CRITICAL ESSAY HIGHER POETRY PAST QUESTIONS
1989 Poems often have their origin in a chance observation, a small incident, a glimpse, a snatch of conversation.
Consider such a poem which starts from a particular experience and, by close reference to the text, show how the poet moves towards a general, or universal statement.
1989 Select poem written before this century which you would include in an anthology of poetry for your age group.
Write an introduction to the poem, pointing out its merits in such a way as to help others of your generation understand what it is in the poem which so much attracts you.
1989 Choose a poem which sees the world from an unconventional viewpoint - for example, a child’s, an animal’s, a machine’s, an outsider’s. What is the subject of the poem and what is gained by taking the unusual viewpoint. Show how the unusual viewpoint is expressed.
1990 Some poets create a mood - reflection, despair, joy, nostalgia - in their poems. Choose such a poem and show how the mood is created.
1990 Choose a poem in which a personality is revealed to the reader. In what ways do the important details of his/her background emerge and combine to give you a full impression of the personality?
1990 “- marriage and birth and death and thoughts of these - “
Show how “thoughts of these” are evoked in you by a poem which deals with one or more of these themes. Explain by close reference to the techniques of the poem how the theme(s) is/are made memorable for you.
1991 Poetry is said by some to be written for an intellectual elite. By close reference to one poem, show to what extent you agree or disagree with this view.
1991 Choose a poem that provoked you into reflecting on your own experience. By close reference to the text, show how the language of the poem gave you a greater awareness of the this experience.
1991 Choose a poem you enjoyed which is written in language other than the standard form of English. By close reference to the text, consider how far your enjoyment was a result of the poet’s exploiting particular aspects of the chosen language.
1991 Choose a poet who explores the relationship between mankind and nature. By close reference to his/her work, show how he/she makes a statement of significance about this relationship.
1992 Choose a poet who writes in a highly individual style. By close reference to one or more poems, discuss the main features of this style and how it affects your reaction to the poem(s).
1992 Choose a poem which caused you to question your own beliefs or attitudes and, by close reference to the text, show how the poem had this effect on you.
1992 Choose a poem which is obviously rooted in a particular community or way of life. By close reference to the text, show how the poet explores some aspect(s) of the community for the reader.
1992 “Sound is a very important aspect of poetry”
By close reference to two poems which you believe benefit from being read aloud, show how the sounds of the poem contribute to your understanding of the text.
1993 It is often thought that poetry is solely about serious and sad subjects. Select a poem which is about a happy event, a joyful experience, a fulfilling emotion ... Write about the techniques which make you both enjoy and understand what is being communicated in the poem.
1993 Sonnet, Dramatic Monologue, Ballad, Concrete Poem, Villanelle, Ode.
By looking closely at a poem with one such form or shape, consider to what extent its particular techniques enhance the impact of the subject matter.
1993 Choose a poem which was initially difficult for you because of such things as its subject, language, theme, word choice... Briefly outline the difficulty and in greater detail explain in what ways further study of the poem made the experience of reading it worthwhile for you.
1994 Choose a poem which leads us into the mind of a complex or subtle character. By closely referring to the text of the poem, show what is disclosed.
1994 Choose a poem which has something important to say to you. By closely referring to the poet’s language, briefly explain why you consider the subject matter to be important, and go on to analyse how the language conveys the importance of the subject.
1994 Choose a poem which you enjoyed because of surprising features of its language. Identify the feature which surprised you, and go on to explain, with close reference to the poem, how you came to enjoy it.
1995 By referring closely to both the ideas and to poetic techniques in a poem which you know well, show whether or not your appreciation of the poem depends more on the ideas or on the techniques.
1995 Poetry is often written as a result of reflecting on an intense emotional experience or one significant event.
Examine the techniques used by one poet to convey the significance of an experience or an event which gave rise to a poem or sequence of poems.
1995 Poetry has been employed at times for very specific ends: to describe religious experience; to satirise; to record historical events; to flatter the rich and powerful; to be a form of propaganda or to tell a story.
Choose a poem which in you your view performs a specific “purpose”; show how the poet employs the poetic form in order to convey his/her ideas, beliefs or feelings.
1996 Some poets succeed in presenting fresh and unusual insights by using everyday speech patterns and vocabulary. Their work may, for example, include the use of cliché, or informal expressions or idioms.
Examine the work of a poet who may be described in this way and explain how he/she succeeds in providing the reader with new insights. (You may deal with more than one poem in your answer.)
1996 Many memorable poems leave the reader with a powerful impression of a person, a place, an era.
Using a poem which has left you with such an impression, explain what techniques are used by the poet to convey this impression.
1996 If you have read the work of a poet who, in your view, has a recognisable “voice”, describe what contributes to his/her particular individuality, or personality, as a poet, and explain what features of his/her work you enjoy. You should refer in some detail to more than one poem.
1996 The form of a poem can add significantly to its impact. Choose a poem whose form clearly contributes to its impact. Explain in some detail how the form of the poem supports and/or amplifies the overall effect of the poem.
1997 Choose a poem which appealed to you because it was striking. Show which techniques the poet has used to capture your interest and engage your feelings.
1997 One of the characteristics of Scottish poetry is its use of humour or satire to deflate pomposity or to attack hypocrisy or simply to ridicule. By referring to one Scottish poem, show how effective you find the use of humour or satire or both.
1997 In a successful dramatic monologue, the “voice” of the speaker is an important element. Show how particular features of the language used by the speaker are effective in revealing the speaker’s personality to the audience.
1997 Often a poem has as its stimulus an incident or moment in the poet’s everyday experience. Show how the poet uses her/his own experience and by skilful use of poetic techniques makes it important to a wider readership.
1998 Many poems are concerned with a sense of loss or deep sadness at a particular event.
Examine the means by which a poet, in one poem conveys either of these emotions to you.
1998 Is there a poem which has genuinely shocked or inspired you?
Explain what aspects of the poem’s language and ideas produced this response.
1998 Choose a poem which appeals to you because certain words, or lines, or even the whole poem can be interpreted in more that one way.
By referring closely to the text, discuss these ambiguities and show to what extent they contribute to your appreciation of the poem as a whole.
1998 Sometimes a reader can admire the techniques of a particular poem yet disagree or lack sympathy with some of the ideas it conveys.
Select a poem which fits this description and, by close reference to the text, justify your view of the techniques and the ideas.
1999 Choose a poem which deals with a person who is one of the following: an outcast; in distress; in love; dominant; shy.
Show how the poet uses language to reveal the personality.
1999 Consider the impact of the last few lines of a poem you have studied.
Referring closely to the language of the whole poem, examine how well these lines act as a conclusion to the whole poem.
1999 How much does sound contribute to the success of a poem you have studied?
1999 With the millennium approaching, nominate a poet who you think says something vitally important about an aspect of twentieth century life.
Justify your choice by examining both what the poet is saying and the poetic techniques used in one or two of his/her poems.
2000 Choose a poem about old age.
Explain what impression the poet creates of old age and discuss how effectively the impression is created.
2000 Choose two poems which deal with the same theme.
By referring to both poems, show which you find more effective in dealing with the theme.
2000 Choose a poem which you think could be described as a “quiet” or “reflective” poem.
Show how the poet has achieved this effect and discuss to what extent you find it a suitable way of dealing with the subject matter in the poem.
2000 Choose a poem with an impressive opening.
Explain why you think the opening was so impressive and discuss how effectively it prepared you for the rest of the poem.
2001 Choose a poem which creates a sense of menace.
Show how the poet achieves this and discuss how it adds to you appreciation of the poem.
2001 Choose a poem on the subject of love.
Show how the poet treats the subject, and explain to what extent you find the treatment convincing.
2001 Choose a poet who reflects on the idea of change.
Show how the poet explores the subject in one or more of his/her poems, and explain to what extent your appreciation of the subject was deepened.
2001 Choose a poem which is written in a specific poetic form, such as dramatic monologue, sonnet, ode, ballad.
Show how the particular form helped your appreciation of the ideas and/or feelings which the poem explores.
2002 Choose a poem in which contrast is used in order to clarify a key idea.
Examine in detail the poet’s use of contrast and show how it was effective in clarifying this key idea.
2002 Choose a poet who reflects on the power, the beauty or the threat of the natural world.
Referring to one or more poems, show how effectively you think the poet explores her or his main idea(s).
2002 Choose a poem which explores one of the following: freedom, friendship, happiness.
Discuss to what extent the poem successfully engages your interest in this main idea.
2002 Choose a poem which presents a character who provokes you to contempt or anger or irritation.
Show how the poet arouses this response from you and discuss how important it is to the overall impact of the poem.
2003 Choose two nature poems.
Compare each poem’s treatment of the subject, and discuss which you find more successful.
2003 Choose a poem in which you feel there is a significant moment which reveals the central idea of the poem.
Show how the poet achieves this in an effective way.
2003 Choose a poem in which the poet has created a perfect blend of form and content.
Show how the poet achieves this and discuss how it adds to your appreciation of the poem.
2003 Choose a poem which explores either the significance of the past or the importance of family relationships.
Show how the poet treats the subject, and explain to what extent you find the treatment convincing.
2004 Choose a poem in which the poet explores the significance of the passage of time.
Explain why the passage of time is significant in this poem and discuss the means by which the poet explores its significance.
2004 Choose two love poems.
By comparing the treatment of the subject in each poem, discuss which you find more successful.
2004 Choose a poem in which a chance encounter or a seemingly unimportant incident acquires increased significance by the end of the poem.
Show how the poet’s development of the encounter of incident leads you to a deeper understanding of the poem’s theme.
2004 Choose a poem in which the poet creates a picture of a heroic or a corrupt figure.
Discuss the means by which the personality is clearly depicted.
2005 Choose a poem in which a specific setting is strongly evoked.
Show how the poet creates this sense of place and/or time, and then discuss the relative importance of the setting to the poem as a whole.
2005 Choose a poem which you feel is particularly relevant to a teenager audience.
Make clear why you think the poem is so relevant to this age group and show how the poetic techniques used in the poem help to achieve this.
2005 Choose a poem in which humour (for example, satire, wit or irony) plays a significant part.
Show how the poet makes the poem humorous and discuss how important the humour is to the underlying message of the poem.
2005 Choose a poet whose writing displays great beauty.
By referring to one or more than one poem, show how the writer creates this sense of beauty and go on to discuss whether or not the beauty of the writing is more important to you than the ideas explored in the poem(s).