GCSE UNSEEN POETRY: How to?

Ah, unseen poetry, the baddest of them all.

So many students struggle with unseen (understandably, it can be more difficult than winning the lottery) - but, as always, here we are to help you!

HOW TO

Today, lets look at the poem ‘Walking Away’ by C. Day Lewis (go and google the poem and then come back)

Let’s look at this question:

In ‘Walking Away’ how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings about their child? [24 marks]

HOW TO 

For planning…

1. Plan your 2/3 point answer

1. Find 3 big signposting ideas that directly answers the question 

2. Find, for each point, 3 pieces of evidence 

1. Remember, this can be language and structure - make sure to use them evenly 

For writing your actual points…

1. Signposting argument 

1. ‘The poet presents the speaker’s feelings about their child through loss’

1. Ensure that you directly answer the question, using the key words from the question itself. 

1. Introduce our first piece of evidence 

1. Make sure that you embed the quotes within your argument 

2. MAke sure that the evidence that you choose further your argument rather than replaces it! 

Example: The poet describes how she watched ‘your first game of football, then like a satellite Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away’.

1. Analyse your quotes / structural features!

1. Zoom out: consider:

1. What is this quote actually saying 

2. Why has the poet used this, what are they trying to show?

2. Zoom in: 

1. Identify the language technique used here 

1. Consider why the poet has used this technique, what does it do and what does it show 

2. Zoom in on the certain words used within the quote 

1. What is the explicit meaning of this word 

2. What kind of word is it (verb, noun, adverb, etc) 

3. Implicit meanings (connotations of the word) 

2. LINK back to the key words in your question and the key word you used to answer the question 

Example: The poet presents the speaker’s feelings about their child through loss. The poet describes how she watched ‘your first game of football, then like a satellite Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away’. The poet uses this simile in order to show how it felt, losing her child to adulthood. Specifically, the use of the simile here highlights the lack of control she has in this situation. By comparing him to a satellite being wrenched from its orbit, the reader is able to see how upsetting this loss is for her. The use of the verb ‘wrenched’ creates a negative tone to the poem, perhaps conveying her negative attitudes towards her son growing up. It also shows her lack of autonomy in this situation as it is clear that she cannot save him from growing up. Furthermore, by using the direct address of ‘your’, the poet may be speaking, through this poem, directly to her son - therefore emphasising her feelings of loss. 

And thats it! Above is an example analysing one quote. We definitely perhaps ‘over-included’, but it’s still a very good example of what a top-tier essay looks like. Go ahead, try it for yourself!