The document provides guidance for students on analyzing war poetry, including poetic techniques, first approaches to reading poems, and words to describe how poems convey their message and affect readers. It discusses exploring multiple interpretations of poems rather than looking for a single right answer. Students are tasked with choosing one of four essay prompts requiring analysis of at least six poems' portrayal of war through techniques used to engage readers, depict war, present contrasting views of war, or convey intended messages about war.
The document provides guidance for students on analyzing war poetry, including poetic techniques, first approaches to reading poems, and words to describe how poems convey their message and affect readers. It discusses exploring multiple interpretations of poems rather than looking for a single right answer. Students are tasked with choosing one of four essay prompts requiring analysis of at least six poems' portrayal of war through techniques used to engage readers, depict war, present contrasting views of war, or convey intended messages about war.
The document provides guidance for students on analyzing war poetry, including poetic techniques, first approaches to reading poems, and words to describe how poems convey their message and affect readers. It discusses exploring multiple interpretations of poems rather than looking for a single right answer. Students are tasked with choosing one of four essay prompts requiring analysis of at least six poems' portrayal of war through techniques used to engage readers, depict war, present contrasting views of war, or convey intended messages about war.
The document provides guidance for students on analyzing war poetry, including poetic techniques, first approaches to reading poems, and words to describe how poems convey their message and affect readers. It discusses exploring multiple interpretations of poems rather than looking for a single right answer. Students are tasked with choosing one of four essay prompts requiring analysis of at least six poems' portrayal of war through techniques used to engage readers, depict war, present contrasting views of war, or convey intended messages about war.
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Name............................................
YEAR 11 ENGLISH War Poetry
Ploughing the waste, we turn up from the clay The bones of warriors in some old affray Fallen: but, what they fought for in their day, Or who the victors were, now none can say. Wilfred Gibson: The Victors Techniques in Poetry: Poetry is difficult because often its language is indirect. But so is experience what we think, feel, and do. There are many different ways to explore and enjoy poetry. Dont look for a right or wrong answer. Instead, reflect that there are as many different interpretations of poetry as there are readers in the world. Poetic techniques are not exhaustive, nor are they prescriptive. There are no set minimums or maximums, and very few rules. Poets like to play with the sound of language, challenge the reader, and offer complex emotional insight into the world around them. First Approaches: Read the poem aloud. Identify the speaker and the situation. Read the sentences literally. Use your prose reading skills to clarify what the poem is about. Consider each line separately, noting unusual words and phrases. Look up words you are unsure of and work through any associations you may not be familiar with. Pay attention to changes in the form of the poem that might signal a shift in point of view. Study the structure of the poem, including its rhyme and rhythm (if any). Re-read the poem slowly, thinking about what message and emotion it communicates to you. Words to describe what a poem is doing in relation to ideas: Affirms, condones, creates, contradicts, confirms, considers, contrasts, conveys, condemns, challenges, concludes, describes, depicts, declares, determines, examines, explores, evokes, exposes, exemplifies, elicits, endorses, highlights, illustrates, illuminates, implies, intensifies, observes, presents, portrays, questions, represents, reiterates, reflects, reveals, reinforces, subverts, shows, suggests, transforms, undermines
Your Task: After reading a selection of poems, choose one of the essay questions below, referring to at least 6 poems: 1. In what ways have the poets studied used various techniques to engage and shock the reader? 2. Discuss the techniques poets have used to portray war. 3. In what ways have poets presented contrasting views of war? 4. How have the poets studied conveyed their intended message about war? Length: 800 words Questions to consider: 1. Have I given evidence to support all my points? Do I use a variety of examples for my different points, so that I do not repeat myself? Have I integrated any quotations smoothly into my sentences? 2. Have I used connectives such as similarly, in contrast, moreover, furthermore, however etc. to help my argument flow and draw connections and contrasts between my points and examples? 3. Is everything I write relevant to answering the question? Have I really focused on answering the question and avoided talking about my own experiences or opinions about the issues raised in the poems? 4. Have I written formally, without using contractions to shorten words, or any slang expressions, unless I am quoting from a poem? Is my style informative and thoughtful, rather than personal, chatty and repetitive? 5. Finally, how fluent and accurate is my writing? Consider your spelling, sentence structure, use of apostrophes and other punctuation etc. All of these need to be accurate and it is up to YOU to ensure this!
Name............................................ Essay Grid- How to write a perfect poetry paragraph integrating 2 poems and using quotations Paragraph Structure
Ideas, techniques & effects
Topic sentence mentioning both poets and poetms and points of comparison
World War One poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen use similar techniques of sarcasm, contrast and imagery to portray the senseless misery of war in Does it Matter? and Dulce et Decorum Est.
Brief overview of the
poems themes linking to the overall question.
Each poem examines the consequence of fighting along the
Western Front, Owens poem centreing around a man guttering, choking, drowning while Sassoon concerns himself primarily with the fate of those injured in battle.
First point, with examples
from both poems to back up your points.
Sarcasm features heavily in both poems, with Sassoons repetitive
use of disingenuously upbeat rhetorical questions confronting the reader with the irrational brutality of war: does it matter? losing your legs?/ - losing your sight? those dreams from the pit? Similarly, Owens ironic allusion to the old Lie reinforces the destructiveness of patriotic propaganda, while his apostrophic and sarcastic reference to his friend belies the harshness of his tone.
Two or three techniques,
with examples from each and well-integrated evidence that supports your answer to the question
Concluding sentence linking back to the initial question.
Essay Style Use key words from the question Mentioning the poet and poems by name. Identify techniques to be discussed Identify message of war being portrayed Supplement braoder techniques with secondary poetic analysis Use formal language Use linking words for comparing and contrasting
Both poems employ stark contrast to emphasise the misery of war.
Use words to show what the poet Sassoons jolly, anapestic trimeter is at odds with his dark subject is doing, such as confronts matter, as is Owens juxtaposition of children ardent for some desperate glory and soldiers marching like beggars under Refer to specific examples from sacks. the poems to support your point. Powerful imagery further illustrates the devastating effects of war, with Sassoon depicting the heartfelt sorrow of the blind turning [their] face to the light and Owen preferring a more confrontational, alliterative image of white eyes writhing like a devils sick of sin.
Although the tone and setting of each poem is significantly
different, both poems portray the futility and brutality of war through the techniques of sarcasm, contrast and imagery.
Name............................................ Year 11 English CRITERIA DESCRIPTORS Knowledge and Understanding Ideas, values and beliefs explored in the text. Evident by: Exploring and reflecting on your personal understanding of the poems and the significant human experiences represented in them. Ways in which the creators and readers of text use language techniques and conventions to make meaning. Evident by: Analysing your poems and evaluating their content and the appeal of the individual authors literary style. Investigating the use and effect of extended metaphor, metonymy, anaphora, hyperbole, imagery and symbolism in your chosen poems. Ways in which texts are composed for a range of audiences and purposes. Evident by: Identifying the context and meaning of the studied poems, the reasons behind their creation, and the effect of their form and style on the reader. Analysis Of the connections between personal experiences, ideas, values and beliefs, and those explored in a text. Evident by: Interpreting, analysing and evaluating how different perspectives of issue, event, situation, individuals or groups are constructed to serve specific purposes in poetry. Creating imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that present a point of view and advance or illustrate an argument. Of the ways in which language techniques are used to influence opinions and decisions in a range of social contexts. Evident by: Analysing how various structural, figurative and linguistive techniques are used to create meaning in poetry. Exploring the link between message, language, and reader interpretation. Identifying and describing the techniques present in your chosen poems and the ways in which these position us to engage with the poems themes. Communication Accuracy, clarity and fluency of expression Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar Use of linking words to compare, contrast and reflect on the similarities and differences of your chosen poetry Use of an appropriate style and structure for the audience and purpose when composing texts Appropriate paragraph structure, formal language, analytical vocabulary and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
