O-LEVEL LITERATURE UNSEEN POETRY

Year Text Question (i) Question (ii)

2020 from Journeys / Keith Tan How does the poet create a vivid picture of his In what ways does the poet movingly convey his
grandmother in lines 1-14? admiration for his grandmother in lines 15-35?
2020 Tula ["Books are door- What striking impressions of her mother does the How does the poet movingly convey the importance
shaped"] / Margarita Engle poet create for you? that book have for her?

2019 In The Well / Andrew What makes lines 1-12 of the poem so dramatic? How does the poet powerfully convey the boy’s
Hudgins feelings and sensations in the poem as a whole?
2018 Fruits / Goh Poh Seng How does the poet create such vivid pictures of the How does the poet convey the significance of the
fruits in lines 1 to 21? fruits in lines 22 to 34?
2017 Countdown / Grace Chua What impressions do you form of the woman and Explore the ways in which the poet strikingly uses
her family life in lines 1 – 13 in this poem? words and images in lines 14 – 24.
2016 Foreign / Carol Ann Duffy What vivid impressions do you form if the city How does the poet strikingly convey thoughts and
imagined in this poem? feelings about living in a foreign country?
2015 Trees Costal Road, Changi / What vivid picture does the poem convey to you of How does the poet convey a striking feeling of
David Leo trees before they are cut down? sadness?
2014 The Panic Bird / Robert What makes the panic bird so vivid in lines 1 – 13 of How does the poet convey his feelings so powerfully to
Phillips the poem? you in the rest of the poem? (lines 14 – 24)
2013 Half-past Two / U.A. What do you find moving about the situation that the What do you find striking and effective about the
Fanthorpe little boy finds himself in here - and why? way in which the poet uses language in the poem?
2012 From Train Ride to Malaysia What do you find striking about the poet’s memories How does the poet bring to life the other
Part I / Alfian Bin Sa’at of a train journey in Part I of the poem? passengers in the train in Part II of the poem?
2011 Loud Music / Stephen What strikes you about the different ways that the How does the poet make the effect of the loud
Dobyns poet and his step-daughter respond to loud music in music so vivid in the poem as a whole?
the first thirteen lines of the poem?
2010 Those Layered Cakes / John What memories of his childhood does the poet In the rest of the poem how does the poet make
Tiong Cgung Hoo convey to you in the first sixteen lines of the poem? clear to you what he thinks and feels about these
memories?
2009 Poem to My Daughter / What do you find powerful about the way the poet What do you think that the poet is saying about
Anne Stevenson writes about her feelings for her daughter in the first motherhood in general?
two stanzas (lines 1-17) of the poem?
2008 the coffee house, cockpit What are your feelings about the bride as you read What do you find striking about the way the poet
hotel / Arthur Yap this poem? uses words and images to describe the situation?
2007 On Turning Ten / Billy What makes the boy feel sad about the arrival of his Explore they ways in which words and images are
Collins tenth birthday? used to convey the boy’s feelings to you.
2006 Family Entertainment / U.A. What do you find striking about the way the poet In what ways does the poem convey concerns
Fanthrope describes the scene of the fire? about human behaviour to you?
2005 The Choosing / Liz By what means does the poet convey the similarity What do you find striking about the ways in which
Lochhead between the two girls in lines 1-19 of the poem? the poet conveys the developments and changes in
the girls’ lives as they have grown older?
2004 My Box / Gillian Clarke For what reasons is the box important to the poet? How do the words and the images that the poet
uses convey the strength of her feelings to you?
2003 The Astigmatic / Philip In what ways do you think the poet’s poor eyesight Explain briefly how the poet makes us feel
Hobsbaum has affected his later life and attitudes? How does it sympathy for the child in lines 1-9.
make you feel towards him?
What do you understand about the last sentence of
the poem, and what impact does it have on you?
2002 The Jaguar / Ted Hughes What are your feelings for the jaguar by the end of What does the poet convey about the characters of
the poem? You should remember to examine the apes, the parrots, the tiger and the lion in the
closely the words and images that the poet uses. first two verses?
In what ways does the poet show that the jaguar is
different from the other animals, and how does he
make these differences clear?
2001 War Photographer / Carol Explain what the photographer is thinking as he What are your feelings about the photographer and
Ann Duffy develops photographs in his dark-room. his work as you read the poem? Show how the
words of the poem have created these feelings in
you.