Final Edwin Morgan Poetry Set Text Questions 2014-15 - with examples
2016 N5 Exam
By referring closely to this poem (Good Friday) and to at least one other poem, show how Morgan explores important human themes. (8 Marks)
2015 N5 Exam
By referring closely to this poem (Hyena), and to at least one other poem by Morgan, show how the writer uses word choice and/or imagery effectively to create a striking visual impression, or scene.
2014 N5 Exam
By closely referring to the text of this (In the Snack Bar) and at least one other Morgan poem, show how Morgan uses language effectively to create interesting characters.
Marking Scheme for 8 Mark Question
- Candidates may answer in bullet points or write a number of linked statements. There is no need to write a ‘mini essay’.
- Marks are awarded up to a maximum of 8 for:
- 2 marks for: identifying what links two poems as stated in question
- Further 2 marks for: reference to the extract given
- Further 2 marks for: quoting from and commenting relevantly on another poem (not extract given)
- Further 2 marks for: quoting from and commenting relevantly on another or the same poem (not extract given)
Examples
- 2016: ‘Good Friday’ - explores human themes
Good Friday / Trio / In the Snack Bar
Drunk man wants to be understood / Love triumphs over evil / Narrator empathises with old man’s difficulties
“ye understand - ye understand?
But anyway tha’s the way I look at it –
I’m no boring you, eh?” / “The vale of tears is powerless before you.” / “Dear Christ, to be born for this!”
-- Drunk man wants to talk to the narrator about religion, and is worried that the narrator will think he is a boring drunk. / -- The three characters [who parallel the three wise men in the Christmas story] have defeated the sinister side of life through their happiness and optimism / -- The poem ends with the narrator’s emotional exclamation of sympathy for the difficulties the old man faces (blindness / disability / complete dependence on others)
- 2015: ‘Hyena’ - word choice and imagery to create a striking visual impression / scene
Hyena / Slate / In the Snack Bar
Image of Africa as the Hyena’s coat / The landscape of Scotland over the ages / The visual description of the old man
“I am crafty with dark spots
like the bush-tufted plains of Africa.” / “Drumlins blue as
bruises” / “like a monstrous animal caught in a tent”
-- The simile compares the vegetation of the landscape to the tufts of the animal’s fur - draws a striking parallel between wildness of animal and of landscape / -- Simile - compares glacial hummocks (Drumlins) to the colour of bruises: makes the landscape a sinister / mysterious; suggests the landscape itself has been injured / -- In early part of the poem, the narrator emphasises how grotesque the old man looks. Odd simile emphasises his strangeness.
- 2014: ‘In the Snack Bar’ - uses language to create interesting characters
In the Snack Bar / Good Friday / Trio
The old man has a grotesque appearance, but later proves sympathetic / The drunk man is an eccentric but likeable character / Three cheerful characters who are memorable for the distinctive precious items they carry
“like a monstrous animal caught in a tent” / “ye understand - ye understand?
But anyway tha’s the way I look at it –
I’m no boring you, eh?” / “Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm chihuahua!”
-- Simile - In early part of the poem, the narrator emphasises how grotesque the old man looks. Odd simile emphasises his strangeness. / -- Repetition - Confused / repeats himself, but touchingly eager to be liked / understood / -- Juxtaposition of three unlikely things (sprig / baby / dog) - makes the characters who hold them more memorable
- Extra revision example - Sound Techniques in Slate and at least one other poem
Slate / In The Snack Bar / Good Friday
Uses onomatopoeia and rhyme / Uses alliteration and onomatopoeia / Uses alliteration
“…thunder / and volcanic fires; watched long seas plunder” (lines 2/3) / “A cup capsizes along the formica, /slithering with a dull clatter.” (first 2 lines) / “lunges for the stair, swings down” (near end)
-- Onomatopoeic ‘thunder’ emphasises thedestructive power of nature. Rhyme of thunder with plunder also emphasises the violence of weather and nature / -- Alliteration of ‘cup capsizes’ together with the onomatopoeias of ‘slithering; and ‘clatter’ draws the reader’s attention to the noisy commotion caused by the old man. / -- Alliteration of ‘lunges…stair…swings’ emphasises the physical awkwardness with which the drunk man climbs down the staircase of the bus.
- Extra revision example 2 - Vivid Evocation of Place
Slate / Hyena / Winter / In the Snack Bar
Uses onomatopoeia and rhyme / Simile and extended metaphor / Personification (dead / sees); Word choice (grey / dead) / Onomatopoeia (hiss); sounds; smells
“…thunder / and volcanic fires; watched long seas plunder” (lines 2/3) / “I am crafty with dark spots
like the bush-tufted plains of Africa.
I sprawl as a shaggy bundle of gathered energy
like Africa sprawling in its waters.” / “that grey dead paneof ice that sees nothing and that nothing sees” / “table edges, people’s feet,
hiss of the coffee-machine, voices and laughter,
smell of a cigar, hamburgers, wet coats steaming,”
-- Onomatopoeic ‘thunder’ emphasises thedestructive power of nature. Rhyme of thunder with plunder also emphasises the violence of weather and nature / Morgan’s extended metaphor linking the shaggy coat and distinctive hump-backed shape to the landscape and map-outline of Africa, draws a parallel between the threat of the animal to human life, and the sinister side of the natural world. Nature is not inspiring, but terrifying. / The ice is not a place for fun and happy skating: it is an extended metaphor for death, and links to the poem’s themes of nihilism and the harsh side of nature. / The senses of hearing and smell create a powerful evocation of a 1960s snack bar, and with it a world that no longer exists.