Unseen Poetry. Do not panic.

In the Poetry Across Time exam, Section B is an unseen poem.

You need to answer in 30 minutes and get 18 marks.

Do not panic about this because you have analysed lots of poems independently and have all the skills you need already.

Think about how you usually analyse a poem when your teacher gives it to you: what do you do?

1. read it through carefully.  As far as you can try to 'hear' it in your head so the rhyme and rhythm is obvious to you.  Please do not read it out loud in the exam hall - this isn't going to make you very popular!
2. Now re-read the question: what do the exam board want you to pick out? There may well be a theme or a focus that they want you to write about.  Identify it and know what you're looking for.
3. then read it again.  This time do what you would in class: annotate it. Looking for key words and techniques. What is the poet trying to make you feel or think with the words chosen?
4. Write a response which directly answers the question asked and reflects the way you are responding to the poet's words. This might be the hard part, so you could use this method:

ARTWARS

So, what the poem is about, repeated ideas, tone, words, alliteration and other techniques, rhyme and rhythm and structure.

Or FLITS (form, language, intentions/ideas, themes, structure)

Either way, the examiner wants to see you can respond to the poet's central message and identify how the choice of words, structure and techniques achieves this.

A really good way to revise now would be to write down ALL the poetic language and structural techniques that you can think of.... Now, read your exercise book and search on the internet to find out ones you have forgotten.

Finally, you could practice responding to unseen poems and revise all the conflict cluster using this amazing resource from Verulam School.

Good luck!