A Portable Paradise (AQA GCSE English Literature)

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A Portable Paradise

Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem – printed in full – and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages of the poet
How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to Roger Robinson’s poem “A Portable Paradise”, from the Worlds and Lives 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

“A Portable Paradise” is part of the Worlds and Lives anthology of poems, and you will need to compare the ideas presented in two of these anthology poems specifically related to the ideas of worlds and lives. The collection focuses on universal themes that relate to our relationships and connections with places, as well as ideas about home and heritage.

It is therefore important that you learn how “A Portable Paradise” compares and contrasts with other poems in the anthology rather than understanding the poem in isolation. See the section below on “What to compare it to” for detailed comparisons of “A Portable Paradise” and other poems in the anthology.

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

The poem in a nutshell
A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Roger Robinson’s intention and message

“A Portable Paradise” in a nutshell

“A Portable Paradise” is a collection of poems written by Roger Robinson in 2019. Robinson’s expansive verse covers a range of social issues. Here, Robinson explores the power of identity and heritage in times or places fraught with danger.

“A Portable Paradise” breakdown

Lines 1–2

“And if I speak of Paradise,

then I’m speaking of my grandmother”

Translation

The poem begins in the middle of a spoken conversation
The first-person speaker links the idea of “Paradise” with their grandmother

Robinson’s intention

The first lines of Robinson’s poem submerge an ambiguous listener into the middle of a conversation
Robinson begins with a positive image related to heritage, capitalising “Paradise” to emphasise its significance

Lines 3–5

“who told me to carry it always

on my person, concealed, so

no one else would know but me.”

Translation

The speaker says their grandmother gave them advice:

The past-tense “told” highlights the traditional nature of the advice

They should keep “it” close by at all times, secretly hidden

Robinson’s intention

The narrator introduces mysterious advice that highlights secrecy
“It” refers to the “Paradise”, although it is unclear exactly what this is
The narrator, however, must not let anyone know they have it, suggesting an exclusive yet powerful group
This lets the readers into a secret and builds an intimate bond

Line 6

“That way they can’t steal it, she’d say.”

Translation

The speaker now introduces a group who appear oppositional
The unknown “they” represent a threatening group in the speaker’s life

Robinson’s intention

Robinson’s third-person plural creates an unidentified “they” and portrays the speaker as isolated and vulnerable

Lines 7–10

“And if life puts you under pressure,

trace its ridges in your pocket,

smell its piney scent on your handkerchief,

hum its anthem under your breath.”

Translation

The speaker offers further advice, implying this is what he was told by his grandmother
Robinson provides a list of sensory images that provide comfort in times of pressure
The advice relates to actions that can be done alone and in secret

Robinson’s intention

The speaker suggests finding a connection with the natural world in an environment that creates pressure
Again, the poet implies that an individual must find personal solace in life and keep it private, suggesting again an isolated individual

Lines 11–13

“And if your stresses are sustained and daily,

get yourself to an empty room – be it hotel,

hostel or hovel – find a lamp”

Translation

The speaker continues giving advice, this time going further to suggest that daily pressure may lead to a more urgent situation
Here, the speaker suggests finding some shelter, somewhere alone
The speaker says it does not matter what your background is or what you can afford, but find anywhere you can be alone

Robinson’s intention

Robinson’s alliterative list highlights a sense of urgency and desperation
He implies this is felt by those who experience daily pressures
Again, Robinson’s narrator seems to seek solitude for escape from the world

Lines 14–15

“and empty your paradise onto a desk:

your white sands, green hills and fresh fish.”

Translation

The speaker now refers to “your paradise”, indicating this belongs to everyone
This evokes images of objects that remind the speaker of the natural world

Robinson's intention

The direct address makes the poem personal, like an intimate conversation
Robinson draws contrasting imagery of both small objects and more expansive ideas in the natural world:

This might suggest that imagining or remembering places that offer freedom provides emotional escape

Lines 16–17

“Shine the lamp on it like the fresh hope

of morning, and keep staring at it till you sleep.”

Translation

The speaker offers final advice, instructing individuals to find a light and shine it on “your paradise” of natural objects
The speaker’s instruction suggests this will help distract your thoughts and help you sleep:

The lines also imply this will give you hope the next day

Robinson’s intention

Robinson’s poem ends with an urgent instruction, using emotive language and imagery to emphasise the significance of the advice
Robinson’s speaker appears to speak to a desperate individual who feels anxious and hopeless
The poem highlights the importance of freedom, which can be found in nature

Exam Tip

Your exam question will ask you to compare how poets present ideas about worlds and lives in the poem given to you on the exam paper and one other from the Worlds and Lives anthology. It is therefore a good idea to plan an argument based on the specific theme in the question before annotating the poem in front of you. Consider how the poems examine the impact of the external world on individual lives and relationships. This demonstrates that you have understood the poem and the poet’s intention. For example, “Robinson presents ideas about…”

Writer’s methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have, especially in relation to the theme or message.

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas and patterns of language, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Roger Robinson’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:

Form
Structure
Language

Exam Tip

Examiners are not asking you to name as many techniques as you can find in the poems, nor do they require you to remember lots of quotes or techniques from each of the fifteen poems. This means you should aim to avoid “technique spotting”, which is the simple identification of techniques or the use of sophisticated terminology that does not relevantly support a point or is not explained well. Instead, they award responses that examine the theme in the question and support ideas with reference to the poet’s choices.

Therefore, to get higher marks, focus your analysis on the reasons why the poet is presenting their ideas in the way that they are: what is their message? What ideas are they presenting, or challenging?

Form

The poem is part of a much longer form, but is a section of verse. The conversational tone represents an intimate conversation that offers advice to individuals struggling to find peace and hope.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Relationships and lives	Robinson uses free verse to convey a casual conversation: Beginning the poem with a conjunction reflects the informal tone: “And if I speak of Paradise”	The irregular form contributes to an intimate and personal monologue, which presents an individual’s inner thoughts
	Later, Robinson uses a second-person address: This makes the advice offered more personal: “hum its anthem under your breath”	The direct address gives the poem immediacy, as if the speaker is sharing a secret: Here, Robinson appears to be spreading the advice given to him to anyone who feels similarly isolated
	The poem uses repetition to imply urgency: “And if life puts you under pressure”, then, “And if your stresses are sustained and daily”	The speaker’s continued advice contributes to Robinson’s message about persistence in desperate times
	Robinson builds a close relationship between the reader and the speaker, promoting the poem’s message about the comfort found in connections and community

Structure

Robinson’s poem uses irregular rhythm to present a speaker’s emotional responses and sense of vulnerability in his uncertain world.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Inner lives	Irregular stanza and line lengths convey an emotional speaker	Robinson may be conveying the unpredictability in the speaker’s tense life
	Robinson uses enjambment in certain lines to convey the speaker’s breathless narration: A tense voice is created in the run-on lines: “my grandmother/who told me to carry it always/on my person”	Robinson increases the pace to reflect the speaker’s nervousness in their world
	A controlled, defiant voice is reflected in end-stops: “That way they can’t steal it, she’d say.” At other times, caesurae reflect urgency and disruption: “get yourself to an empty room – be it hotel,/hostel or hovel – find a lamp”	Robinson’s speaker delivers a message about finding personal peace in times of stress: The speaker attempts to be calm, but the threats in their life interrupt this
	Robinson portrays pressures in an individual’s world that disrupt peace and personal security

Language

Roger Robinson portrays a young individual who finds comfort in inherited wisdom and the natural world. However, Robinson conveys, too, the speaker’s sense of isolation and disconnection from the external world.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Belonging and heritage	Robinson uses natural imagery to describe emotional escape: The poem describes how “your white sands, green hills and fresh fish” are a “paradise” you can carry anywhere	The poem reflects the need for a relationship with the natural world, especially when the external world creates stress
	However, alliteration highlights the urgent need for solitude in the line: “be it hotel,/hostel or hovel”: Furthermore, the use of the word “concealed” implies the need to hide The speaker needs to keep this secret,”so/no one else would know but me”	Robinson suggests the speaker feels isolated and vulnerable in their environment: The contrast of natural imagery related to paradise and the urban world in these lines present the speaker’s disconnections
	The poem begins and ends linking the idea of “Paradise” with ancestral wisdom: “then I’m speaking of my grandmother” The grandparent’s advice refers to a “paradise” that you can “Shine the lamp on” Robinson’s imagery related to light ends the poem with a positive message: “the fresh hope/of morning”	Robinson conveys the significance of family heritage for an individual’s sense of well-being: Robinson’s poem alludes to how this brings enlightenment and escape from despair
	Robinson portrays an individual whose broken relationship with the external world leads to solitary reflection on more natural environments

Context

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Roger Robinson that is unrelated to the ideas in “A Portable Paradise”. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Robinson in the poem that relate to worlds and lives. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Robinson explores:

Home and heritage

Roger Robinson was born in London in 1967, but moved to Trinidad with his parents aged four
In “A Portable Paradise”, Robinson comments on the power of the natural world to bring peace:

The reference to “your white sands, green hills and fresh fish” may describe Trinidad

As an adult, Robinson returned to England and began his career as a performance poet
Robinson published a collection of poems titled “A Portable Paradise” in 2019
The collection explores identity and culture, often related to heritage:

The poem “A Portable Paradise” refers to a “grandmother” and her influential advice

Robinson’s poetry encourages an appreciation of the natural world:

In the poem, Robinson suggests finding one’s own personal “paradise”
This can relieve stress and bring “the fresh hope/of morning”

Relationships with the world

Robinson’s collection, “A Portable Paradise”, was, perhaps, influenced by his life in London:

It covers a range of social topics including the Grenfell Tower fire, the Brixton riots and the Windrush generation

The poem implies that having simple objects of personal significance can bring peace no matter where you are (“be it hotel,/hostel or hovel”)
The poems refer to challenges experienced as a result of discrimination:

The poem “A Portable Paradise” examines an individual who feels isolated and threatened
The poem refers to powerful groups who threaten to “steal” his paradise

Exam Tip

Remember, AO3 is only worth up to 6 marks in this question. For a higher mark, you should demonstrate your understanding of the relationship between the poem and the context in which it was written in an integrated way, which means throughout your answer. It is therefore important to focus on the key themes and to have a thorough knowledge of contextual ideas across the cluster of poems.

Context comes from the key word in the task, so your answer should emphasise the key themes. Writing a whole paragraph about Robinson’s background in Trinidad is not an integrated approach, and will not achieve high marks.

What to compare it to

The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about worlds and lives in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that “A Portable Paradise” explores the ideas of disconnected relationships between human beings and their worlds, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

For each pair of poems, you will find:

The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

Exam Tip

You will be expected to explore this poem in depth, as well as make perceptive comparisons about how the poets use language, form and structure to comment on complex relationships and connections with personal and external worlds.

It is therefore important that you have a thorough knowledge of ideas within the poems, rather than memorising lots of quotations. It is also essential that you not only write about the named poem, but compare it to one other in the anthology. It is important that you draw clear connections to the ideas in the two poems and how they each present the theme in the question.

“A Portable Paradise” and “In a London Drawing Room”

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Roger Robinson’s “A Portable Paradise” and George Eliot’s “In a London Drawing Room” examine the responses of individuals who sense disconnections within their worlds. However, while Robinson’s poem ends with hope, Eliot’s poem ends without resolution.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems portray individuals who feel isolated and detached from their environment
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“In a London Drawing Room”
	Robinson conveys the speaker’s desperation using enjambment: The pace increases in the lines: “carry it always/on my person, concealed, so/no one else would know but me.”	Eliot uses enjambment to reflect the speaker’s despair at the view from their drawing room: “the houses opposite/Cutting the sky with one long line of wall/Like solid fog”
	The unbroken stanza may convey the speaker’s relentless struggle to defy the negativity in their life: The lines are controlled with end-stops to reflect a disciplined speaker	Eliot’s poem is also one unbroken stanza This form contributes to the speaker’s sense of “Monotony of surface & of form/Without a break”
	Robinson presents an isolated individual: An imperative verb instructs, “get yourself” to an “empty room”, suggesting a need for solitude in threatening circumstances	Eliot’s speaker feels similarly cut off from life: This is shown via repetition in the lines: “No bird can make a shadow as it flies” and “No figure leaning”
	Both poems present solitary individuals whose external worlds bring them unease

Topic sentence	Both poems comment on degraded relationships in an urban world
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“In a London Drawing Room”
	Robinson’s poem hints at conflict in the speaker’s life: A threatening, unnamed group, (“they”) want to “steal” his “paradise”	Eliot criticises her world as without compassion or joy: She says London is like a “prison-house”, where “men are punished at the slightest cost”
	Robinson highlights the constant challenges with repetition: “And if life puts you under pressure”, then, “And if your stresses are sustained and daily”	Similarly, Eliot draws attention to disconnected relationships in the city: The speaker describes how the crowds “All hurry on & look upon the ground” Eliot repeats “All” to highlight the homogenised and passionless nature of the people: “All closed, in multiplied identity”
	Both poems present harmful relationships in a cruel, urban world

Differences:

Topic sentence	Roger Robinson’s poem, “A Portable Paradise”, offers a way to withstand challenges in the external world, while George Eliot’s “In a London Drawing Room” ends without hope for resolution
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“In a London Drawing Room”
	Robinson describes a “paradise” that includes “white sands, green hills and fresh fish” Sensory imagery alludes to comfort of tracing “its ridges” and smelling “its piney scent”	Eliot, however, uses natural imagery to describe an industrialised London: The sky is “yellowed by the smoke.” “All is shadow” and the “golden rays” of sun are “clothed in hemp.”
	Robinson’s speaker relies on ancestral wisdom about the natural world to find peace and enlightenment: The poem guides a listener to imaginative reflections, to “empty your paradise onto a desk” and “Shine the lamp” on it	Eliot, however, describes urban London’s mundane environment as restrictive to the imagination: Eliot describes the urban world as “Without a break to hang a guess upon”
	Robinson’s poem ends with advice for the future: The speaker advises solitude and a connection to objects from the natural world This will bring the “fresh hope/of morning”	Eliot’s poem ends with a bleak conclusion that speaks to the poet’s gloomy response to the Industrial Revolution: The city has the “lowest rate of colour, warmth & joy”
	Robinson’s modern poem draws attention to the comfort of heritage and suggests hope can be found in even a small connection to the natural world, while Eliot’s Victorian poem is a critique on industrialisation and urbanisation

Exam Tip

It is a good idea to outline your choice of second poem in your introduction to your response, with a clear overview of the overarching themes within both poems. You can then use the theme to move between both poems to provide the substance to illustrate your arguments. However, this does not mean that you cannot focus on one poem first, and then the other, linking ideas back to the main poem. You should choose whichever structure suits you best, as long as comparison is embedded and ideas for both texts are well-developed.

“A Portable Paradise” and “Thirteen”

Comparison in a nutshell:

This is an effective comparative choice to explore individuals’ responses to their changing worlds and the disconnected relationships they observe. However, Roger Robinson portrays an individual who finds comfort in an accusatory world, while Caleb Femi’s poem is a pessimistic comment on discrimination in a community.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both speakers convey emotional pleas within their criticisms on their environment
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“Thirteen”
	Robinson illustrates the speaker’s breathless response to pressures in their life through enjambment In contrast, a sudden caesura represents moments of tension: “on my person, concealed, so”	Femi’s poem has an irregular structure, which also conveys tense narration: Enjambment at the beginning reflects the boy’s fear as he is stopped by police Caesura represents the fear as he is “cornered”: the description of a man? – You’ll laugh.”
	Robinson’s desperate speaker is portrayed with imperative verbs and a list, which implies urgency: The speaker instructs “get yourself to an empty room – be it hotel,/hostel or hovel – find a lamp” The adjective “empty” connotes to loneliness	Femi’s speaker, too, conveys powerlessness: Imagery shows the boy’s need to appeal to the officer: “You will show the warmth of your teeth/praying he remembers” A question presents the boy’s sense of anonymity: “Don’t you remember me? you will ask.”
	The speakers convey a sense of desperation as they attempt to find reassurance in a discordant world

Topic sentence	Both poems comment on disconnected relationships in their environments
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“Thirteen”
	Robinson suggests the speaker feels part of a neglected, isolated group: The speaker refers to the third-person plural, “they” A nameless opposition suggests conflict between the speaker and others: “That way they can’t steal it”	Femi presents the children as separated from the adults in their community: The unknown officers present a threat to the singled-out boy He is “patted on the shoulder” by “another fed” whose “face takes you back”
	Robinson criticises the “pressure”, highlighting it with sibilance in “stresses” are “sustained and daily” Repetition of “And if” implies persistent challenges	Femi depicts a pressured environment: Repetition highlights the boy’s shock when accused: “Thirteen, you’ll tell him: you’re thirteen.” The speaker implies they are patronised through the diminutive adjective in “little stars”
	Both poems describe their homes as oppositional, which in turn creates vulnerable individuals

Differences:

Topic sentence	Roger Robinson’s “A Portable Paradise” illustrates the powerful influence of heritage, whereas Caleb Femi’s poem, “Thirteen”, portrays the growing hopelessness of young people in a disadvantaged community
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“Thirteen”
	Robinson relates how advice from a grandparent can provide comfort: Robinson capitalises the word “Paradise” and links it to family: “then I’m speaking of my grandmother”	In contrast, Femi presents an isolated child who finds little comfort from adults: The speaker pleads with officers to recognise him The classmates are offered superficial praise: they are all “the brightest and biggest stars”
	Robinson uses imagery to convey hope against the challenges of their world: He finds his own “paradise” of “white sands, green hills and fresh fish” They suggest “empty your paradise onto a desk” and “keep staring at it till you sleep”	Femi’s metaphorical language leads to a dark conclusion: Instead of being a symbol of aspiration, as the officer suggests, the star is a symbol of destruction The children are “in fact, dying stars” The poem ends describing them as “on the verge of becoming black holes.”
	Robinson’s poem describes a way of providing one's own comfort in the face of adversity, but Femi’s poem presents a young boy whose vulnerable position under powerful authorities leads to despair

“A Portable Paradise” and “England in 1819”

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Roger Robinson’s “A Portable Paradise” and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “England in 1819” explore disconnections between the speaker and an oppressive world. Robinson’s poem, though, presents reassuring advice to resist personal suffering, while Shelley’s polemic poem is a bitter attack on England’s corrupt monarchy and aristocracy.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems highlight disconnected relationships under oppressive systems
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“England in 1819”
	Robinson describes a vulnerable individual in a city (arguably, London): An imperative verb instructs, “get yourself to an empty room” The speaker’s urgency is clear in the broken line “ – be it hotel,/hostel or hovel” The speaker refers to a powerful group who forces them to conceal their “paradise” so “they can’t steal it”	Shelley describes the negative conditions and powerlessness of the working class in nineteenth-century England: They are “A people starved and stabbed in the untilled field” There is “public scorn” toward the monarchy and aristocracy
	Robinson uses sensory imagery to contrast the external world and the speaker’s inner world: The speaker advises: “hum its anthem under your breath” and “smell its piney scent” Alliteration and sibilance, however, highlight problems in the outside world where “stresses are sustained and daily”	Shelley, similarly, contrasts dark and light imagery to convey ideas about good and evil: The poem ends describing a “glorious Phantom” that “Bursts” from “graves” of dead systems Shelley hopes this will “illumine” the “tempestuous day”
	The poets both comment on inner conflicts as individuals struggle to find hope in places of suffering

Differences:

Topic sentence	Robinson’s poem is a free-flowing monologue that offers hope, while Shelley’s sonnet is a dramatic and bitter attack on England’s monarchy and aristocracy
Evidence and analysis	“A Portable Paradise”	“England in 1819”
	The poem is written in free verse: The tone is conversational: “And if I speak of Paradise” The poem is a controlled narrative: “That way they can’t steal it, she’d say.”	Shelley uses a sophisticated sonnet ironically to convey the “public scorn” under what Shelley describes as corrupt and powerful systems: Shelley breaks the rhythm, which creates a bitter tone in a list of criticisms
	Robinson’s poem presents a resistant and reassuring speaker: Repetition offers advice from a grandparent: “And if life puts you under pressure” with “And if your stresses” The speaker has a solution, to find a paradise and “carry it always”	Shelley’s poem makes use of alliteration and assonance to create a resentful voice: He highlights violence: “blind in blood, without a blow” He describes the monarchy as “The dregs of their dull race”
	Robinson illustrates an individual who, although vulnerable in their world, finds comfort in simple advice passed down through generations, whereas Shelley offers a severe critique of England

Exam Tip

You can choose whichever poem you feel you are able to make the most in-depth comparisons to in the exam. For example, you could choose to compare the presentation of individuals’ observations about their worlds in “A Portable Paradise” and “In a London Drawing Room”. Or you might wish to explore the way poets examine connections and relationships in “A Portable Paradise” and “England in 1819”. What is important is that you view the poems thematically, with a clear emphasis on worlds and lives. This will give you a better framework in which to write your response in the exam.

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A Portable Paradise (AQA GCSE English Literature)

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Author: Sam Evans