GCSE Literature Poetry Revision Cards

GCSE Literature Poetry Revision Cards

Relationships Cluster

Attached are revision cards for all 15 of the poems for Literature Paper 2. You need to be able to compare 2 poems in 45 minutes; this is worth 23% of your GCSE!

Use your own exemplar essays, LitLunch on Fridays in Room 88, the Ashlyns GCSE wiki ( your own anthologies to supplement these notes and fill in the gaps. These notes provide an interpretation and some key techniques.

Remember, you need to be able to make fast, simple comments on the poem’s meaning (one sentence), key techniques and images used, and the effect of structure – and then do the same for a second poem, at speed, finding similarities or differences to the first poem. These points aren’t all the points you could make, but should get you started

Good luck!

Mr P

Nettles

Born Yesterday

Ghazal

Harmonium

Hour

The Manhunt

Praise Song for My Mother

Quickdraw

Sonnet 43

Sonnet 116 (17th Century)

The Farmer’s Bride

To His Coy Mistress (17th Century)

Brothers

Sister Maude

In Paris With You

Nettles

SUBJECT:
It’s about a father’s memory of his child falling into a nettle bed and the father’s feelings of anguish, anger and revenge. He realises that he cannot fully protect his child. There is a military themed extended metaphor. / TONE:
Philosophical, angry, bitter
USEFUL QUOTES/TECHNIQUES:

• The title ‘Nettles’- they are hard to get rid of, familiar, as everyone knows about them, and we know that weeds are threatening. The nettles are an extended metaphor for the pain that life brings, that can never be eliminated; but also that pain is natural (normal)
• ‘My Son’(possessive pronoun): sense of pride and fierce protectiveness the father has for his son.
• Monosyllabic opening line conveying the simplistic, brutal reality of childhood (life hurts).
• The use of irony when it says ‘bed seemed a curious name for those green spears’ creates a bitter, mocking tone. It also contrasts with the first line making quite a sophisticated, philosophical point rather than the childish, monosyllabic language used in the first line.
• The military extended metaphor conveys the battle between the father and the nettles and reflects the wounds and scars the child will get that the father can’t protect him from. Martial (warlike) language
• The continuation of the military metaphor when it says ‘Funeral pyre’ is a powerful image and even though the father is angry at the nettles it implies a sign of respect.
• Assonance is used when it says ’took’ and ‘hook’. This emphasises a very definite, purposeful action.
• The father’s frustration is clear with the image ‘but in two weeks the busy sun and rain had called up tall recruits behind the shed’, showing that all his hard work had been in vain.
• The use of alliteration in the plosive ‘b’ sound when it says ‘blisters beaded’ conveys the extent of his anger.

/

• When it says ‘sharp wounds’ it implies that maybe nettle stings are only a small issue, but there will be many bigger ones to come.
• We see the father’s feelings of anger and frustration and wanting vengeance when it says ‘went outside and slashed in fury with it’. The use of onomatopoeia in the word ‘slashed’ means that you can almost hear the anger of the father.
• The sibilance and sharp consonants in ‘regiment of spite behind the shed’ conveying the speaker’s hatred of the nettles and how life hurts the innocent child.

STRUCTURE
Comment on...

• The iambic rhythm (representing the relentless, predictable onslaught of pain that we all face in life; the heartbeat rhythm also implying the father’s love for his son)
• The regular, predictable rhyming scheme (the predictable pain in life)
• The enjambment across lines 9-12 conveying the father’s outpouring of anger
• The final line, implying that pain is inescapable.

LINKS TO OTHER POEMS ALREADY STUDIED:
Manhunt (psychological injury; lots of martial imagery too); Praise Song (daughter to mother), Harmonium (dysfunctional relationship between father and son)

Born Yesterday

SUBJECT:
The speaker is addressing a newly born baby girl and expressing his hopes and wishes for her.
(The poem is very personal and autobiographical in that it is dedicated “For Sally Amis” – the daughter of the poet’s close friend, the English novelist Kingsley Amis) / TONE:
The poem has an intimate and conversational tone. Personal pronouns “I” and “you” give it a personal feel while interjections such as “well” and “in fact” make it seem honest. The overall effect is informality.
The poem is also ambiguous, on the surface it contains seemingly negative language and ideas but on close reading it is a very positive poem.
USEFUL QUOTES/TECHNIQUES:
Title –The title is a pun. It is written to a child that was possibly literally born the day before but as a phrase, ‘born yesterday’ is a metaphor meaning to be gullible or naïve. The metaphor implies that many well-wishers are naive and stupid; the key to success is happiness.
The poem opens with a metaphor. The baby is described as “tightly folded bud”. This image captures the traditional ways in which babies are viewed: beautiful, natural, delicate and they will ‘blossom.’ However note how this metaphor therefore contrasts with the way in which the rest of the poem goes against the traditional view.
The speaker is dismissive of ‘others’ whose views and wishes are unlikely to ‘prove possible’
It suggests that he is the only one who knows what is best. Perhaps it is the ‘others’ who are really ‘born yesterday’ because they have expectations that are unrealistic?
He says he will wish for things that “none of the others would” This use of the past tense instead of “will” is a subjunctive mood and indicates that the others perhaps would wish for the same things had they his insight and perception. This is dismissive of the others but reflects the honesty of this intensely personal view.
The poem concludes with a list for effect. Prior to this the speaker has seemed negative and hoping for little. However the polysyllabic words (“skilled/vigilant...flexible...enthralled”) show genuinely positive desires and intellect’ and the poem’s rhythmhere picks up pace. This reflects his true feeling of excitement. / In the closing line the speaker refers to “catching happiness”. This metaphor suggests that happiness is something that is caught with an element of luck – like catching a fish perhaps or something that is thrown to us if we are lucky. This may seem negative but it is also saying that it is better to aim for realistic things.
The speaker says he wants the girl to be “like other women” “average” and “ordinary.” This may also seem negative and dismissive of women, but it is also saying that true happiness is found in normality rather than exceptionality.
Overall the message is it is better to be ordinary and happy than exceptional and sad. True happiness is not found in great beauty or success.
STRUCTURE
The lines are short, simple and direct reflecting the simple wishes the speaker has for the child.
The FORM of the poem reflects the structure. The poem is structured in two parts and each part is formed by a stanza.
The first part lists the things that people normally wish for a new born. The second part lists what the speaker wishes for her. The second part/stanza is longer than the first, thus it suggests that what the speaker wishes for the child is more important.
LINKS TO OTHER POEMS ALREADY STUDIED:
Praise Song for my Mother (praise poetry – generational themes). Nettles (generational theme – feelings for an offspring); Sister Maude (feelings for another - contrasting emotions); Sonnet 116 (true love)

Ghazal

SUBJECT:
This is a love poem in which the speaker pleads for the attention of their loved one. The inference is that the love is unrequited (unreturned).
A famous Ghazal writer, Rumi, is mentioned as well as Shamsuddin, his close friend so the poem is also a homage to the tradition of Ghazal writing. / TONE:
There is an over-riding feeling of desperation and separation.
The poet is Iranian and lives in the UK. There is a suggestion that the poem could refer to her sense of divided identity, being half British and Half Iranian. “If I rise in the east as you die in the west.” Is the poem a hymn of praise to Iran?
USEFUL QUOTES/TECHNIQUES:
Title –The title is ‘Ghazal’ which is the name given to this type of poem. It is an ancient Persian (Persia is now called Iran) poetic FORM.
The poem is a chain of metaphorsthat complement one another reflecting the importance of being together. But the metaphors have many subtle meanings:
“you are the rhyme…I am the refrain…” A refrain is a repeated chorus perhaps signifying that the speaker considers themselves the less important of the two.
“charmer use your charm, weave a spell and subdue me..” the speaker feels as though the lover has the power over them. The spell suggestsa magical quality to the relationship.
This suggestion of an unequal relationship is also hinted at in the line: “I am the laurel leaf in your crown” – the lover is king, the speaker merely a leaf.
The constant use of personal pronouns (‘you…I’) suggests how they are divided and separate – they are not yet united.
The repetition of ‘if’ conveys the doubt and uncertainty in the speaker’s hopes: this appears to be unrequited love. / Note that the IMAGERY is also violent: “iron fist in the velvet glove” suggesting that pain as well as pleasure in the relationship.
The speaker also wishes to be chased saying that they wish their lover to be “hawk to my shadow, moth to my flame.”; perhaps also implying how destructive love can be
This NATURAL imagery sometimes points to the lover being active and fleeting and the speaker passive and rooted – “I am the grass, you the breeze.” This suggests inequality but also complementarity. They make up a greater whole together.
Hence the final couplet “I’ll be twice the me I am”
STRUCTURE
Like traditional ghazals this one is made up of a series of couplets (traditionally used in love poems to indicate togetherness). Note the rhyme scheme in which the same word ‘Me’ is repeated as a REFRAIN thought – we only hear the speaker’s obsessive love.
The enjambment in each couplet could indicate how the love the speaker has is overflowing and limitless.
The monosyllabic language in stanza 1 perhaps conveys how simple and pure real love is.
LINKS TO OTHER POEMS ALREADY STUDIED:
Praise song for my mother (another traditional form of praise poetry), Hour (about devoted love), Sonnet 43 (another poem that lists ways of loving).

Harmonium

SUBJECT:
Harmonium describes a son and his father carrying an old church organ (the harmonium) out of the church because of its decay and age. Key themes: an inability to communicate between the son and his father; decay and age. The Harmonium is used as an extended metaphor for the ageing of the father and how he is now devalued, silent and broken. / TONE:
Dark, depressing, morbid (realisation that one day his father will die too), disappointment, nostalgia
USEFUL QUOTES/TECHNIQUES:
Title- implies that the poem is about the organ, whereas it’s really about a breakdown in communication and the anticlimax of life. Some pun on ‘harmony’ – is this a harmonious relationship?
The word “Harmonium” is also a simple title because it is one word; this is similar to the speechless relationship between the father and son.
Exotic brand name of the organ - “Farrand Chapelette” – sense of awe and mystery contrasts with its dilapidated state – like life?
Symbolism of ‘gathering dust’ (implying decay) – like their relationship – the ‘shadowy porch’ also evoking images of twilight and death.
The monosyllabic, childish humour of the pun ‘Or was mine, for a song’ highlights by contrast how depressing the tone is.
Positive, uplifting start to stanza 2 (’Sunlight’) is gradually eroded as the tone becomes more depressing (dead...aged...), highlighted through the enjambment, suggesting how the passage of time wears us down. Personification of the Harmonium - the case is ‘aged’, its keys are ‘yellowed … fingernails’, it has ‘lost its tongue’ – imply the speaker sees the organ as more of a living being, and is more loved, than his father – as if the speaker would rather look at the organ than his parent. Symbolism of the absence of colour (‘grey socks’) implying a lack of hope and happiness; life kills you! / Contrast in stanza 3 (signalled by ‘But’ – change to a more positive tone, as past memories are reawakened – perhaps symbolic of how the father-son relationship used to be a happy one). Sense of nostalgia (but in past tense....). Sense of confusion (‘gilded finches...like high notes’ – surely this simile is the wrong way round?). That confusion is also represented through the ‘blue cloud’ – where has the sense of love done?
Final stanza: organ is compared to a coffin; ‘dead weight’ may suggest an underlying concern that the father is a burden to his son as he gets older.
Because the speaker’s father is constantly being compared to the decayed, old Harmonium, we can tell that the speaker thinks his father is vulnerable.
Use of pronouns – ‘he being him...I being me’ – highlights the distance between father and son – they are two separate people, there is no sense of ‘we’ – the only thing they share our memories and the organ.
Symbolism of ‘mouth[ing] in reply’ – there is no effective communication
STRUCTURE
Limited rhyme, however there is half rhyme such as “freight of his own dead weight” suggesting occasional attempts to revive the relationship.
Enjambment emphasises how life runs away.
Monosyllabic language in places (‘one of its notes had lost its tongue’) perhaps suggesting a yearning to be a child once again
LINKS TO OTHER POEMS ALREADY STUDIED:
Coy Mistress (time); Nettles (father/son); Praise Song (mother/daughter, celebratory)

Hour

SUBJECT:
The speaker describes how, when you are in love, every moment is precious and should not be wasted – and how love makes every moment glorious. / TONE:
Joyous, assertive, lingering, celebratory, desperate...
USEFUL QUOTES/TECHNIQUES:
Title – focuses on a finite moment in time, but the poem is enjambed perhaps to imply how time flows smoothly when you are in love. Is there also an aural pun here (hour sounds like ‘our’, implying this is a shared moment that belongs to two people – love unites you)?
‘Love’s time’s beggar’ personifies love and time, as if they are opponents in a never-ending conflict. The image implies that love is desperate for any snatched moment.
The poem uses a contrast with materialistic images (‘rich’, ‘coin’, ‘jewel’, ‘chandelier’, ‘millionaires’, ‘treasure’) to imply how these are trivial compared to the joy that love can bring; flowers imply temporary beauty that can fade, wine implies intoxication – but true love focuses on neither of these, but instead on what is natural and endless (like the ‘summer sky’).
An hour in love is described through the simile ‘[as] bright as a dropped coin’ – conveying how many people waste and lose precious hours without thinking, but if you cherish them they bring joy. The hour is exploded into ‘thousands of seconds’ in stanza 2 to emphasise every moment.
Stanza 2 opens with soft sibilant tones in ‘thousands of seconds we kiss’, conveying a romantic, excited tone; the caesura creates a pause as the speaker dreams and savours the moment.
The metaphor of ‘backhanding the night’ shows the lovers’ futile attempts to fight off the approaching darkness (the end of their precious hour together, or perhaps even symbolising death, which will separate them?)
The use of natural imagery in ‘cuckoo spit’ and ‘blade of grass’ highlights howtrivial and common items ignored by others have been remembered by the speaker (just like hours and coins!) – the speaker describes a snapshot in time which is precious, remembering every detail of their romance. Their love creates more light than anything man-made. / Repetition of negatives in ‘nothing...no...no’ provides an insistent tone, as the speaker asserts their feelings.
The long sentence that spans stanzas 2,3 and 4 through enjambment conveys the speaker’s excitement in love; this is contrasted with the fragmentary, one-word sentence ‘Now’ in the final stanza, bringing us back to reality.
The poem returns to the enmity between love and time at the end (time hates love, wants love poor’), and the monosyllabic, blunt words of the final couplet convey the speaker’s simple, forceful assertion that love conquers all.
The final image is of the alchemy of love – love transforms the ordinary into the most valuable – the repetition of ‘gold, gold, gold’ emphasising the speaker’s joy and the endlessness of the moment. True love is like a fairytale?
STRUCTURE
Comment on...

• the effect of the enjambment (see notes)
• the alternating rhyme scheme, perhaps emphasising the joy and togetherness that love brings
• this is in sonnet form (3 quattrains and a final rhyming couplet), a traditional form of love poetry

LINKS TO OTHER POEMS ALREADY STUDIED:
Contrast with Coy Mistress (cynical love); compare to the Shakespearean sonnets; Manhunt (real love through adversity); Quickdraw (wounding love)

The Manhunt

SUBJECT:
A wife tries to reconnect with her husband, who has been physically and emotionally scarred by war.
(The speaker is a woman whose husband has returned home from war badly injured. The poem is very personal and concerns the difficulties faced by them both in rebuilding their relationship after it has been damaged both physically and psychologically by the experience of conflict.) / TONE:
The poem has an intimate tone. Personal pronouns “I” gives it a personal feel whereas the use of the third person “his” to describe her husband suggests the loss of contact between them.
The poem uses powerful VERBS: “hunt” “search” “explore” “trace” to describe the wife’s actions – this gives the poem an air of desperationbut it also emphasises the love and patience that the wife feels for her husband.
USEFUL QUOTES/TECHNIQUES:
Title –The title is a pun. A manhunt is usually a search for a lost person. In this case it refers metaphorically to the personality of the soldier and how the speaker is trying to get to know the man she once knew, that seems to have disappeared as a consequence of what has happened to him.
The intimate, sensual, hushed tones created by the sibilance of ‘the passionate nights and intimate days’ contrasts immediately with the horror of the injuries described, suggesting how the speaker struggles to adjust to her husband’s new state.
The poem uses a sequence of METAPHORSto link physical intimacy with estrangement: e.g, “climb the rungs of his broken ribs” is at once a physical image of contact but at the same time suggesting a step-by-step process of healing.
The husband has mental as well as physical issues. His real problem is expressed through the metaphor ‘a sweating unexploded mine/buried deep in his mind’. This conveys the image of a volatile personality that can explode at any moment. It is, however, not entirely a hopeless image since mines can be detected and deactivated.
It is only when the speaker discovers this “mine” that she feels she “comes close” to finding her husband again. At the end she still has not completely found him and the use of the past tense “did I come close” suggests she may never do so.
The poem uses REPETITION: “and” and “only then” to show how the wife must patiently and diligently work in order to rediscover her relationship. The repetition reflects the slow and arduous process of healing. / Note how the metaphors for the soldier’s body are of things that are lifeless, fragile or easily broken: “porcelain”, “parachute silk”, “frozen river”, “broken hinge” – these reflect how his life has been shattered and he is no longer useful.
The remains of the bullet within his body is described as a ‘foetus of metal’. This is an ambiguous metaphor. It suggests that the fragment is something that will eventually come out of his body (as babies do). It also suggests that it is something that may bring them closer (as babies do) or maybe because the poet uses the word ‘foetus’ rather than baby it is ‘unwanted’ and therefore a problem that needs to be removed?
STRUCTURE
The poem comprises a series of couplets. However, they do not all rhyme, some use assonance and other do not rhyme at all. Hence the form of the poem reflects the fragmented nature of the relationship – the rhyme breaks down, mirroring how understanding has broken down, but is repaired by the end.
Enjambment – reflecting the wife’s frustration.
LINKS TO OTHER POEMS ALREADY STUDIED:
Nettles (metaphors of military and war). In Paris With You (man is scarred by a past relationship), Farmer’s Bride (a broken relationship from a male perspective).

Praise Song for My Mother