Paper 2 Section B: Anthology Poetry Comparison Technique

Paper 2 Section B is the Poetry Anthology comparison question. It is worth 30 marks — the same as the 19th-century novel question — and it tests a very specific skill: comparison. You are given one named poem from your anthology cluster (printed on the paper) and must compare it with a second poem from the same cluster that you choose from memory. This lesson explains how to choose the second poem under time pressure, the two main comparative structures, the comparative connectives that signal comparison to the examiner, and the pitfalls that separate a Level 4 from a Level 6 response.

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The Question at a Glance

Key facts

Feature	Detail
Paper / Section	Paper 2, Section B
Marks	30 marks
SPaG	None — SPaG only on Paper 1 Section A and Paper 2 Section A
Number of questions	ONE question only — no choice
Named poem	Printed on the exam paper
Comparison poem	YOU choose from the same cluster — closed book on your choice
Assessment Objectives	AO1, AO2, AO3
Suggested time	Approximately 45 minutes (of Paper 2's 135 minutes)

What the question will look like

For the Power and Conflict cluster:

Compare how poets present [theme] in 'Exposure' and in one other poem from 'Power and Conflict'.

For the Love and Relationships cluster:

Compare the ways poets present [theme] in 'Neutral Tones' and in one other poem from 'Love and Relationships'.

The two central skills

1. Analysing the named poem (printed) — this is like Paper 1 extract analysis
2. Analysing a comparison poem from memory — this is like Paper 2 Section A recall

The unique skill is comparison. The 30 marks do not just reward analysis of two poems — they reward comparative analysis: similarities, differences, and what the comparison reveals.

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Choosing the Second Poem

This is the single most time-sensitive decision in Paper 2. You have about 3 minutes to do it.

How to choose under pressure

1. Read the question twice. Underline the theme word (conflict, nature, love, loss, memory, power, etc.).
2. Read the named poem once quickly. Note its tone and focus.
3. Call up your comparison grid for the named poem (prepared before the exam).
4. Pick the poem where you have:
   • The clearest thematic connection
   • 3–5 quotations in memory
   • At least two comparable language/structural/formal features

flowchart TD
    A[Read question twice] --> B[Identify theme word]
    B --> C[Read named poem]
    C --> D["Recall comparison grid<br/>for named poem"]
    D --> E{"Which 2-3 poems<br/>pair best?"}
    E --> F["Check quotation memory<br/>for each candidate"]
    F --> G["Pick poem with<br/>strongest coverage"]
    G --> H[Commit and plan]

The comparison grid: prepare it BEFORE the exam

A comparison grid is your pre-exam prep for Section B. For each of the 15 poems, list 2–3 poems that pair well and why.

Example (Power and Conflict):

Named poem	Strong pairings (and why)
Ozymandias	London (political power); Tissue (impermanence); My Last Duchess (pride and downfall)
Exposure	Bayonet Charge (war, nature's hostility); Remains (psychological cost)
Remains	War Photographer (psychological trauma); Kamikaze (memory and shame)
Poppies	War Photographer (distance from conflict); Kamikaze (family loss)
Kamikaze	Poppies (family loss); Remains (memory and shame)
My Last Duchess	Ozymandias (male power and control); Checking Out Me History (voice)
London	Ozymandias (political power); Tissue (human structures)
Tissue	Ozymandias (impermanence); London (human structures)

Example (Love and Relationships):

Named poem	Strong pairings (and why)
Neutral Tones	When We Two Parted (loss of love); Porphyria's Lover (troubled love)
Porphyria's Lover	My Last Duchess (control); Neutral Tones (troubled love)
Walking Away	Mother, Any Distance (parental letting go); Follower (parent-child)
Follower	Mother, Any Distance (parent-child); Walking Away (letting go)
Mother, Any Distance	Walking Away (letting go); Before You Were Mine (mother-child)
Before You Were Mine	Mother, Any Distance (mother-child); Eden Rock (memory)

Building these grids is the single most valuable Paper 2 Section B prep you can do.

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Two Comparative Structures

There are two main ways to structure a poetry comparison. Each has strengths.

Structure 1: Alternating (point-by-point) — RECOMMENDED

Each paragraph compares both poems on a specific point.

• Paragraph 1: Introduction — thesis comparing both poems
• Paragraph 2: Both poems' treatment of [aspect A] — Poem 1 first, then Poem 2
• Paragraph 3: Both poems' treatment of [aspect B] — Poem 1 first, then Poem 2
• Paragraph 4: Both poems' treatment of [aspect C] — Poem 1 first, then Poem 2
• Paragraph 5: Conclusion — summarise key similarities/differences

Advantages:

• Forces comparison in every paragraph
• The examiner can always see you are comparing
• Harder to accidentally write two separate essays

Risks:

• Can feel mechanical if you do not vary sentence structure
• Requires clear thematic points (not just "language", "structure", "form")

Structure 2: Text-by-text (block)

Analyse Poem 1 fully, then Poem 2 with constant links back to Poem 1.

• Paragraph 1: Introduction — thesis
• Paragraphs 2–3: Detailed analysis of Poem 1
• Paragraphs 4–5: Detailed analysis of Poem 2, constantly linking back to Poem 1
• Paragraph 6: Conclusion

Advantages:

• Allows deeper individual analysis
• Good if one poem is much richer than the other

Risks:

• Students often forget to compare and just write two separate analyses
• The comparison can feel tacked on at the end

Exam Tip: Under exam conditions, the alternating method is almost always safer. It builds comparison into the DNA of your essay.

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Comparative Connectives: The Essential Toolkit

Comparison is a visible skill. The examiner needs to see it. Use comparative connectives at the start of sentences and paragraphs.

Signalling similarity

• Similarly / Likewise / In the same way
• Both poets / Both speakers / Both poems
• Like [Poet A], [Poet B]...
• Just as [Poem 1]..., so [Poem 2]...
• This resonates with / parallels / mirrors / echoes

Signalling difference

• In contrast / Conversely / On the other hand
• Whereas [Poem 1]..., [Poem 2]...
• Unlike [Poet A], [Poet B]...
• However, [Poem 2] takes a different approach...
• By contrast, [Poem 2]...

Signalling nuance

• While both poems share..., they differ in...
• Although [Poem 1] and [Poem 2] both address..., the way they...
• Where [Poem 1] emphasises..., [Poem 2] foregrounds...

Example (alternating structure, with connectives)

Owen's "Exposure" and Hughes's "Bayonet Charge" both present war as a conflict with nature rather than with the enemy. In Owen's poem, the speaker's torment is the cold — "the merciless iced east winds that knive us" — where the violent verb "knive" recasts wind as weapon and nature as aggressor. Hughes similarly weaponises landscape: the soldier in "Bayonet Charge" stumbles through a field where "the patriotic tear... turned into molten iron from the centre of his chest", the natural world and the body conspiring against him. Where Owen's hostile nature is stasis — a drawn-out waiting for cold to kill — Hughes's is kinesis: active, boiling, explosive. Both poets thus invert the pastoral tradition, but through contrasting temporal modes: Owen's frozen eternity, Hughes's frenzied second.

This paragraph compares in every sentence, uses multiple connectives, and highlights similarity and difference.

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The Three Assessment Objectives for Section B

AO1: Read, understand, respond, use textual references (~12 marks)

AO1 rewards:

• Clear comparative response
• Accurate quotation from both poems
• Analytical style

AO2: Analyse language, form, structure (~12 marks)

AO2 rewards:

• Analysis of language, form, and structure in BOTH poems
• Comparative discussion of poetic techniques
• Precise terminology (enjambment, caesura, sibilance, volta, iambic, trochaic, dramatic monologue)

AO3: Show understanding of context (~6 marks)

For anthology poetry, AO3 is often about ideas and themes rather than biography:

• The Romantic tradition (Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron)
• Victorian attitudes to gender and control (Browning's dramatic monologues)
• WWI and post-war disillusionment (Owen, Hughes, Armitage)
• Post-colonial identity (Agard, Dharker, Rumens)
• Modern parenthood and loss (Weir, Armitage, Duffy)

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AO3 for Poetry: Ideas, Not Facts

The most common AO3 failure in poetry comparison is turning context into biographical facts ("Simon Armitage was born in 1963"). Strong AO3 uses context to illuminate the poem's argument.

Strong AO3 for poetry