IGCSE Literature

1
IGCSE Literature

• Poetry

2
DONT PANIC!

• This presentation is an overview of what you will
  be learning in choice this year. You may not
  understand everything in this lesson but we will
  learn it together over the next year so dont
  worry!
• Lets have a look at what poetry is...

3
What is a poem?

• A piece of writing in which the words are chosen
  for their sound and the images they suggest, not
  just for their obvious meanings.
• The words are arranged in separate lines, usually
  with a repeated rhythm, and sometimes the lines
  rhyme at the end.

4
Imagery

• When you take a photograph you get an imagea
  representation of what was before you when you
  took the picture.
• In writing you have to use words to describe the
  image that you wish to convey to your reader.
• When we study literature we look at the words
  that created the picture.
• This is called imagery.

5
Imagery

• Take the sentence He was cold. Here the writer
  has simply stated a fact, the reader is told that
  he was cold.
• Now look at the sentence The bitterly cold wind
  blew strongly. He shivered and pulled his coat
  tighter around him. The writer here has used
  adjectives, verbs and adverbs to say the same
  thing. Imagery has been used.

6
Imagery

• A writer may use many different devices to create
  an image. Here are some of the main ones.
• Alliteration Personification Metaphor
• Simile Onomatopoeia
• Assonance Sibilance Hyperbole
• Oxymoron Description

7
Mood

• When we talk about mood we are usually referring
  to emotions. If you are angry you are in a bad
  mood. If you are laughing you are generally in a
  happy, or good, mood.
• It is the same in poetry. Mood describes the
  emotion of the poem.
• Watch the following video and see if you can
  describe the mood of the poem.

8
Tone

• Once you have decided what the mood of a poem is,
  you can work out what tone has been used to
  create that mood.
• Tone often refers to the sound of your voice. If
  your teacher shouts at you, the tone of his/her
  voice should warn you that they are in a bad
  mood.
• In writing it is more difficult to know which
  tone has been used, that is why you have to think
  about mood first!

9
Tone

• Here are some words that you could use to
  describe tone

MOOD TONE
Angry Violent, Explosive,
Sad Pensive, Thoughtful, Reflective, Nostalgic, Poignant, Sorrowful, Mournful, Melancholy,
Happy Celebratory, Joyful, Ecstatic, Excited, Enthusiastic
10
IGCSE Poetry

• Cambridge requires that you study a selection of
  poetry and develop the skills to talk about the
  poem in a critical way.
• You need to understand what the poem is about,
  what mood the poet wished to create, what tone
  was used to create this mood and what imagery
  they used to convey a picture to you, the reader.

11
Structure

• You also need to understand a little bit about
  how the poem was put together. We call this the
  structure of the poem.
• To understand structure we will look at the
  vocabulary that has been used, the length of the
  lines, the way that the poem has been written
  into stanzas (verses), and any patterns that we
  might find such as rhyme.

12
STIFF

• Its a lot to remember so here is something that
  I will use throughout the year to help you.
• S Subject
• T Tone
• I Imagery
• F Form (posh word for structure!)
• F Feeling (easy way to remember mood!)
• Learn to write about all of these things and
  IGCSE Literature will be easy ?