Writing about poetry

Writing about one poem
First, before planning your essay, consider

What is your immediate reaction to the poem? – Is it to do with its mood? The images in the poem? The sound of the lines? The message?

What do you think the poet’s aim is in the poem? – Could be to entertain; to make a political point; to describe a particular scene or person etc.

What is the theme or idea behind the poem? How obvious is this?

Why do you think the writer chose to write a poem rather than a piece of prose or draw a picture etc

Now plan your essay.

Introduction

Start with a brief sentence indicating the most significant aspect of the poem: could be theme, images, tone. Indicate what the theme and structure are (e.g. ‘The sonnet form is traditionally associated with the theme of love and here Wordsworth expresses his admiration for London.’).
Following paragraphs

Work through the poem, showing how the style reinforces the theme and the poet’s attitude. You need to be commenting closely on style but don’t just list/ identify stylistic devices: you must indicate what effect they have in creating a clear image/ underlining the atmosphere/ creating a sense of humour etc. Quotation is essential.
Conclusion

Avoid repeating points you’ve already made. Consider what do you now see as most important about the poem? What message is made clear by the end? You might know of some other poem/ passage/ image which makes an interesting comparison. You might give some indication of how the poem relates to the context in which it was written, e.g. how it increases your understanding of a historical/ cultural/ social situation.
If you are writing on two poems

The initial thinking is the same, considering each of these questions for each poem.

Then consider why/ how the two poems are interesting to compare. Are they similar or different? They are likely to have both similarities and differences, obviously, but consider which of these are most significant and most interesting.
Introduction

Start with a brief sentence, indicating the most significant aspect of the poems, indicating whether this is shared or a point of difference (e.g. ‘War is the setting for both poems but …’ or ‘Although one is set in the war and the other in a school, the poems share a sense of the futility…’).

Following paragraphs

Probably best to work through one poem, as if only studying one; then make a linking sentence and then start on second, providing some comments about parallels/ contrasts as you deal with the second.

Conclusion

Draw points together, emphasising the interesting points of similarity and difference. Consider the points raised in the prompt for writing on one poem. Try not to repeat points from earlier in the essay, or only mention briefly.

Poetic devices/ literary terms
alliteration
assonance
imagery
metaphor
simile
repetition
rhyme
rhythm
oomatopoeia
verse
stanza
ballad
sonnet
free verse
blank verse
narrative
dramatic monologue
satire

Short Story reminder sheet

Please also refer to the specifications for English Literature Poetry and Prose and for English Unit 2, which you have in your files.

Used for English and English Literature. Remember that in English Unit 2 you use the second six stories only. In English Literature you use all the stories.

Both English and English Literature want you to explore how an idea/ theme/ situation/ relationship is developed in two stories. Both may expect you to show perception about the cultural difference as shown in stories. This needs to be integrated into your analysis of the stories.

English - 35 minutes - Choice of two questions

The questions expect you to demonstrate awareness of 'distinctive aspects of texts from different cultures and traditions by exploring the ways in which writers use language and structure to create character/ setting/ theme.' i.e. culture tends to be implicit or explicit in the question.

English Literature: 40-45 minutes - Choice of three questions

The questions expect you to make 'comment, criticism [= discussion of how rather than judgement] and analysis [and] will invite reference to relevant contextual features' - i.e. opportunity to demonstrate that you've understood the significant features of this different society.

In both papers there will be a passage-based question. Read the question carefully to see whether your whole essay should focus just on the passages or whether wider reference is needed. You may find opportunities to make passing references to other parts of the story, so long as they are relevant and you don't just tell the story. Avoiding narrative/ description is most important. Always focus on what idea you are wanting to present.

5-point approach to initial thinking and planning

1 theme/ topic - how central is it? does it relate to other themes in story?

2 how do the characters show it?

3 what is the importance of setting (including cultural setting)

4 language - description/ dialogue/ authorial comment/ thoughts - how do they make the theme (or whatever the essay question wanted) evident?

5 what does comparison of the stories reveal (about question topic)

Poetry Podcasts

If you want to try something different for revision and can put up with listening to Mr Peachey for a few minutes, you might want to try listening to (or downloading) these revision MP3 files: Charles Causley's 'Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience' and Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est'.

Language essays for GCSE English

You have to write three essays in Section B: one in Unit 1 (writing to inform, explain, describe) and two in Unit 2 (writing to analyse, review, comment; writing to argue, persuade, advise). There are some general rules for approaching these: be aware of audience, format, development/ structure. Also read the question very carefully: it's amazing how easy it is to miss the point, e.g. if it asks about local holidays then Iceland won't do.

Check audience - e.g. fellow students, parents, teachers, parents and students together, members of the public (they may identify a particular group or you may need to select one - if so, make clear in your speech what group you've chosen), head of the school

Check format - e.g speech, letter (formal or informal), article (magazine/ newsletter/ website), leaflet

Note for letters: check the rubric (instructions) carefully - you rarely need to provide an address for letters in exams: the question frequently says 'Start your letter Dear Students' or similar. You do need to have the appropriate ending: Dear Sir ... Yours faithfully or Dear Miss Avery ... Yours sincerely. Remember that signatures do not include your title (Miss/ Professor/ Duke etc) and that you should not waste time designing tear-off slips etc.

Note for leaflets: again check rubric - generally you are asked for 'the words of a leaflet' so do not lay out your information in leaflet style. You may wish to have sections with separate headings and you may have some bullet points but the substantial part of your writing (at least 3/4 of it) should be continuous prose.

Development/ structure: have 3-4 strong points, each of which will make a separate paragraph. Consider whether you need examples, quotations, (brief) anecdotes. You can make up examples and quotations, but keep them short and credible.

When planning and writing, try to keep the audience and situation firmly in your mind: imagine giving a speech to the rest of the form/ writing a letter to Miss Avery etc. Think of how to start to get their attention (but make sure it's appropriate to your audience); consider what style is best (remember, though, that you are demonstrating to your examiner that you can handle language well ... a series of slang expressions and in-jokes is not going to impress him/her). Think of a good ending, making especially sure that you have fulfilled the requirements of the question. Humour can be effective but a sarcastic note throughout rarely works and avoid going over the top in descriptions.

We're swinging into top gear as we prepare for the general election and for the St Mary's mock election on Thursday 6th May. So here's some advice on how to vote, an explanation of what a hung parliament means and a few ways of crunching the numbers from the BBC.

You can also watch it happening live right here.

Great Political Speeches

With the general election coming up, now is a good time to analyse what makes a good political speech. Listen to this speech by Barack Obama given when he was just a warmup act to John Kerry at the Democratic Party Convention in 2004. Whatever you think of Obama's politics you can still be impressed by his oratory. As you watch and listen, try to work out what it is about his choice of words, his delivery and his gestures which makes it so impressive. Here's the transcript.

Now compare this speech with one of the great speeches from an earlier pre-TV age. Families used to gather around the wireless to listen to Mr Churchill and though his style now seems dated, there is no doubting the power of his words 70 years on. Here is a partial transcript of this speech and some other great Churchill speeches.

But don't worry if you have to give a talk: a speech doesn't need to be delivered with great passion to be successful. One of the most powerful political speeches I have ever heard was Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech which effectively ended Mrs Thatcher's time as Prime Minister. It was devastating precisely because it was delivered in so under-stated a manner. If you think it's boring then ask yourself whether it's better to live in a world dominated by soundbites.

Similarly, one of the most important speeches of the 20th Century was Nehru's speech on Indian independence which was heard on millions of crackly radios across the subcontinent. It now has iconic status but it was delivered with none of the obvious passion of an Obama. It's still well worth listening to though.

Votes at 16?

With the General Election only a matter of months away, now is the time to think about whether 16 year olds should be given the vote. A surprising number of politicians, including the Prime Minister, think that they should and there are plenty of campaigners who agree with them. Click here, for example, to find out more about one active campaign group.

But what are the arguments and how strong are they? Watch this video of two 17 year olds from Northern Ireland arguing that the voting age should be lowered to 16. Then look at this selection of opinions on a BBC website. What do you think?

GCSE and A Level Reading List

J.G. Ballard, Empire of the Sun

One boy’s experience of war in China during the 1940s. Bleak but moving.

John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps

A rip-roaring adventure story from the master of the genre.

Tracy Chevalier, Girl with a Pearl Earring

A very accessible story about love and art in the Netherlands. Easy to read.

Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Get beyond the first few chapters and you’ll be hooked: love and loss during World War II in Greece.


George Mackay Brown, Beside the Ocean of Town

Time travel from the Vikings to the Nazis by one of Orkney's great writers.

G.K. Chesterton, Father Brown Stories

Detective stories with a twist: the detective is a priest.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

A profound and wonderful novel about London and Paris.

Roddy Doyle, The Commitments

A short, funny novella about an Irish band; also a great film.

Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World

A very clever and readable introduction to philosophy. Reads more like a story than a philosophical work.

George Gamow, Mr Tompkins

Mr Tompkins is a bank clerk whose fantastic dreams and adventures lead him into a world inside the atom. A very readable introduction to the wonders of Physics.

Alex Garland, The Beach

A real page-turner; Lord of the Flies for our times.


Rumer Godden, In This House of Brede

What is life really like in a convent? This novel gives one answer.

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

A beautifully written novel about a group of boys stranded on a desert island. Anything by Golding is worth reading.

Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

A wonderful story with an aspergic narrator. Very readable.

Thomas Keneally, Schindler’s Ark

Also sold as ‘Schindler’s List’; one man’s attempts to save Jews during World War II.

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

A moving story of racism and growing up in 1930s America.

Laurie Lee, Cider with Rosie

The man writes like an angel; growing up in a Gloucestershire village.

C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet

If you have read the Narnia books, why not try his fiction for adults? This is the first in a triology: Perelandra and That Hideous Strength (the best of the three) are the next two.

Marina Lewycka, Two Caravans

A bitter-sweet story of migrant workers in the Kent countryside. Funny in parts, eye-opening in others.

Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

Truly inspirational autobiography of one of the most remarkable men of our time.

Alexander McCall Smith, The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Light reading. Detective fiction with a twist.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

Magic Realism at its best; one of the best South American novels of all times.


Flannery O'Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find

Quirky short stories from the American South by arguably the greatest Catholic writer of the 20th Century.

George Orwell, 1984

A great novel about a possibly nightmarish future; any Orwell is worth reading.

Plato, The Apology of Socrates

This reading list has a horribly modern bias, so why not try out the father of modern philosophy. Surprisingly readable.

Oliver Sachs, The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat

Some case studies from a remarkable neurologist.

Oliver Sachs, Uncle Tungsten

A brilliant memoir about the wonders of Chemistry.

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Amazing what 19-year olds can produce when they put their mind to it. Forget the films: read the real thing.


Shen Congwen, Border Town

Love and loss from arguably China's greatest 20th Century author.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

A very short book about life in one of Stalin’s Siberian prison camps.

Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

A short novel about the powerful influence of a teacher in a Scottish girls school.

John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

A profoundly moving (and very short) novella about America during the Great Depression.

Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Short. Brilliant. Scottish.

Bram Stoker, Dracula

One of those books everyone knows and virtually no one has read. Really interesting.

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels

Not for children: a brilliant satire. Another book everyone assumes they know. Another book everyone should know.


Antonio Tabbuchi, Pereira Declares

A postmodern classic by an Italian but set in Portugal. 

Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

An intriguing book about American-Chinese families from different points of view.

Donna Tartt, The Secret History

A murder mystery set on an American campus; very readable.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

Forget the film; read the real thing.

Various, The Bible

Considering how influential it’s been, it’s amazing how little it is read; try one of the Gospels straight through or The Book of Ruth.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

A wonderful novel about love etc in pre-war Oxford.

H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds

The first science fiction writer; great stuff.

P G Wodehouse, Leave it to Psmith

This guy is funny. Try the Jeeves novels too. Great for escapism.

Year 7 recommends ...

Adventure

'Chronicles of Ancient Darkness' by Michelle Paver

Michelle Paver’s passion for animals, anthropology and the distant past flows magically throughout the whole series of the Chronicles, including Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker, Soul Eater, Outcast, Oath Breaker.

'Journey to the River Sea' by Eva Ibbotson

Eva Ibbotson writes well in two different styles – she is very good at writing believable and realistic books and still makes them full of adventure and excitement.

Other recommended books by the author: 'The Star of Kazan', 'The Secret of Platform 13'.

'Harry and the Wrinkles' by Alan Temperley

It starts off with Harry’s parents dying. His horrible childminder refuses to look after him. This means that he is packed off to live with his great aunts who he has never met before. He is expecting a dull boring time, but all is not what it seems. This book is full of adventure, comedy and mystery. It’s a really good book!

Other books: 'Harry and the Treasure of Eddie Carver'.

'The White Giraffe' by Lauren St John

A thrilling story on a eleven year-old girl who loses her parents and moves to a game reserve in Africa ,where many mysteries and secrets are discovered and found .

'A Series of Unfortunate Events' by Lemony Snicket

Science Fiction and Fantasy

'Ink Heart' by Cornelia Funke

Other books in the series: 'Ink Spell', 'Ink Death'

Other recommended books by the author: 'Dragon Rider', 'The Thief Lord'

'Wild Magic: the Immortals' by Tamora Pierce

Historical

'The Eagle of the Ninth' by Rosemary Sutcliff

Other recommended books by the author: 'Outcast', 'The Mark of the Horse Lord'

Mystery

'Saffy’s Angel' by Hilary McKay

Saffy finds she is adopted and that she has been left a stone angel in her grandfather’s will.

Other books in the series: 'Indigo’s Star', 'Permanent Rose', 'Caddy Ever After', 'Forever Rose'

'Girl Missing' by Sophie Mackenzie

Other recommended books by the author: 'Blood Ties'

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon

Contemporary Issues

'The Granny Project' (play) by Anne Fine

'Noughts and Crosses' by Malorie Blackman

Year 7 Reading List

With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching what could be more pleasant than a little trip to the library? Here are a few suggestions of what to get out:


Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Pig Heart Boy - Malorie Blackman

Kezzie - Theresa Breslin

Cosmic - Frank Cottrell Boyce

Scarlett - Cathy Cassidy

Airman - Eoin Colfer

Lion Boy - Zizou Corder

Heartbeat - Sharon Creech

Bollywood Babes - Narinder Dhami

The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd

Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz

The Star of Kazan - Eva Ibbotson

The Divide - Elizabeth Kay

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr

The Garbage King - Elizabeth Laird

Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy

Goodnight Mister Tom - Michelle Magorian

Stop the Train - Geraldine McCaughrean

Girl, Missing - Sophie McKenzie

The Wind Singer - William Nicholson

Wolf Brother - Michelle Paver

The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

Montmorency - Elanore Updale

The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

Year 8 Reading List

With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching what could be more pleasant than a little trip to the library? Here are a few suggestions of what to get out:


Clay - David Almond

Cosmic - Frank Cottrell Boyce

Hero.com: Rise of the Heroes - Andy Briggs

Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman

Kezzie - Theresa Breslin

Airman - Eoin Colfer

A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly

The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd

Anila’s Journey - Mary Finn

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

I, Coriander - Sally Gardner

Diamond of Drury Lane - Julia Golding

Apache - Tanya Landman

Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy

The Garbage King - Elizabeth Laird

Back Home - Michelle Magorian

Girl, Missing - Sophie McKenzie

The Wind Singer - William Nicholson

Pirates! - Celia Rees

Mortal Engines - Phillip Reeve

Finding Violet Park - Jenny Valentine

HIVE - Mark Walden

Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin

The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

Year 9 Reading List

With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching what could be more pleasant than a little trip to the library? Here are a few suggestions of what to get out:


The Stuff of Nightmares - Malorie Blackman

Exodus - Julie Bertagna

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

Bog Child - Siobhan Dowd

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner

Against the Storm - Gaye Hicyilmaz

The Dream Merchant - Isabel Hoving

The Secret Countess - Eva Ibbtoson

Life on the Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

Lost Riders - Elizabeth Laird

Just Henry - Michelle Magorian

The Declaration - Gemma Malley

The Kite Rider - Geraldine McCaughrean

Blood Ties - Sophie McKenzie

Ways to Live Forever - Sally Nicholls

What Was Lost - Katherine O’Flynn

Life as We Knew It - Susan Pfeffer

The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff

Creature of the Night - Kate Thompson

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

Broken Soup - Jenny Valentine

The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

Year 10 Reading List

With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching what could be more pleasant than a little trip to the library? Here are a few suggestions of what to get out:


City of Light - Lauren Belfer

Exodus - Julie Bertagna

The Alchemist - Paul Coelho

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

Bog Child - Siobhan Dowd

The Flight of the Maidens - Jane Gardam

Chocolat - Joanne Harris

The Silent Shore - Ruth Elwin Harris

The Dream Merchant - Isabel Hoving

A Company of Swans - Eva Ibbtoson

Life on the Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

Lost Riders - Elizabeth Laird

The Declaration - Gemma Malley

The Eclipse of the Century - Jan Mark

Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

Ways to Live Forever - Sally Nicholls

Life as We Knew It - Susan Pfeffer

The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

Sovay - Celia Rees

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

Queen of the Big Time - Adriana Trigiani

Digging to America - Anne Tyler

The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

St Mary's and Wordfest

Cambridge Wordfest 2010 is about to arrive and with it a whole host of famous writers. We are delighted to be sponsoring the Writing History event on Saturday 10th April. Some of our 6th Form will be there with Man Booker Prizewinner Hilary Mantel and Rebecca Stott, a previous visitor to St Mary's. Check out the programme and book your tickets before they all get snapped up.

The Sixth Form in Stratford

From this

to this

and these

via them

and her

and him ...

... the English Department's Sixth Form Literary Weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon

Pride and Prejudice in emoticons

Pride and Prejudice as you've never seen it before.

Midwinter Spring

Midwinter spring is its own season

Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown,

Suspended in time, between pole and tropic.

When the short day is brightest, with frost and fire,

The brief sun flames the ice, on pond and ditches,

In windless cold that is the heart's heat,

Reflecting in a watery mirror

A glare that is blindness in the early afternoon.

And glow more intense than blaze of branch, or brazier,

Stirs the dumb spirit: no wind, but pentecostal fire

In the dark time of the year. Between melting and freezing

The soul's sap quivers. There is no earth smell

Or smell of living thing. This is the spring time

But not in time's covenant. Now the hedgerow

Is blanched for an hour with transitory blossom

Of snow, a bloom more sudden

Than that of summer, neither budding nor fading,

Not in the scheme of generation.

Where is the summer, the unimaginable

Zero summer?




Want to read more? Click here for the rest of T.S. Eliot's 'Little Gidding'.

Othello at the RSC

There is some really useful information here about Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Our A Level students will be going to Stratford next week for a workshop run by the company.

Right, get writing!

Did I forget to mention that there's money to be won? The Transition Tales Writing Competition, for example, is offering £750 in prizes for a story about Cambridge in 2050, while the Young Writers' Mini Sagas Competition is offering up to £1750. And there's the simple pleasure of writing well. And the added benefit of possibly seeing your work in print. And the joy of breaking rules like not starting sentences with 'and'.

If you want some advice about how to write well you could do worse than try out these pages from The Guardian newspaper or these ones setting out the Ten Rules for Writing Fiction.

A Poetic Visit

A group of Sixth Formers welcomed poet Anne Stevenson into their A Level English class on 2 February to speak about 'Correspondences', the set of historical poems which she wrote in the 1970's. Anne Stevensonengaged the group with her explanation of the background to this distinguished work, describing how her personal history contributed to its composition.

Anne Stevenson's lovely sense of humour and her lucid explanations provided an insight into her work as a poet and the students were thrilled to have the opportunity to ask their own questions and to formulate further ideas for their comparative coursework on women in society.

To read more about Anne Stevenson's poetry click here, here, here or here. 

weRead

There are also useful reviews and discussions about a whole range of books on the weRead site.

If you want to find out more about the The Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal for children's literature then check out the website. We will be shadowing the shortlisted books at St Mary's.

World Book Day

World Book Day is coming this Thursday. To discover more, see videos, read extracts and find out about competitions click here.

Meet an Endangered Language

It is important to remember that English is not the only language spoken in the UK (or in England for that matter). Unfortunately some languages, including Manx Gaelic, are under threat. To find out more you might want to look at the website of the Endangered Languages Week at SOAS. According to SOAS, half of the world's 7000 languages are under threat.

Kipling and Indian Literature

There was an interesting discussion yesterday about Rudyard Kipling on The Today Programme. The BBC describe it in this way:

British author and poet Rudyard Kipling is known for his love of India, but his reputation in the country remains controversial.

Plans for a museum commemorating Mr Kipling's Mumbai home have been shelved over concerns that it would be politically unpalatable, as he was a renowned imperialist, fierce opponent of independence and a chronicler of the British Raj

Andrew Lycett, Mr Kipling's biographer, and Aravind Adiga, and Indian journalist and author who won the 2008 Man Booker prize for his works The White Tiger, reflect on Mr Kipling's relationship with India.

The wonder of adjectives

One of our Year 7 bloggers thinks this site is worth looking at because it explains adjectives and has a fun game and quiz. It has been produced by the University of Manchester and so is certainly worth looking at.

Tune in for some great American literature

There are some interesting programmes being broadcast in the next few days on BBC Radio 4. Mark Lawson's History of Modern American Literature sounds like it will be worth listening to. And if you fancy a modern American Book at Bedtime there are some great ones coming up too. There are also feature length interviews with American authors now online.

If you just want something to read then look at this useful article from The Guardian.

Our Newest Society

OK, so it doesn't really look like this. The Lower 6th Literary Society is actually dynamic, forward-thinking and vibrant. And it's just been founded so come and join us on Friday lunchtimes at 1.15 in the Undercroft. We'll be looking at J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye when we've had chance to (re)read it but before that it's a case of bring and share. Oh yes, and there'll be cake.

Matilda

Some of you may have listened to BBC radio's major dramatisation of Roald Dahl's Matilda this Christmas. If so you may have recognised the voice of Miss Honey, played by Emerald O'Hanrahan, one of our former students. Emerald has starred in a number of BBC productions recently so keep an ear out for her. If you missed the broadcast you can at least still enjoy the book.

Websites - Books: Books - Websites

Want to find a good book but don't know where to look? You might want to check out these websites from Booktrust, Oxford University Press and the Guardian