GCSE English and English Literature

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GCSE English and English Literature

• Revision
• (to be used in conjunction with the Revision
  Booklets)

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GCSE English Paper 2

• Poems from Different Cultures
• Cluster One

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The contexts

• Some of the poems have specific contexts that you
  need to understand in order to access the poem.
  What do you know about the following contexts?

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Slavery
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Apartheid
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The Caribbean and London
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Water in a drought ridden country
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The American Dream
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Scorpions
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Vultures
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The Holocaust
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The Vietnam War
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How Well Do You Know Your Poems?

• What is the title of the poem about water?
• What is the title of the poem about the Vietnam
  War?
• What is the title of the poem about apartheid?

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How Well Do You Know Your Poems?

• What is the title of the poem about a scorpion?
• What is the title of the poem about slavery?
• What is the title of the poem about the holocaust?

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How Well Do You Know Your Poems?

• What is the title of the poem about a Caribbean
  Man who lives in London?
• What is the title of the poem that is about the
  American Dream?

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How Well Do You Know Your Poems?

• What poem do the following words belong to?
• the voice of a kindly god
• all the bones were charred
• Long dark night is the silence in front of me
• May he sit still, they said

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The Poets

• Which poem did they write?
• What poem did Chinua Achebe write?
• What poems did Grace Nichols write?
• What poems did Lawrence Ferlinghetti write?
• What poem did Denise Levertov write?
• What poem did Edward Kamau Braithwaite write?
• What poem did Imtiaz Dharker write?
• What poem did Nissim Ezekiel write?
• What poem did Tatamkhulu Afrika write?

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Edward Kamau Braithwaite
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Tatamkhulu Afrika
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Grace Nichols
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Imtiaz Dharker
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Lawrence Ferlinghetti
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Nissim Ezekiel
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Chinua Achebe
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Denise Levertov
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Themes

• Which poems use animals as there central theme?
• Which poems use injustice in society as their
  central theme?
• Which poems use inequality as their central
  theme?
• Which poems use miracles as their central theme?
• Which poems use the theme of parents and
  children?
• Which poems use change as their central theme?
• Which poems use the theme of racism?
• The list of themes is not-definitive can you
  think of any more?
• (See past papers for an extensive range of themes)

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Poetry ComparisonExam Style

• There is a recipe for success when answering a
  question on your poetry Cluster in the exam.

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Answering a poetry question

• Chinua Achebe has used an animal to convey his
  message. How effectively has he and one other
  poet used an animal effectively to convey their
  message?
• Choose your poem to compare
• Brainstorm how effectively they have used
  animals. Use the ideas on your brainstorm in
  your response

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Secrets to Success

• Always
• Use formal language
• Use a range of connectives
• Use paragraphs
• Refer back to the question at least once per
  paragraph
• Use a quote in each paragraph
• Write about both poems together
• Place quotes of three words or more on a separate
  line

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Paragraph 1/Part One

• Write about
• The poets
• The contexts
• The titles
• The narrators
• The contents (as in what literally happens)

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Part 2

• Very important part of the essay, this is likely
  to be more than one paragraph
• Language and the effectS of language
• Only write about quotes which are linked to the
  question and the more effects you can write about
  the higher the grade
• For example
• In Night of the Scorpion, the poet compares the
  scorpion to the devil,
• the Evil One.
• This is an effective metaphor because it clearly
  and unarguably shows how dangerous the scorpion
  was, how life threatening. In addition, by
  comparing the scorpion to Satan the poet is
  emphasising the primitive nature of the culture
  in its extreme belief in the power of good and
  evil. However, it is perhaps unfair to assume
  that this society (who live in huts) are
  completely primitive in that perhaps they are
  correct to focus heavily on the battle between
  good and evil, it may be that, we, in Western
  society have become ignorant of such boundaries.
  

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Paragraph 3

• This should be about
• Rhyme and rhythm and effects
• Themes and effects
• Only write about this in relation to the question

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Paragraph 4

• This should be about
• The overall messages of the poets in relation to
  the question

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Paragraph 5

• This should be about
• The conclusion
• (sum up and analyse the question, answering it)