English Literature Comparing Poems

1
English Literature Comparing Poems
2
What do you have to do?

• In the exam you will be asked to compare four
  poems from the Anthology.
• You will be assessed on your ability to
• explore relationships and comparisons within and
  between texts, selecting and evaluating relevant
  material.
• So, what does this actually mean?

3
explore relationships and comparisons within and
between texts, selecting and evaluating relevant
material.

• Relationships and comparisons
• This means looking for links between the themes
  and techniques used in each poem.
• You will also need to discuss the similarities
  and differences between themes and techniques.

4
explore relationships and comparisons within and
between texts, selecting and evaluating relevant
material.

• Selecting and Evaluating Relevant Material
• This means that you must use quotes to support
  your points.
• However, you must choose your quotes carefully
  to ensure they are relevant to the points you are
  making.

5
Which quote is best?

• In Storm on the Island, Heaney uses powerful
  detailed descriptions to show us the power of
  nature.
• Leaves and branches/Can raise a tragic chorus in
  a gale.
• OR
• We are prepared we build our houses squat

6

• In Storm on the Island, Heaney uses powerful
  detailed descriptions to show us the power of
  nature Leaves and branches/Can raise a tragic
  chorus in a gale.
• This quote is good because
• It is directly relevant to the point
• It illustrates Heaneys clever use of language
• It allows you to show off what you know about
  Heaneys poetry

7
Find suitable quotes for these points

• In Digging, Heaney shows admiration for his
  fathers skill with a spade.
• In A Difficult Birth, Clarke uses the birth of a
  lamb as an extended metaphor to represent the
  difficulties involved in the Irish peace deal
  negotiations.
• In On my First Sonne, Jonson feels guilty for the
  death of his child.

8
Find suitable quotes for these points

• In Digging, Heaney shows admiration for his
  fathers skill with a spade.
• In A Difficult Birth, Clarke uses the birth of a
  lamb as an extended metaphor to represent the
  difficulties involved in the Irish peace deal
  negotiations.
• In On my First Sonne, Jonson feels guilty for the
  death of his child.

9
Relationships between poems

• Many of the poems share similar themes and
  techniques. For example
• Themes
• Death of a Naturalist, The Field-Mouse and John
  Clares Sonnet share the common theme of nature.
• Techniques
• At a Potato Digging, Catrin and The Little Boy
  Lost/The Little Boy Found all use structure to
  show the passage of time.

10
So what does it mean to compare?

• Comparing poems involves looking at similarities
  and differences between the use of themes and
  techniques.
• For example
• Death of a Naturalist, The Field-Mouse and John
  Clares Sonnet share the common theme of nature.
  However, the poets use this theme to create
  different meanings. For example Heaney uses a
  natural location to depict a vivid childhood
  memory, while Clarke uses a harvested field as a
  metaphor to represent war torn Bosnia.

11
Have a go at comparing

• Find two similarities and two differences between
  Heaneys Follower and Clarkes Catrin.

12
Evaluating

• Evaluating means expressing your opinion about
  the effectiveness of each poem.
• Effectiveness the impact or force that language
  has

13
Evaluating

• Pick out the words or phrases that discuss the
  effectiveness of the poems in the following
  paragraph.

14
Evaluating Technique

• At a Potato Digging, Catrin and The Little Boy
  Lost/The Little Boy Found all use structure to
  show the passage of time. Heaneys poem is
  divided into four sections which move from the
  present to the past and then back to the present.
  This is made more effective by his mixing of the
  present and past tense. Catrin is divided into
  two stanzas to show the passage of time. It
  could be said that Heaneys use of structure is
  more effective because it is more subtle and
  intricate.

15
Evaluating Technique

• At a Potato Digging, Catrin and The Little Boy
  Lost/The Little Boy Found all use structure to
  show the passage of time. Heaneys poem is
  divided into four sections which move from the
  present to the past and then back to the present.
  This is made more effective by his mixing of the
  present and past tense. Catrin is divided into
  two stanzas to show the passage of time. It
  could be said that Heaneys use of structure is
  more effective because it is more subtle and
  intricate.

16
Now you try

• Explore the theme of parent/child relationships
  in Follower and Catrin and comment on its
  effectiveness. (14 marks)
• In your answer, make sure you
• Use relevant quotations
• Identify similarities and differences
• Use evaluative phrases