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This final lesson consolidates everything you have learned across the Power and Conflict anthology and equips you with the exam technique needed to achieve the highest grades. It covers the Assessment Objectives, grade boundaries, essay structure, timed writing, and a complete set of revision tools.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Paper | AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry |
| Section | Section B: Poetry Anthology |
| Time for poetry comparison | Approximately 45 minutes |
| Marks | 30 marks |
| What you must do | Compare the given poem with one other poem of your choice from the anthology |
| AO | What It Means | Marks | What the Examiner Wants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO1 | Read, understand, and respond; use textual references | 12 | A clear argument supported by well-chosen quotations from both poems |
| AO2 | Analyse language, form, and structure using subject terminology | 12 | Detailed analysis of how poets create meaning — word-level analysis, technique identification, discussion of form |
| AO3 | Show understanding of contexts | 6 | Relevant contextual knowledge integrated into your argument, not bolted on |
Examiner's tip: AO2 is worth 40% of the marks. Every paragraph must include analysis of how the poets use language, form, or structure. Simply identifying themes or retelling content will not reach Grade 5.
| Grade | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Grade 9 | Sophisticated, critical analysis; alternative interpretations offered; precise word-level analysis; context fully integrated; conceptualised argument throughout |
| Grade 7–8 | Thoughtful, developed analysis; clear understanding of methods; some word-level analysis; context is relevant and connected to argument |
| Grade 5–6 | Clear explanations with relevant evidence; some analysis of language and form; context is present but may be separate from argument |
| Grade 3–4 | Supported comments; some relevant references; limited analysis; context may be superficial |
| Grade 5 | Grade 9 |
|---|---|
| "The poet uses a metaphor to show power" | "The connotations of the verb 'strode' personify the mountain as a predatory, pursuing force, dramatising the Romantic concept of the sublime" |
| Context as a separate paragraph | Context woven into every analytical point |
| Identifies techniques | Explains the effect of techniques on the reader |
| Makes general points about theme | Sustains a conceptualised argument that runs through the essay |
| Uses long quotations | Embeds short, precise quotations (2–6 words) |
Each paragraph should follow this structure:
| Step | What to Do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Point | State your comparative point clearly | "Both poets present nature as a force that overwhelms human control, though Wordsworth's response is awe while Owen's is despair." |
| Evidence | Quote from both poems (short, embedded) | "Wordsworth describes the mountain with 'voluntary power instinct,' while Owen's wind 'knive[s]' the soldiers." |
| Analysis | Analyse language, form, structure; compare the effects | "Wordsworth's personification endows the mountain with conscious agency; Owen's invented verb 'knive' transforms nature from a backdrop into an active, malicious attacker." |
| Link | Connect to the question, to context, or to a wider theme | "Both poets, separated by a century, recognise nature's indifference to human affairs — but while Wordsworth, as a Romantic, finds this sublime and educational, Owen, writing from the Western Front, finds only futile suffering." |
Bad: Shelley writes "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" This shows Ozymandias was powerful.
Good: Ozymandias's imperative command to "Look on my Works... and despair!" reveals a tyrant whose arrogance extended even to other "Mighty" rulers, yet the irony is devastating — the "Works" have vanished entirely.
| Poem | Poet | Key Theme | Key Quote | Key Technique |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozymandias | Shelley | Transience of power | "Nothing beside remains" | Dramatic irony, broken sonnet |
| London | Blake | Institutional oppression | "mind-forged manacles" | Anaphora, oxymoron |
| The Prelude | Wordsworth | Power of nature / the sublime | "a huge peak, black and huge" | Personification, tonal shift |
| My Last Duchess | Browning | Patriarchal power and control | "I gave commands" | Dramatic monologue, enjambment |
| Charge of the Light Brigade | Tennyson | Heroism and obedience in war | "Theirs but to do and die" | Dactylic metre, anaphora |
| Exposure | Owen | Futility of war / nature as enemy | "But nothing happens" | Half-rhyme, refrain, pathetic fallacy |
| Storm on the Island | Heaney | Fear of the unknown / political allegory | "a huge nothing that we fear" | Blank verse, military register |
| Bayonet Charge | Hughes | Terror of combat / collapse of ideals | "King, honour, human dignity, etcetera" | Bathos, in medias res |
| Remains | Armitage | PTSD and guilt | "his bloody life in my bloody hands" | Colloquial register, circular structure |
| Poppies | Weir | A mother's grief / the home front | "playground voice catching on the wind" | Domestic imagery, stream of consciousness |
| War Photographer | Duffy | Ethics of documenting suffering | "they do not care" | Religious register, contrast |
| Tissue | Dharker | Fragility of power structures | "turned into your skin" | Extended metaphor, visual form |
| The Emigrée | Rumens | Exile, memory, identity | "sunlight-clear" | Light/dark imagery, personification |
| Kamikaze | Garland | Honour, shame, family | "which had been the better way to die" | Narrative distance, nature imagery |
| Checking Out Me History | Agard | Eurocentric education / reclaiming identity | "I carving out me identity" | Code-switching, anaphora |
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