Each poetry anthology in the GCSE contains 15 poems, and in the poetry question in the exam you will be given one poem on the paper – printed in full – and asked to compare this given poem to one other from the anthology. As this is a “closed book” exam, you will not have access to the other poems, so you will have to know them very well from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to learn. However, understanding four things about each poem will enable you to produce a top-mark response:
- The meaning of the poem
- The ideas and messages the poet wanted to convey
- How the poet conveys these ideas and messages through their methods
- How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas and themes of other poems in the anthology
Below is a guide to Wilfred Owen’s Exposure, from the Power and Conflict anthology. It includes:
- Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
- Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
- Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
- What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Exam Tip
Although comparison is not a separate assessment objective, you are expected to be able to compare the key themes presented in Exposure with one other poem from the Power and Conflict anthology. See the section on ‘What to compare it to’ for detailed comparisons of this poem with suggested other poems from the anthology. If Exposure is the given poem on your exam paper, it is a good idea to start your answer with an overall statement setting out which poem you are going to compare this poem with.