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Introduction
This booklet is full of multiple resources that I used to get an A* in English Literature and Language – I also
use this in tutoring students to get that Grade 9! I know a lot of students normally struggle with Unseen
Poetry mainly because they are not sure how to prepare for it, so I hope this booklet helps.

I have collected these resources over the past 5 years, and I have selected the best content that will help
you to boost your grade. The pack has been devised for use with the AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas
specifications for GCSE English. Most of the resources I have created myself but there are resources that I
have collected from other sources, which I have linked at the end of the booklet.

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Understanding Poetry
You do not need to understand the poem 100% to get a good grade! I know it sounds crazy, but once you
make peace with this concept, unseen poetry becomes a lot less scary. As long as you can identify key
techniques used and provide an interpretation of them you will get a good grade.

The poem isn’t there to trick you! You just need to explain:
1. Your reactions to the poem
2. How the poem caused those reactions

It is your interpretation of the poem that matters and not if you have the “right answer”.
Assessment Objectives
The assessment objectives form the basis of the mark scheme.

AO1
Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style & develop
an informed personal response plus use textual references, including quotations, to support & illustrate
interpretations.

To get these marks you want to infer why the poet may have chosen to show the theme/feeling/mood in
this particular way. The more developed your explanation is the more interesting and critical your response
becomes, which bags you those top marks.

1. I know you’re thinking “What does infer mean?”. It basically means the readers way of explaining what
they understand about the poet’s ideas and words used.

You want to ask yourself…

- What is this poem trying to say?
- Why might it have been written?
- What is it encouraging the reader to think/feel?
- What ideas is it presenting/exploring?

2. You want to consider what is motivating the poet to explore the theme/feeling/mood in this particular
way.

You want to ask yourself…

- What might the poet be thinking?
- What does the poet reveal?
- What is it about the poet’s experience that makes it interesting?

3. You want to ‘Zoom Out’ of the poem

Zooming out is simply linking the poet’s ideas to real life by stepping outside of the text. Poems are
written to express an experience – there is usually a deeper and bigger picture. You want to link the
poet’s ideas to real life experiences such as love, loss, anger, innocence, truth.
This is very effective when analysing poems that are story based – by linking the story of the poem to
real life experiences you will gain more marks. Also pay attention to the speaker of the poem – it might
not always be the poet.

You want to ask yourself…

- Who is the ‘speaker’ in the poem?
- Is it the poet or have they taken on a persona?
- Who is being spoken to?
- What are the speakers’ strongest opinion on this particular theme?
- What is the speaker experiencing?
 - Is the poet right to share these ideas?

AO2
Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using
relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

These marks are a lot easier to get. You need to show an understanding of how the writer has chosen:
1. Language
2. Form
3. Structure

You will not get marks for simply stating the techniques within the poem. You get the marks for stating the
effects of those techniques. You are interpretating the poet’s deliberate decision to use certain linguistic
techniques and phrases to get their meaning across to the reader.
To get the top marks, you must consider all 3 aspects – language, form and structure.

The examiner also wants to see you addressing the poet directly. To do this include statements like
“The poet…”
- Shows
- Portrays
- Chooses
- Suggests
- Highlights
- Emphasises
- Implies
- Reinforces
- Indicates
- Creates

It’s important that I mention that again, there is no right or wrong interpretation. As long as you can JUSTIFY
why interpretation, you will get those high marks.
To learn a lot more about language, form and structure watch my YouTube video that goes into this in
detail: https://youtu.be/fPfFvSw5SW0

AO3
Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.

There are no marks for A03 in unseen poetry! You do not need to know any context/background
information for these poems!

AO4
Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect with accurate spelling
and punctuation
Always aim to hit the AO4 targets regardless of the question!

AO1 & AO2 Examples

Example Question: AQA 2015
In both ‘Poem for My Sister’ and ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ the speakers describe feelings about
watching someone they love to grow up. What are the similarities and/or differences between the ways
the poets present those feelings?

Examples answer:
Black: AO1 Blue: AO2
In this narrative poem, which works well as it allows the speaker, the voice of a parent, to describe a
memory of watching her daughter learn to ride a bike. The mother describes her fear of her daughter
coming to harm with the use of ‘loping along beside you’, as if she is terrified of letting go and letting her
daughter move away from her. This is then reinforced with the verb ‘wobbled’ to suggest the daughter’s
vulnerability and fear that she may come to harm. However, the daughter is confident and shows this
through the dramatic verbs ‘pulled away’ and ‘screaming with laughter’ – she doesn’t appear to have any
fear of her new skill and is excited by the ability to ‘pull ahead’ The contrast between the parent and the
child is shown through the language used to describe them; the mother’s mouth ‘rounds in surprise’
whereas the daughter is ‘pumping, pumping for your life’
Mark Scheme Breakdown
The way examiners work is by giving your work a 0 and then finding marks within your answer. Here a student
friendly version of a mark scheme:

Level 1: Simple & Explicit

The response is simplistic and might even just retell what the poem is about without actually talking
about any choices the poet has made and what they might mean.
There might sometimes be vague references or quotes but no understanding that the poem was
created by a writer with an intention or comments on method, or if there are, very simple comments.

Level 2: Supported & Relevant

The response has the beginnings of a point of view about the poem. They don’t just see it as a text but
start to see it as something written by someone else for a particular reason.
There might be a few references to something the poet has done on purpose, like ‘these words make
the poem seem sad and make it gloomy’.

Level 3: Explained & Structured

The response is generally relevant to the question and shows a sense of the poet doing things on
purpose and sometimes even identifies effects of more than one deliberate thing the poet has included.
The explanations are good but need more detail to demonstrate a really clear understanding.
There might be references to bigger ideas and themes but doesn’t zoom outside of the poem; they
mainly focus on the content and words in the poem, not how it was made or why.

Level 4: Clear & Understanding

The response clearly understands the poem and the question. Their explanations are complete and
don’t leave any ideas unexplained. The response knows the poem is a purposeful construction by a poet
— they are fully aware that the poem was written to present a particular idea.
There is a ‘Clear Understanding’ when it comes to words, techniques, and themes that are quoted and
they are explained with reference to symbols and connotations. It will also explain the poet’s choices
and how it might link to a possible purpose of the poem. It is zooming out from just the text alone.
 Level 5: Thoughtful & Developed
The response is not just a ‘this is what this means’ type of essay. They might be starting to look from
different perspectives, points of view, and interpretations. There are clear connections between points,
and it is not several unlinked points, but instead a more fluid argument without being certain about
ideas. They give suggestions and possibilities.
These responses are clearly well thought out and zoom into really specific things the poet does and links
them to zoomed out ideas, themes, and purposes of the poem: the analyses are much more abstract.

Level 6: Convincing & Critical

The response has a clear concept of what the poet is trying to achieve by writing the poem. Poems are
about expression, and this response knows that and explains it convincingly. There is the idea of a
message being given from the poem to the reader.
This response will also use many zoomed in examples of techniques or patterns and link them together
to help explain and justify their concept of what the poem is about. They fully explore the ideas and
don’t leave any stone unturned. The focus is on the poem being a meaningful text written for a purpose.

The tone of the poem

Poetry is a slow experience. You need to get through the whole poem to see how the poets tone changes.
The tone of the poem is simply the emotion explored. The poem may include a tone change – this is where
the poet will switch from one emotion to another. This is great technique to look out for if you are targeting
the high grade.

Think about…
1. What is the tone of the poem?
2. Does the tone change?
3. Where does the tone change?
4. What does the tone change to?

Exam questions
The best way to practice unseen poetry is to simply do past papers. You will soon notice a trend – the
question is always the same! The only thing that will change is the theme/feeling/mood that the examiner
wants you to explore.

I also have a question booklet that includes exam questions that you can practice!
Annotating an Unseen Poem
1. Read the question
2. Read the poem carefully
3. Read the poem again
4. Write down the theme/feeling/mood that the examiner wants you to explore in CAPITALS next to
the poem
5. Start with the title of the poem
- This is the first thing the reader will see so does it give you a clue about the message the poem
will have?
6. Read and annotate the poem for language, structure and form techniques
- A good acronym that you might like to use is AMITY
§ About – What is the poem about?
§ Mood – What thoughts and feelings are present?
§ Ideas – How does the poet unfold their ideas?
§ Techniques – Which linguist techniques are used?
§ Your response – What is your response as the reader?
7. Select your top annotations

Writing your answer

3 Simple Questions
Writing an essay boils down to 3 simple questions.
1. What is the poem doing in the poem?
2. How is the poet doing it?
3. Why is the poet doing it?

• Write a small introduction

- What is the poem about?
- What does the title tell you?
• Write as many paragraphs as you
- If there is 1 unseen poem use the PEAR-ALL essay structure
- If there are 2 unseen poems use the comparison essay structure

Add Informed personal response sentence starters such as

- The poet might by suggesting…
- Alternatively, the poet may be …
- The speaker could be expressing opinions of…
- Maybe the poet wants the reader to realise…
- Perhaps this phrase could raise issues of….
A* Essay Structure:
To learn more about PEAR-ALL watch this video: https://youtu.be/fPfFvSw5SW0

PEAR - ALL

Comparative Questions
1. Identify 2 things that is similar and 2 things that is different in their thoughts and feelings between
the 2 poems
2. For each similarity or difference
• Find either a language, form or structural device that support your interpretation
3. Each similarity or difference will become 1 paragraph
4. Within the time available write as many paragraphs as you can
• For this just focus on PEAR essay structure
• If you have time/space you can add in the -ALL part is optional
5. You must make sure that you have covered form, language and structure at least once in your essay!
6. The last paragraph is a conclusion
• Overall, how are the 2 poems similar or different in presenting the theme/feeling/mood
Example Comparison Answers
Level 3
Examples answer:
Both ‘Catrin’ and ‘Poppies’ explore a difficult relationship between a mother and their child. Clarke writes
about the birth of her own daughter and describes the umbilical cord through a metaphor: “The tight / red
rope of love which we both / fought over”. It is like they are playing tug of war and fighting, but the word
‘love’ suggests she cares for her daughter. Red could suggest love but also a warning of difficulties. Weir
talks about a mother whose son is going off to war, as the Iraq war was happening when the poem was
written. Similarly, to Clarke, Weir shows love and difficulties in the line: “I resisted the impulse / to run my
fingers through the gelled / blackthorns of your hair.” This shows she wants to care for her son and stroke
his hair, but the metaphor of ‘gelled blackthorns’ suggests the son is hard and doesn’t want to be looked
after.

Mark Scheme Notes:

- Find 3 or 4 similarities and differences between the two poems
- Link the ideas you explore to the context in which the poem was written
- Comment on language structure AND form for each poem and how they present the poet’s
message and have an effect on the reader. Make sure you name devices.
- You need 3 quotations from each poem for a range

Level 4
Examples answer:
Both ‘Catrin’ and ‘Poppies’ explore a difficult relationship between a mother and their child. In Catrin, Clarke
write about the birth of her daughter, using first person to show it is her personal experience. She uses a
metaphor to show the difficult relationship: “The tight / red rope of love which we both / fought over”. The
contrast between love and fighting shows Clarke has mixed feelings and experiences both love and conflict
in her relationship with her daughter. The enjambment suggests a tug of war between mother and daughter
as the fight over the ‘red rope’. ‘Poppies’ was written at the time of the Iraq war and Weir reflects on the
feelings of mothers whose sons went off to war. She uses contrasting images to show the mother’s confused
emotions. This is shown in the line: “I resisted the impulse / to run my fingers through the gelled /
blackthorns of your hair.” While running fingers through his hair is caring, the metaphor of ‘gelled
blackthorns’ suggests the son is tough and hard, not a little boy. Weir also uses enjambment, like Clarke, to
show the mother is struggling to contain her emotions. The difference is, in Catrin both mother and daughter
are fighting, but in Poppies the son is the one pulling away.
Mark Scheme Notes:
- The comparisons of similarities and differences is specific and varied.
- 4-5 quotations from each poem – with some points being supported by more than one quotation or
identifying more than one device
- Each point is supported by context with clear links to how that context is explored or expressed
- There is a close focus on language, form and structure throughout with good examples for each
point made

Level 5/6
Examples answer:
Both ‘Catrin’ and ‘Poppies’ explore a difficult relationship between a mother and their child. While the source
of that difficulty differs, both mothers express a struggle in having to let go of their children as they grow up.
In Clarke’s autobiographical poem ‘Catrin’, she expresses the confusing emotions she has at the birth of her
daughter. The poem is written in first person to show it is a personal account, though she refers to her
daughter in the poem as ‘child’ to show it is a universal experience of being a mother. The metaphor: “The
tight / red rope of love which we both / fought over” literally represents the umbilical cord during the birth
of Catrin, but also metaphorically represents the bond between mother and daughter. The juxtaposition of
‘love’ and ‘fought over’ implies the mixed feelings of struggle and love Clarke has for her daughter. This is
further emphasised by the enjambment, reflecting the struggle as it is as if the lines are being pushed and
pulled, just like Clarke’s emotions. The tough sounds created in the alliteration and assonance in the line ‘red
rope of love’ emphasises the struggle and closeness of their relationship. Similarly, in ‘Poppies’ Weir uses
contrasting imagery, but instead to show the mother longing to protect her son, who is no longer an innocent
child. The poem, again in first person like Catrin, to show a personal experience, explores the worries of a
mother as her son goes to war, it also remains universal to allow the reader to reflect on the experience of
all mothers during the time of the Iraq war which was happening when the poem was published. The
mother’s struggle is shown in the line: “I resisted the impulse / to run my fingers through the gelled /
blackthorns of your hair.” Here we have a juxtaposition between the caring, maternal act of ‘run[ning] my
fingers’ through his hair and the metaphorical description of his hair as ‘gelled blackthorns’, which suggests
a hardened toughness, implying her son is not the fragile innocent boy he once was. Like, Clarke, Weir uses
enjambment to show the mother struggling to contain her emotions as her son joins the army. There are
differences in the relationships between each mother and their child, as while Clarke is exploring a mutual
struggle for separation and independence in which they “both fought”, the mother in Weir’s poem is having
to “resist” mothering her son when she pulls away from him and leaves.

Mark Scheme Notes:

- Detailed analysis of both similarities and differences at the same time.
- The effect of language, structure and form are considered simultaneously
- Context is woven into your analysis, and explored alongside the themes and ideas presented
80+ Poetry devices Language
Abstract An idea rather than a real thing
Alliteration Repeated first letter
Allusion A reference to something or quotation that the poet thinks the reader will
recognize.
Ambivalence Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone
Antagonist Evil main character
Anthropomorphism Human characteristics given to a God, animal or object
Assonance Repeated vowel sound
Authentic Seems genuine/truthful
Cliché Over-used phrase
Cognitive dissonance The clash of thoughts/feelings
Colloquial language Local/casual language
Concrete A solid/real example
Consonance Repeated consonant sound
Emotive language Words which convey feeling and makes you feel emotional
Euphemism Alternative words to make something nasty sound okay
Extended metaphor A series of metaphors all relating to each other
Extended Metaphor: An extended comparison of two things that uses a number of examples to
prove the similarity
Half rhyme Nearly rhymes
Hyperbole Exaggeration
Imagery Something used to describe something else
Internal rhyme Rhyme that is on the same line
Irony Sarcasm. Words which convey the opposite meaning to the ones they state.
litotes Understatement for effect, often used for irony e.g. ‘not half bad’
Metaphor Something is described as being something else
Mood The Atmosphere and the feelings the readers gain from the poem.
Onomatopoeia A verb sounds like what it does e.g. buzz, slurp
Pathetic fallacy Weather reflecting the mood
Personification A non-human thing is given human qualities
Plosive Letters p/t/k/b/d/g
Protagonist Good main character
Rhetorical question Questions that don’t require, or want an answer
Rhyme Words that sound the same
Semantic field A group of words connected by topic or theme, that links the main idea of the
poem together.
Sibilance A repeated s sound
Simile Something is described as being like/as something else to describe it
Superlative Highest degree or amount of something e.g. Most beautiful or rudest
Symbol/Symbolism Something that represents something else
Tone/Voice Emotion and the poet’s attitude
Visceral language Words which rely on instinct, often describing traumatic events

Structure

Anaphora The use of a word referring back to a word used earlier in the poem
Caesura A deliberate big break in the middle of a line
Chronological In order of time
Direct speech Conversation in speech marks
Enjambment A sentence runs over more than one line
Flashback Looking back to the past
Half rhyme Half of the sounds rhyme, the other half doesn’t
Iambic pentameter 5 sets of weak/strong beats in a line
In medias res Starts in the middle of the action
Internal rhyme Words within a line which share the same sounds
Irregular rhyme Words which rhyme unevenly across the poem.
Juxtaposition Two opposites e.g. The icy wind warmed his heart
Layout Position of lines/words on the page
Monosyllabic phrase A group of words, all of which have one beat in them
Oxymoron Two opposite words next to each other e.g. dead smile, joyous pain
Refrain A repeated line, like the chorus in a song
Regular rhyme A regular pattern of rhyme. E.g. ABAB or AABB
Repetition Something repeated
Repetition Repeating the say the same thing again.
Rhyme Words which share the same sounds. Usually at the ends of lines
Rhyme scheme The organisation of the rhyme
Rhyming couplet Two lines that rhyme next to each other
Rhythm The pattern of beats in a poem. Sometimes, it is regular, sometimes irregular.
Stanza/Verse A paragraph in a poem
Syntax Word order and sentence structure
Volta The turning point of a poem

Form

Auto biographical About the poet

Ballad Story poems Often 4 lines stanzas
Blank verse A regular poem written in unrhymed lines, which has a regular metre.
Conversation An informal, colloquial style of writing
Dialogue A poem which acts as a conversation between two speakers
First person The poem is told from the speaker’s point of view. Using I, me, my or mine.
Free verse No rules in rhythm, rhyme or stanza length. It mirrors the natural speech.
Haiku 3 lines, syllables 5/7/5. Often about nature
Iambic pentameter Five stressed beats in a line of poetry
Iambic tetrameter Four stressed beats in a line of poetry.
Lyric A non-narrative poem with strong emotion
Monologue A poem in the form of a speech, which presents one side of a conversation.
Monosyllabic language One beat words to create a blunt, childlike feel
Narrative A poem which tells a story. Often in metred verse
Ode Lyrical poem often addressed to one person
Petrarchan Sonnet A sonnet names after the poet Petrarch. A poem of two halves: 8 lines to
question, 6 lines to resolve an argument
Quatrain 4-line stanza
Sonnet A 14-line poem set out as an argument, with the final clincher in the last
rhyming couplet
Third person The poem is told about another person. Using he, she, we, they
Sources & More links
• https://marloweclark.angelfire.com/
• https://www.aylshamhigh.com/ahsenglish
• https://www.westheathschool.com/attachments/download.asp?file=450&type=pdf
• https://www.portland-place.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/English-Unseen-Poetry-Booklet-
first-four-only-for-revision.pdf
• http://www.dccacademy.org.uk/english_revision/english_literature_paper2/English_Literature_Pa
per-2_Unseen-Poetry-Booklet-2017.pdf
• https://www.westfield-
chorustrust.org/_site/data/files/documents/English/6AEC81E26865A8FD1DE80B4F946A2D75.pdf

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