature Year 11 Poetry Revision Booklet

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE
Medusa by Carol Ann Duffy

What were Greek myths?
Greek myths were adapted and changed according to the storyteller; it was very
competitive, so the myths changed according to the listeners needs. According to some,
mythological correctness is seen as being fraudulent; there is no right or wrong story.
However, the most well known story of Medusa can be seen in the short summary below.
Medusa was a very attractive mortal who was admired for her
beauty and lovely locks. One day, Poseidon, the God of the Sea,
seduced Medusa in Athenas temple. Athena, the Goddess of
war strategy and the protector of land, was very angry that
Medusa disgraced her in her temple; therefore, she took
Medusas beauty away and turned her into an ugly Gorgon with
snakes on her head. From then on, any person that Medusa
looked at would turn into stone. This obviously meant that she
could never fall in love or have herself attached to someone again. Perseus, a Greek
hero, was able to cut off Medusas head by using a polished shield from Athena. He saw
Medusa in the reflection of the shield (this allowed him not to turn to stone) and was able
to use her head to combat many future battles.
What type of poem is this?

This poem is a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a piece of verse that
gives the speaker a voice to express his / her feelings. In the case of Medusa, Carol Ann
Duffy is giving a voice to Medusa.
In this poem, Medusa expresses her bitter feelings about becoming old and, in a sense,
unwanted. She is directing the poem to her husband, her Greek God.
Poetry detectives
Work in pairs to make a note of examples (quotations) from the poem in the table
below.
Poetic techniques
and devices
alliteration
assonance
metaphor
verbs
repetition
questions
imperative sentences
pleasant images
ugly images
one line stanza
narrative voice
Examples
Lets take a closer look

Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis.
Stanza 1
1.
What can we infer about the speaker?

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Stanza 2
What does my brides breath soured imply?
1.
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Why should Medusas husband be terrified?
2.
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Stanza 3
1.
Why is it terrifying that Medusa loves him? What are the consequences?
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What is the effect of the internal rhyme in youll go, betray me, stray from
2.
home?
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3.
Why is it better if he is stone? What does that allow Medusa to do? Hint: Think
about how she is feeling.
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Stanzas 4-5
1.
Why is it significant that she glances?

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2.
What do the images of the bee, singing bird, ginger cat and snuffling pig
convey? What is Medusa not able to allow herself to do?
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3.
Why is the phrase, a heap of shit so powerful?

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Stanza 6
1.
Why is it significant that she stares?

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2.
What does Medusa see in the mirror?

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Stanza 7 and last line

1.
What is the significance of And here you come? What is the tone?
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2.
What emotions are displayed in this stanza and how are they displayed?
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3.
Why is the last line poignant? What is she tempting him to do?
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My Itchy Toes Smell Loads

Complete the table below with what you consider to be the
most important quotes and poetic devices within each category.
meaning
imagery
tone
Structure
and Form
language
Comparing poems
AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers
different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two
poems.
Medusa
my last duchess
Sample exam question

Compare the central characters in Medusa and My Last Duchess.
Compare the ways that jealousy is explored in Medusa and My Last Duchess.
Comparing poems

Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two
poems.
Medusa
Les grand seigneurs

Compare the central characters in Medusa and Les Grand Seigneurs.
Planning an essay
10
Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your essay
question. You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison. Number each point in the order
you would write about them in your exam. When you write your essay, remember to
analyse structural and poetic devices for their effect and meaning. Dont just list.
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Ozymandias
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by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The title
What is the meaning of Shelleys title?
Ozymandias
Ozy comes from the Greek
ozium which means
either, to breathe or
Mandias comes from the

Greek mandate which
means to rule.
air.
Now that you understand the meaning of the title, how do these ideas link
to the poem?
Make a note of your ideas.
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Pharaoh Facts
The gods had a little help, in the form of

pharaohs. Pharaohs were the kings of
Ancient Egypt. In hieroglyphics,
pharaoh means great house or
palace, a word that was eventually
used to describe the king himself. The
ancient Egyptians saw their pharaoh as a
god, more specifically as the god Horus.
They thought that when the pharaoh
died, a new Horus was born to rule on
earth, thus achieving eternal life. In
reality, the pharaohs headed the
government, the army, set taxes, judged
criminals and were high priests of all the
temples. All this was in theory, of
course. Appointed officials did most of
the work, in his name.
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/egypt/phar.html
Read the poem.

What are your first impressions of the tone and meaning?
Make a note of your ideas.
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Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis. Think PEA point, example, analysis.
What does the adjective, antique, suggest? Is it a positive or negative description, or is it

both?
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What is the effect of creating a traveller to narrate the story?

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Why does Shelley use vast to describe the remains of the statue, rather than big?
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What does the noun, frown and the noun phrase wrinkled lip suggest about the nature of
the Pharaoh?
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Up until line five, Shelleys focus is on, primarily, the image of the statue in the
desert.
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Underline each NOUN and highlight each adjective up until line five. Then, using
this to aid you, in the space below, draw an image of Shelleys creation of Egypt.
Make sure you draw every object the way they are described by the poet.
At line 6, the poem subject shifts to the sculptor, Ozymandiass servant: its sculptor well those
passions read How does this extract support your previous answers?
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My name is Ozymandias, king of kings
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Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

a. What do you think these lines meant in the context of the time?
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b. What do you think these lines mean in todays context? What does the verb, despair,
suggest?
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c. How many references are there to Ozymandias himself in these lines? What does this
suggest?
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d. Mighty is a noun in line 11. Who does it refer to?
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e. Using punctuation, how has Shelley created the superior status of Ozymandias? Note and
explain two examples.
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Describe the grammar of this sentence: Nothing beside remains. What is its effect? Think
about the contrast with the previous lines.
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Whose work has lasted - Ozymandias or the sculptors? What do you think Shelley is
suggesting?
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Rhythm and Rhyme

Label the rhyme scheme.
Does the rhyme scheme follow the conventions of a Petrarchan sonnet?

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What is the symbolism of replacing old rhymes with new ones?

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What is the effect of the rhythm in the poems last line?

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Complete the table below with what you consider to
be the most important quotes and poetic devices within
each category.
meaning
imagery
tone
Structure
and Form
languag
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e
Comparing poems
-
AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts,

evaluating writers different ways of expressing meaning and
achieving effects
Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between
the two poems.
Ozymandias
my last duchess

Compare the characters in Ozymandias and My Last Duchess.
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Compare the ways that voice is created in Ozymandias and My

Last Duchess.
Comparing poems
-
AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts,

evaluating writers different ways of expressing meaning and
achieving effects
Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between
the two poems.
Ozymandias
Sample exam questions
Medusa
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Compare the ways that character and voice is created in

Ozymandias and Medusa.
Compare the presentation of power in Ozymandias and Medusa.
Planning an essay
Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for
your essay question.
You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison.
Number each point in the order you would write about them in your
exam. When you write your essay, remember to analyse structural and
poetic devices for their effect and meaning. Dont just list.
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The Clown Punk

by Simon Armitage

Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis. Think PEA point, example, analysis.
Stanza 1
Driving home through the shonky side of town,
three times out of ten youll see the town clown,
like a basket of washing that got up
and walked, towing a dog on a rope. But
What does the phrase, the shonky side of town, suggest about the Clown
Punks status?
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Note the simile in this stanza:

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What does this simile imply about the Clown Punk? Describe its
effectiveness.
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What do the verbs, driving, got up, walked and towing have in common?
They are verbs of M _ V _ _ E _ T

Look up this noun in a dictionary. One definition of the word is one that
also denotes revolution.
Describe the significance and irony of Armitages verb choices.

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Why does Simon Armitage end with But in the first stanza? What does it
cause you to do? Think about rhythm.
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Stanza 2
dont laugh: every pixel of that mans skin
is shot through with indelible ink;
as he steps out at the traffic lights,
think what hell look like in thirty years time
What are imperative verbs and what are the effects of Armitages use of
them?
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Why does Armitage use a hyphen at the end of the stanza? What does it
cause the reader to do?
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Stanza 3
the deflated face and shrunken scalp
still daubed with the sad tattoos of high punk.
You kids in the back seat who wince and scream
when he slathers his daft mush on the windscreen,
Why are the adjectives deflated and shrunken effective? What are their
connotations?
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Fill the gap in the following sentence:
The poem is written in ___________ person.
What is the effect of this narrative mode?
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Stanza 4
remember the clown punk with his dyed brain,
then picture windscreen wipers, and let it rain.
What does the imperative fourth stanza suggest? What do you think Armitage
is trying to convey?
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When asked about this poem, Armitage said that a man he used to see
on the street influenced him. He stated:
I used to see around town quite a lot, who once pressed his face up against the
windscreen of my car while I was stopped at the traffic lights. There's a tradition in
English Literature of writing such poems, where one type of person stands eyeball to
eyeball with another type, and something passes between them.
Sex Pistols
Look at the following album cover for the Sex Pistols.
What do you think their or other punks political views were? Make a note
of your ideas in the space below.
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Complete the table below with what you consider to be the most
important quotes and poetic devices within each category.
meaning
imagery
tone
26
Structure
and Form
language
Comparing poems
-
AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating

writers different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects
Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the
two poems.
The Clown Punk
The Hunchback in the Park
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Exam question
Compare the attitudes presented towards a disadvantaged person in
The Clown Punk and The Hunchback in the Park
Planning an essay
Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your
essay question. You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison. Number each
point in the order you would write about them in your exam. When you write
your essay, remember to analyse structural and poetic devices for their
effect and meaning. Dont just list.
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Checking Out Me History by John Agard

1. Why do you think it might it be a good idea to teach young people history at school? Note three
reasons.
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2. Why do you think that British history is widely taught across the world?
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3. What reasons might there be to teach young people about the history of other cultures as well
as British history?
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What type of poem is this?

This poem is a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a piece of
verse that gives the speaker a voice to EXPRESS his / her feelings to a silent
audience.
In the case of Checking Out Me History, Agards speaker expresses a desire to
learn more about his / her own country
of origin, not just the British
history s/he has been taught in school. Agard himself was born in Guyana in
South America in 1949 and moved to England in 1977.
Spot the following poetic techniques and devices at work in the poem. What is their
PURPOSE and EFFECT?
techniques
short lines
italics
non-standard
english
repetition
examples and analysis
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lack of
punctuation
a range of
historical
events /
figures
rhyme

Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis. Think PEA - point,
example, analysis.
Stanzas 1 3
Dem tell me
Dem tell me
Wha dem want to tell me
Bandage up me eye with me own history
Blind me to me own identity
Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat
dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat
But Toussaint LOuverture
no dem never tell me bout dat
What can we infer about the speaker?
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Who do you think dem refers to?
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Why do you think the poet has included a mixture of real events, characters from childrens
stories and nursery rhymes?
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Select an effective noun phrase used to describe each historical figure. Discuss the effect of
each noun phrase and how the speakers praise for them is made clear.
Toussaint LOuverture
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Nanny de Maroon
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Mary Seacole
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What might the metaphor I carving out me identity mean? Think about the connotations of the
verb to carve.
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Complete the table below with what you consider to be the most
important quotes and poetic devices within each category.
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What could you infer about the way the speaker feels about his or her identity from this stanza?
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meaning
imagery
tone
Structure
and Form
language
Comparing poems
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Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two poems.
Checking Out Me History
The Horse Whisperer

Compare the theme of history in Checking Out Me History and The Horse Whisperer.
Planning an essay
Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your essay question.
You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison. Number each point in the order you would write
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about them in your exam. When you write your essay, remember to analyse structural and
poetic devices for their effect and meaning. Dont just list.
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The River God

Character
What sort of character
Medusa
is presented in each
poem?
What are the most

striking aspects of
each character?
Do you feel any

sympathy for the
characters?
What other feelings do

you have towards
these characters?
Point of view
Whose point of view is

used in each poem?
Does the point of view

change at any point?
Does the poem use the

first person (I) or the
third person (he/she)?
Does the speaker of

the poem have a
particular audience in
mind?
Language
Is there any striking

imagery in each poem
(metaphor, simile,
personification)?
Are any phonological

techniques used
(alliteration,
assonance,
onomatopoeia)?
Which words or
phrases do you find
particularly effective
and why?
Singh Song! by Daljit Nagra
36

Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis. Think
PEA - point, example, analysis.
Stanza 1
I run just one ov my daddy's shops
from 9 o'clock to 9 o'clock
and he vunt me not to hav a break
but ven nobody in, I do di lock
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How is the father / son relationship represented in the first three lines of
the poem? What can we infer about the Indian work ethic?
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The use of connectives in this first stanza is very interesting. For

example, the connective, and, emphasizes the fathers hard-working
attitude and strict role as father. What is the effect of the connective,
but?
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Stanza 2
cos up di stairs is my newly bride
vee share in chapatti
vee share in di chutney
after vee hav made luv
like vee rowing through Putney
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38
They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together.
Rather they alone are called husband and wife, who have one soul in two
bodies.
- Guru Amar Das.
This saying by Guru Amar Das summarises the philosophy behind Sikh
matrimony.
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Which two lines represent this philosophy? Which poetic technique has
Nagra used to establish it, and what is its effect?
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Circle any non-standard grammar. What is the effect?
Stanza 3
Ven I return vid my pinnie untied
di shoppers always point and cry:
Hey Singh, ver yoo bin?
Yor lemons are limes
yor bananas are plantain,
dis dirty little floor need a little bit of mop
in di worst Indian shop
on di whole Indian road
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Why do you think Nagra uses Indian dialect and accent throughout the
poem, even when the voice is clearly that of a customer?
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Stanzas 4 7: Singhs Wife
Above my head high heel tap di ground

as my vife on di web is playing wid di mouse
ven she netting two cat on her Sikh lover site
she book dem for di meat at di cheese ov her price
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Nagra refers to Singhs wife as netting two cat on her Sikh lover site?
Explain the pun.
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What does Singhs wife do and how may that differ from the traditional
Indian marriages?
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Considering what you may know about the Indian culture, how would
you describe Singhs wife? What do you think the Indian communitys
reaction to her might be?
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my bride
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she effing at my mum

in all di colours of Punjabi
den stumble like a drunk
making fun at my daddy
my bride
tiny eyes ov a gun
and di tummy ov a teddy
my bride
she hav a red crew cut
and she wear a Tartan sari
a donkey jacket and some pumps
on di squeak ov di girls dat are pinching my sweeties
Draw a picture of Singhs wife below by using the details from stanzas five,
six and seven. Surround your picture with quotes which support your
interpretation.
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Stanza 9
Late in di midnight hour
ven yoo shoppers are wrap up quiet
ven di precinct is concrete-cool
vee cum down whispering stairs
and sit on my silver stool, from behind di chocolate
bars
vee stare past di half-price window signs
at di beaches ov di UK in di brightey moon
Name three poetic techniques used in this stanza. What are their effects?
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The Indian word for Britain is Blighty. Do you see any words that rhyme
with that word? Why do you think Nagra has done this?
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Comparing poems
-

two poems.
Singh Song!
Checking Out Me History

Compare the characters and situations in Singh Song and Checking
Out Me History.
Compare how voice is created in Singh Song and Checking Out Me
History.
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Planning an essay
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The River God by Stevie Smith
Character and voice

Read the following lines from the opening of the poem:
I may be smelly and I may be old,

Rough in my pebbles, reedy in my pools,
But where my fish float by I bless their swimming
And I like the people to bathe in me, especially women.
Who is the speaker of this poem? Explain your answer.
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Rhyme scheme
The poem is written almost entirely in rhyming couplets. The only
exceptions are:
the first two lines of the poem;
the last four lines of the poem. (Though the last four lines do contain a
couplet, the regular pattern is broken.)

What other poetic techniques does the poet use to create the sound of water?
Identify and explain three examples.
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45
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What is the effect of the rhyme scheme changing at the end of the poem?
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There are two lines in the poem that begin with a single word followed by a full
stop. What are they, and what is the effect on the reader?
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Poetry detective
Poetic techniques and
devices
assonance
rhyme
mid-line full stops
onomatopoeia
modal verbs
repetition
use of personal
pronouns
Examples
46
47
Comparing poems
-

two poems.
The river god
medusa

Compare the central characters in The River God and Medusa.
Compare the presentation of the theme of power in The River God and
Medusa.
Planning an essay
48
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Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy

Look at the following images. Note down the connotations that each image
suggests to you.
castellated towers
the peacocks
performing seals
sailing-ships
monkey-men

Read the final stanza of the poem again.
What is the turn in the poem?
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Why did this change happen overnight?
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What do you think the speaker means by called my bluff?
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49
50
Device spotting
Examiners Hint
Technical terms, device spotting, counting lines and alphabetising rhyme
schemes are only of any use if they support your understanding of the
poems and the comparisons between them and you show this.
So, there is very little point in saying:
Molloy uses a metaphor in line of the poem.

There is also very little point in saying:
In the metaphor, she compares to ...

The above, although useful in focusing your thoughts, will not earn you many
marks in terms of the assessment objectives and they will only be of use if
you also do the following.
To earn the marks, you must:
use appropriate quotations;
analyse and explain the use of any technical terms and poetic devices;
show your understanding and detail your personal response;
make comparisons.
link all of the above to the wider content of the poem.
Select one metaphor from the poem. Write your response to Molloys use
of the metaphor. Try to earn full marks.
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Poetry detectives
Make a note of examples (quotations) from the poem in the table below.
Poetic techniques and

devices
metaphors
narrative voice
rhyme
mid-line full stops
enjambment
parenthesis
alliteration
assonance
sibilance
consonance
word sets
the poems turn
pun
Examples
51

English Literature Year 11 Poetry Revision Booklet

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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Medusa by Carol Ann Duffy

What type of poem is this?

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

one line stanza

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Lets take a closer look

What can we infer about the speaker?

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Why is it significant that she glances?

Why is the phrase, a heap of shit so powerful?

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Why is it significant that she stares?

What does Medusa see in the mirror?

Stanza 7 and last line

My Itchy Toes Smell Loads

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

most important quotes and poetic devices within each category.

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

Sample exam question

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

Les grand seigneurs

Sample exam question

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Mandias comes from the

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

The gods had a little help, in the form of

Read the poem.

Lets take a closer look

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

What does the adjective, antique, suggest? Is it a positive or negative description, or is it

What is the effect of creating a traveller to narrate the story?

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Rhythm and Rhyme

Does the rhyme scheme follow the conventions of a Petrarchan sonnet?

What is the symbolism of replacing old rhymes with new ones?

What is the effect of the rhythm in the poems last line?

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

My Itchy Toes Smell Loads

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts,

Sample exam question

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Compare the ways that voice is created in Ozymandias and My

AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts,

Sample exam questions

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Compare the ways that character and voice is created in

You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison.

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

The Clown Punk

Lets take a closer look

Note the simile in this stanza:

AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE