Aimed at students using the Edexcel IGCSE anthology but applicable to all. I would welcome some feedback on my first attempt at producing a useful structure strip to help students structure a comparative essay.
structure guide poetry comparison
WordPress seems to have fixed the width and removed the colour from the original – but it is easier to read!
| S | Comment on the Structure of the two poems. Make it relevant to an analytical essay and also to the question.
Use the features for points: Sonnet: shift of tone after the volta, rhyme pattern (especially if broken) Villanelle: The repetition –comment on the difference between ‘Do not Go’ and ‘rage, rage’. Ballad: A simple, childish innocence hiding a darker story in Belle Dame Free Verse: ‘allows the writer the freedom to use words/structure/form for effect –then find an example -usually the one word line, or powerful and surprising words… Dramatic Monologue – powerful block structure reflecting the hectoring tone of the Duke… Indented lines and lengthening stanzas – a sense of urgency in PB4B and focus on the message in the sudden short stanzas. |
| L | Look for language chosen for effect: Onomatopoieia, allitaeration, assonance, oxymorons. Save the figurative for the next section. This is a good time for a ‘while both use much…., there is a difference between them in the use of….’ As a Janus-shift within the paragraph.
Is one poem direct and straightforward? Is there a clear linguistic trope which exists because one is spoken by a persona?
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| I | Explore the figurative. Do not just quote a simile or metaphor, but unpack it to show how it works… Ask yourself why the poet chose that specific metaphor (‘the star to every wand’ring bark – pole star: navigation: wand’ring therefore lost: so love guides and saves us and gives life direction and purpose).
This is a good section to look for other types of metaphor –personification for example, or euphemism. |
| M | What are the poets trying to say? What messages are they trying to put across and how do they differ. Consider in a ‘love cluster’ pair how many different angles there are – parental/dead, parental/alive, female persona, male persona, romantic, didactic…
Try to explore briefly any aspects of language you can see which relate to the presentation of the message. Ask yourself ‘how…?’ |
| E | Get out of here and on to the next question! A short summary of the key points made above and be sure to make a clear link back to the question. |
English Teaching Resources 