Cambridge Secondary 2

Guide to Unseen Comparison

Cambridge IGCSE® (9–1)

English Literature 0477

For examination from 2017

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Copyright Acknowledgements:
© Paul Dehn; Ice on the Round Pond, in Fern on the Rock; Messrs Hamish Hamilton Ltd.
© Ronald Duncan; Snapshot, in The Solitudes; David Higham Associates Ltd.

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Contents

Introduction 4
Rationale 5
Component 3 Unseen Comparison 6
Advantages for teaching 6
What needs to be done? 6
Using the set text work resourcefully 6
Approaching unseen poetry and prose – practical advice 7
Teaching context 8
Comparison exercises 9
Developing writing skills for comparison 11
Practical considerations 12
Appendix 14
Exercise 1 14
Exercise 2 15
Guide to Unseen Comparison

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to support teachers when teaching Paper 3 Unseen Comparison of the
Cambridge IGCSE (9−1) English Literature 0477 syllabus. It is intended for those who have previously taught
a Cambridge IGCSE syllabus and also for those who are new to it. Advice is given on how to approach the
requirements of the qualification and how to manage time across the course. There is a section on context
and what it means in this paper, as well as an appendix with examples of note-making and discussion of
potential candidate responses to two sample comparative exercises.

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Rationale
Whether or not learners go on to more advanced studies in English literature or English language, the
practice and techniques of close reading will benefit all the subjects they go on to study and every area of
their future lives. In English literature, these skills are essential to the subject. Devoid of the imperative to
learn extraneous material such as the biography of writers and the history and sociology of the 20th and 21st
century, the new paper focuses on the writers’ methods and the effects they create.

The specific exercise of comparing and contrasting aids observation, analysis and discrimination.

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Guide to Unseen Comparison

Component 3 Unseen Comparison

Component 3 of Cambridge IGCSE (9−1) English Literature is an unseen comparison paper, for which 1 hour
and 30 minutes is allocated. Candidates must answer one question which requires them to compare two
unseen pieces of post-1800 literary writing, either poetry or prose. There is a choice of two questions; drama
extracts will not be used.

Candidates will be presented with a choice of either two poems or two prose extracts to compare; no
comparison between a poem and a piece of prose will be offered.

Details of the five assessment objectives (AOs) are given in the syllabus and the mark scheme is available on
Teacher Support. AO1–AO4 are equally weighted and in common with Paper 1 and Paper 2. AO5 relates to
the assessment of spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG).

Advantages for teaching

• The format of Paper 3 Unseen Comparison establishes fairness for all candidates: they start from the
same background position with the same prompts, allowing for objective, reliable assessment of their
analytical skills in an unseen task.
• Any difficult or unusual words and phrases are covered in the glossary.
• Comparison and contrast exercises illuminate by immediate cross reference. The juxtaposition of two
texts throws into clear relief the similarities and differences of cultural and literary context and form
between them.
• No contextual guesswork is necessary; candidates can feel confident about their close examination
of the issues in the texts in question, on the basis of the evidence before them.
• Simplistic or irrelevant biographical material is avoided; there is a clear focus on the text itself.
• Candidates cannot resort to limited historical knowledge (such as attribution of all 20th century texts
to the influence of World War I or W orld War II).
• The task will always encourage close focus on the words of the poem/prose and provides a secure
basis for analysis.
• You can easily dovetail work on Paper 1 (Poetry and Prose) with the work for Paper 3 (Unseen
Comparison), extending and reinforcing both.
• Your learners are given appropriate scaffolding and plenty of practice means confidence in the
format of the paper and its requirements.

What needs to be done?

Paper 3 Unseen Comparison provides an effective forum to develop learners’ confidence in the following
areas:
• Sharpening skills for tackling unseen work in both poetry and prose
• Introducing and developing techniques for comparing and contrasting
• Practising appropriate essay strategies to incorporate these techniques
o how to plan and make notes before writing
o suitable essay structure, with discourse markers
o varied critical vocabulary
o attention to supporting examples and quotations

It allows you to:

• Manage the timetable and pattern of lessons within your own Centre’s imperatives
• Build a bank of useful resources for practice, incorporating those provided by Cambridge.

Using the set text work resourcefully

All the set text work you are doing for the Poetry and Prose (Paper 1) will be valuable here. W ork on
individual poems in an anthology is best initiated by concentration on the details of language; equally, longer
prose works can be made appealing by highlighting close passage work so that how the novel creates its

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 Guide to Unseen Comparison

effects takes precedence over the historical, social and biographical background of the work, which can be
addressed afterwards.

Additionally, work on the language of Shakespeare and other drama (Paper 2) will advance literary insights
and augment critical vocabulary.

In this way, the skills of close reading and analysis are being reinforced in the work for the other components,
and vice versa

Approaching unseen poetry and prose – practical advice

You may already have a checklist of elements to consider when tackling unseen poetry and prose and these
should now include drawing inferences about social, cultural and literary contexts of poetry and prose texts.
Remind learners that approaching one piece on its own is actually more difficult than two, as in a comparison
exercise the contexts, themes and style of each are thrown into clearer relief by the presence of the second
text.

Poetry
A useful starting point might be to consider the subject matter, situation and voice or point of view in the texts.
(For example, first person memory poem in the past tense about an elderly relative in England set in the
1940s and a present-day, third person, present tense poem presenting the relationship between a parent and
child in India).

A consideration of how the relationships are portrayed or presented might be a useful way into considering
the social or cultural contexts, for example. One poem may present an alienation between the characters and
the other a relationship full of deference, respect and tenderness. One may be written in a strongly narrative
fashion, the other in a more disjointed, less structured form. It is always helpful to have a general overview
before getting into detail. This boosts confidence by giving a sense of control.

Imagery, symbolism and figures of speech may also suggest context. The connotations of particular
colours, references to the natural world or the seasons, classical/religious/mythological allusions may be
characteristic of a particular culture or literary tradition.

Imagery used to convey a setting or sense of place will be a useful point of comparison. One setting may be
in the rural past, the other modern and urban; one domestic, the other set in a natural wilderness. Such
figures of speech can be identified in learners’ work by a system of colour highlighting, underlining and so on.
Sense images (sight, sound, smell, for example) which are not necessarily metaphorical should not be
forgotten. The more common figures of speech should be revised and reinforced constantly; new terminology
can be introduced at regular intervals. Wall posters in the classroom can be effective visual cues.

Parallelism, repetition and antithesis or contrast are in a sense structural, but they are also figures of
speech. Remind learners that consideration of the writer’s methods must lead to an evaluation of the effects
created.

Diction (some prefer the word ‘lexis’) – identifies words which have a particular effect, of course, but words
such as verbs (Tense? Active or passive? Present participles?), nouns (perhaps abstract), descriptive words
and modifiers of various kinds can be central to analysis. Place names, names of characters, colloquialisms,
dialect words, and archaisms may connect the text to a particular time or place. There may be use of gender
specific diction or semantic fields which convey a rural setting, for example. Alertness to words and their
connotations is vital. Class discussion will reinforce consideration of the implications of words, so that an
enquiring approach becomes second nature.

Verse form – Inferences about literary context and the poet's intentions may be drawn from the verse form.
Is the poem a known form such as a sonnet or ballad or in a tradition such as an ode or eulogy? Is it regular
in rhythm? Syllabic verse? Does it rhyme? Is it free verse? Are there repeated lines or refrains? (Be careful
with the distinction between free verse and blank verse – a common learner mistake. Read aloud all poems
to encourage awareness of contrasting use of rhythm and rhyme (or lack thereof) in the two texts.

Sound effects – such as alliteration and assonance – bind words in sound as well as meaning. Such effects
may place the text in a certain literary tradition though some contemporary verse uses effects of assonance
extremely skilfully.

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Guide to Unseen Comparison

Tone – this is more difficult for some learners and needs plenty of scaffolding – introduce useful words such
as angry, wistful, despairing, objective, emotional, measured etc. This may provide another useful point of
comparison.

Mood or atmosphere – created by all the elements working together to create an overall effect.

Prose
Learners may be more familiar with looking at the social and cultural contexts of prose texts from their work
on Paper One. It is worth remembering that, as with poetry, they can also compare and contrast the literary
context of the passages. Just as a ballad can be contrasted to a sonnet, a conventional third-person prose
narration could be contrasted to a first person stream-of-consciousness narrative, perhaps in diary form.
Recent unseen passages, for example, have included a passage from D.H Lawrence's novel The Rainbow
(Father and child relationship, rural English early twentieth century setting, male central character, third
person narrative with passages of description and dialogue/monologue in local dialect) and a passage from a
short story The Finest Story in the World by Annie Saumont (Mother's relationship with husband and
children, contemporary French setting, female central character, mixture of third person narrative from the
mother's perspective and indirect discourse, unpunctuated dialogue and use of lists set apart from the main
body of the text, feminist issues.) So prose offers ample opportunities to infer context.

Useful points to consider in approaching the context of prose passages:

Remind learners that they should always think of the effects created when they answer these questions:

• Who is the voice of the passage and what situation/setting is she/he in? W hat is the narrator's or
voice's gender/age/class/nationality/ethnicity? What is happening – are there specific incidents? Is
this a third person narrative? A first person narrative? What tense are the verbs in? Try to consider
the point of view from which the story is told and the reader’s response to the narrator, whether first
or third person. How has the writer made the reader respond in this way?
• Is the passage from a particular literary genre such as travel, thriller, ghost story, autobiography or in
a particular form, such as diary, epistolary, multiple narratives?
• Characterisation – are there characters other than the narrator? How are they presented/described?
• What kind of relationships are portrayed? Is there any dominance or subservience? Can any cultural
inferences be drawn from this?
• Structure – how many paragraphs? How are they divided? Is there any direct speech? Does this
suggest a particular context? Has indirect or free indirect discourse been used? What effect does this
have? Are there passages of description or dialogue? What is their effect or function?
• Language elements such as figures of speech and diction should be examined for contextual
connotations as in poetry.
• Sentence structure: there are of course no lines or rhymes or regular metrical effects as in poetry.
However, variety and contrast of sentence structures should be looked at. Are there any particularly
long sentences building to a climax? Are there any short emphatic sentences, or ‘sentences’ without
verbs? Is there repetition of, or parallelism in, words, phrases or structures? Does the sentence
construction reflect a particular literary genre?
• Tone and atmosphere need to be considered, as for poetry. The reflective and peaceful tone of a
passage from a travelogue, for example, might be contrasted to the frenetic, active atmosphere of a
contemporary urban context.

Teaching context

The word ‘context’, as defined in the syllabus, may mean the immediate surroundings of a word or phrase in
a sentence, paragraph or stanza; or, in the case of a short text such as a poem or prose extract, its
relatedness to other texts in immediate juxtaposition with it. ‘Context’ may also refer to the world in which the
text was written, as well as its interweaving with the contemporary world of the twenty first century in which
we receive and appreciate it. This relatedness is complex and wide-ranging, especially where it touches on
other disciplines such as history, sociology or biography. The 0477 syllabus centres on the study of
imaginative literature and its concerns, with its primary focus on personal response to, and literary analysis
of, genre, form, structure and language. Information from other disciplines may be interesting and even
useful, but it is background to the core subject and its values.

The contextual background to a text is not only to be defined as historical, social or biographical: it may also
be personal, cultural or literary. A candidate may be superficially familiar with ‘facts’ about the historical or
social background to a text, or indeed the life of the writer, but she/he should also be alert to gender attitudes,

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family tensions, class conflicts or other universal human experiences explored by writers, such as the
contrast between town and country, or the importance of the seasons. Moreover, previous study of literary
works of all kinds develops an appreciation of literary context: genre, traditional conventions and formal
characteristics.

In Paper 1 and Paper 2, candidates will have some historical and social background to inform their work,
though the syllabus clearly advises that any contextual comment of a historical, social or biographical nature
should be accurate, economical and fully integrated into essay responses and that it should be demonstrably
necessary to the answering of a specific question.

The contextual focus for Paper 3 Unseen Comparison specifically emphasises the cultural and those literary
elements that can be adduced from the set task. It requires the comparison and contrast of two unseen
poems or two literary prose passages which are linked though subject matter and/or style, forming an
immediate context of juxtaposition. A reminder – the authors and dates of the writers will NOT be given, so no
extrinsic biographical or historical information (or guesswork) is necessary. A short preamble will always
introduce the topic and directed bullet points will guide the answer.
Here is a list of suggestions for the sort of contextual areas that could be relevant for the questions set on
Paper 3 Unseen Comparison. This list is for guidance and not exhaustive, but it shows clearly that most
cultural context is accessible to learners if they read with care and follow the given prompts.
• Personal, familial, age, gender, nationality, language, class, relative wealth/poverty,
freedom/restriction, health/illness
• Everyday life in a particular era and geographical location: school, work, leisure, holidays, personal
and professional relationships
• Rituals of birth/marriage/death which differ across ages and cultures
• Environment – city/country, the natural world, weather, animals
• Politics, religion, wider conflicts
• Language and style characteristic of different genres: verse forms, conventions, narrative approach,
for example
• References to the Bible, the classics, the visual arts, science, music, folk literature, philosophy: these
would be glossed.

Study of the exemplar material provided will reassure you that the kind of cultural context envisaged is well
within the range of the average candidate and that helpful glosses to unusual words or references will ensure
that your learners can feel confident about their work.

However, it will always be an advantage for a learner to read widely and to take an interest in the world
around them. All classroom exercises should include discussion of cultural context, using the list above as a
starting point. The immediate contexts of gender, age and family are not only readily accessible to all
learners, but the stuff of much literature – the well-known phrase ‘the battle of the sexes’ springs to mind.
Both of the exercises in the appendix suggest what would constitute appropriate contextual comment.

Comparison exercises
Tackling a specific question
The question should be read through carefully and key words highlighted. The wording of the task will include
helpful bullet points given as a prompt for what must be incorporated in answers, though these do not
necessarily have to be followed in order. They are not an essay plan, but a guide and reminder. The
Specimen Paper and mark scheme are helpful exemplar documents, showing clearly the likely qualities of
response.

How to plan and make notes

About 20 minutes is advised for reading and planning before writing. Each poem or passage should be read
carefully more than once.

Candidates should use rough paper or the first page of their answer booklet to make a comparative diagram,
with a line down the centre, poem/prose 1 on the left and poem/prose 2 on the right. Headings (such as
figures of speech, tone etc.) should be used and observations for one of the pieces noted. Looking at the
other, it will be easy for the learner to include the related point from the second piece and to see clearly
where the two differ. Check carefully that the question’s bullet points have been addressed. This
method is very helpful for structuring the final written response.

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Guide to Unseen Comparison

Making a ‘mind map’ or ‘spider plan’ is not advised here: these are free-form and ‘three-dimensional’
diagrams. The specific exercise, relating two works to each other in terms of similarities and differences,
demands a binary approach which can be advanced from the beginning by using a comparative diagram.
In the Appendix you will find two examples of paired poems and a discussion of some potential candidate
responses to them. The second example is for the specimen question provided for this component.

Writing a comparative essay

Some learners find it difficult to handle two separate poems or passages. They should be reminded that the
instruction given is to ‘compare’ or ‘compare and contrast’, so they must be seen to be answering the
question from the word go. (‘Compare and contrast’ is a favourite formula – reassure them that it just means
discuss the similarities and differences. Even if they just have the word ‘compare’, they should still also
contrast, and it is important to consider similarities as well as differences.)

Method 1
This is the method which the note making section above most obviously leads to:
• An introduction, with reference in general terms to the focus of the question in both poems or prose
passages – perhaps referring to similar concerns or subject matter
• The main body of the essay is organised thematically, with a topic for each paragraph that refers to
both poems/passages and compares them from the outset (for example use of extended metaphor,
repetitive structure, verse form/rhyme and so on). The question’s bullet points must be included
• A conclusion which sums up the comparative argument and perhaps includes personal response.

This clearly tackles the question’s focus on comparison from the outset but could lead to a muddled essay
structure if the learner finds essay structuring difficult. On the other hand, the planning and note making
advice could, over time, help such learners.

Method 2
This method should perhaps only be recommended for learners who continue to find the ‘interweaving’ of
comments difficult.
• An introduction, with reference in general terms to the focus of the question in both poems/passages
– perhaps to similar concerns or subject matter
• The first paragraph of the essay deals with the first poem/passage, referring to all the elements of
language, structure tone etc. The next paragraph deals with the second poem, comparing with the
first poem as it goes, and from that point on, the essay is entirely comparative. It is possible to move
from one piece to the other in successive paragraphs but they must give equal weight to each and
they must compare and contrast. The question’s bullet points must be included
• A conclusion which sums up the comparative argument and perhaps includes personal response.

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Developing writing skills for comparison

Useful words and phrases for comparison exercises (discourse markers)
These phrases are useful to help learners to point the structure of their essays logically and can ultimately
help to include personal response comments in a comparative way.

Poem A uses ..... whereas poem B .....

The two prose passages are similar in the way that .....

Poem A is ..... On the other hand Poem B …..

Passage B has a great deal of ..... which has a ......effect, whilst Passage A .....

Both poems have an effective .....

Passage A ..... However, in contrast, Passage B .....

Considering that they deal with the same subject, the two poems differ considerably in the methods they use.

I find Poem A ..... but I think Poem B is more .....

Although Passage A ..... , Passage B .....

(This list could be extended as you work through examples).

Incorporating appropriate examples

Remind learners that successful quotation from the text is to give:
• Evidence that they have read the texts really thoroughly
• Evidence to support detailed points in their argument
• Evidence that they appreciate how the writer’s use of language and style contributes to the effect.

They do not need to quote at length. Two lines is the absolute maximum for poetry; a few words would be
better. If they can integrate the quotation within their own sentence, this is probably the most effective.

The well-known formula PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) can lead to a paraphrase, which is never helpful.
Point, evidence, explore would be better advice. Make the point, illustrate it and then discuss it.

The advantage of this method is that a more anxious learner may feel confident that s/he has the material
under control, dealing first with one and then with the other, making comparative interpretations and
evaluations only as they get into the second poem or passage. The disadvantage of this method is that the
learner might get carried away with Poem/Passage A and then not write much about Poem/Passage B; or
forget to compare and write two almost separate mini-analyses with very little comparison. If this happens,
the point of the question will have been lost and the relevance of the essay will suffer accordingly.

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Guide to Unseen Comparison

Practical considerations

Guided learning hours

The syllabus suggests that Cambridge International Level 1/Level 2 syllabuses certificates are designed on
the assumption that learners have about 130 guided learning hours per subject over the duration of the
course, but that these may vary according to local curricular practice and the learners’ prior experience of the
subject. In the case of the English subjects, most learners will have undertaken Key Stage 3 work in
literature. However, English literature is not always timetabled separately from English Language.

Whatever your own situation, regular and consistent practice – at least half an hour a week preparing for
Paper 3 Unseen Comparison over the duration of the course, using the widest possible range of material – is
recommended. Work on poetry and prose set texts from Paper 1 and Paper 2 can be helpful in the
reinforcement of basic approaches and poems from the set anthology compared and contrasted.

Building a bank of resources

Suitable poems and passages for comparison should be sought by all members of staff involved in the
teaching of the subject and filed centrally. Their relevance will outlast the set texts on Paper 1 and Paper 2,
so all work done here will be useful. Prose exemplars should be chosen from the 19th, 20th and 21st
centuries.

• Textbooks:

Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English, Carey R, (2012)

Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English Workbook, Carey R, (2015)

English Literature for Cambridge IGCSE (with CD), Pedroz M, (2014)

Cambridge IGCSE Exam Skills Builder English Literature (with CD), Oxford University Press (2013)

Stories of Ourselves, Cambridge International Examinations (2008)

Songs of Ourselves, Cambridge International Examinations (2005)

Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Cambridge International Examinations (2014)

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Cambridge support

Materials to support the syllabus can be found at Teacher Support and include:
• Scheme of work
• Example Candidate Responses
• Syllabus summary document
• Mapping to 0486 syllabus

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Guide to Unseen Comparison

Appendix

The following exercises are designed to give a practical illustration of the way in which candidates might
approach two poems for a comparative exercise. Exercise 1 has been chosen as a particularly
straightforward example to help in the scaffolding of comparative responses, with question wording very
similar to that in the Specimen paper. Exercise 2 is the Specimen Paper exercise provided for teachers to
use.

Exercise 1

Read carefully the following poems about poets. Compare the ways in which activities are described and the
writing of a poem is portrayed.

In your answer you should comment closely on the effects of language, style and form and how contexts are
suggested by the writing.

To help you answer this question you might consider:

• The images of the seasons
• The ways in which the human figures are portrayed
• The differences suggested in the creative process and attitudes of the two poet characters in the
poems.

Poem A: Snapshot by Ronald Duncan Poem B: Ice on the Round Pond by Paul Dehn

Autumn like a pheasant’s tail This was a dog’s day, when the land
Lifts over the hedge. Lay black and shite as a Dalmatian
And kite chased terrier kite
An old man sits in a deckchair In a Kerry Blue sky.
A paperbacked novel on his knees
not reading; This was a boy’s day, when the wind
Cut tracks in the sky on skates
His worried wife forks And noon leaned over like a snowman
Feely round her border of michaelmas daisies; To melt in the sun.
not hoping.
This was a poet’s day, when the mind
Along the lane, a small girl with a pink bow Lay paper-white in a winter’s peace
Runs home looking as contained as an apple: And watched the printed bird-tracks
not knowing. Turn into words.

Approaches to commenting on and comparing the contexts of the poems

The question and bullet points in this specimen exercise direct the candidates towards the poems being
about the creative process and thus very much in a literary context. The focus on the seasons should help
candidates to look at the use of nature in the poems. This is, of course, very much in the traditions of English
literature and something with which they may be familiar from their reading of set texts for Paper One.

A useful starting point might be a consideration of setting. The poems are set in a temperate climate zone − in
Poem A − a clearly defined autumn, where leaves change colour and fall, and in Poem B a winter setting with
ice and snow. Snapshot is set in a rural village and Ice on the Round Pond in the urban park of London's
Kensington Gardens. This is very much England and not the tropics. Flora and fauna (pheasant, Michaelmas

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daisies, apple, beech) typical of Northern Europe are referred to in Snapshot and the dog breeds in Ice on the
Round Pond (Dalmatian, Kerry Blue) are domestic, not wild.

Both landscapes are seen from a poet's perspective. Both the humans and the scenery are fuel for the poet's
imagination. The title Snapshot contains the idea of a poem being a short, quick capturing and preserving of
a moment in time and space. Ice on the Round Pond could easily be the title of a painting rather than a
poem.

Below are some suggestion of how candidates at different levels might approach the issues of context and
comparison:

At a basic level candidates may look at the autumn setting in one poem and the winter setting in the other.
There may be some response to the people in Snapshot − to what they are doing and to the everyday village
context. Candidates may track the references to winter in Ice on the Round Pond citing the references to
skates, snowmen and bird tracks in the snow but probably without reference to their figurative use. More
developed answers in this range might look at the contrasting activities in the two poems but may comment
on these separately.

Mid-range responses might develop the seasonal contrast with some comment on the colours suggested by
the pheasant's tail and apple similes and the 'copper pavilion' metaphor in Snapshot and the black and white
imagery of Ice on the Round Pond, along with the clear blue sky of an icy day. There may be more implicit
awareness of the symbolism of autumn and the negatives of the old man 'not reading', his wife being
'worried' and the child and labourer 'not knowing' and' not seeing' respectively. Candidates might begin to
explore the connotations of the 'poet as pickpocket' image. At the top end of the range this autumnal
lassitude might be contrasted with the activeness in Ice on the Round Pond and the use of personification to
suggest the winter weather may be explored.

Stronger responses may show more awareness of the symbolism of autumn in English literature. As in
Keats' Ode to Autumn there is beauty but things are beginning to die. W inter is presented in a contrasting
way. The poem is in the past tense but still suggests vibrant activity with the repetition in 'kite chased terrier
kite' and the personification of the wind which alliteratively 'cut tracks in the sky on skates'. Candidates at this
level may be expected to pay more attention to the ideas of poetic creativity. The poet in Snapshot does not
belong but observes and steals moments of other's lives in an underhand fashion. The image of the poet is
more peaceful and less self-critical in Ice on the Round Pond. The snow creates a blank canvas on which to
work and nature informs art. Verse form may be contrasted and linked to theme at this level. The effects of
the refrain in Snapshot and the repetition in Ice on the Round Pond may be explored and candidates may
comment on how the structures of both poems build up to a climax, ending with the poet himself and reflect
upon the effect this has on reader response.

There are many poems, for example, by Seamus Heaney or Tony Harrison, which write about writing and the
candidates’ wider reading may help inform their response to this theme here. The poet of Ice on the Round
Pond seems more at home with his creative process, whereas there is a sense of guilt and alienation in
Snapshot which may be explored in sophisticated responses.

Exercise 2

Read carefully the following poems about women (also used in the Paper 3 Specimen Paper). Compare the
ways in which the poets strikingly portray the women and their lives in these two poems.
In your answer you should comment closely on the effects of language, style and form and how contexts are
suggested by the writing.

To help you answer this question, you might consider:

• the images of the tigers and of the breakfast table
• the ways in which the poets present the two women
• how the poets convey to you the differences between the lives of the two women.

Poem A
In the following poem, the poet writes about her Aunt Jennifer whose hobby is to weave tapestry. One of
these tapestries includes tigers in a hunting scene.

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Guide to Unseen Comparison

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich

Poem B
In the following poem a young woman arrives at breakfast after an early morning walk.

Still-Life by Elizabeth Daryush

Approaches to commenting on and comparing the contexts of the poems

The question and bullet points on this specimen question aim to support the candidates in adducing the
cultural and literary context of the poems by focussing their attention on gender, the use of symbolism and the
suggestions of differences in age, class and lifestyle.

A useful starting point would be to begin with an overview of how the writers portray the two women and their
lives and to note the striking differences between them. This then covers the key areas of context and
comparison.

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers portrays a rather fearful and oppressed married woman, presumably in late middle age,
whereas Still-life concerns a young, single, heiress with the world at her feet. Both women are strikingly
symbolised by the objects surrounding them. Aunt Jennifer seems imprisoned by marriage as suggested by

16 Cambridge IGCSE® (9–1) English Literature 0477

 Guide to Unseen Comparison

the 'massive weight' of Uncle's wedding ring which 'sits heavily' on her hand. The tigers she creates, however,
seem to be her legacy or representatives of her inner artistry and fearless spirit.

Still-life begins with the perfect breakfast table symbolising a luxurious, privileged, charmed existence. The
details tell us much about the context. There is a literary stereotype in the sophistication of the setting, with
French W indow, roses, silver utensils and Worcester porcelain. The woman is alone but has many letters,
suggesting the context of a vibrant social life and the focus is all on the future. Aunt Jennifer's Tigers, on the
other hand, suggests that the protagonist is nearing the end of her life, and unlike the freedom the young
heiress seems to have in front of her, Aunt Jennifer is 'terrified', trapped and 'mastered'.

Contextually the lives of women here are from an earlier, less liberated era. The young heiress's life may
seem idyllic but the title may suggest that it is idle and static, a prison of its own kind. Aunt Jennifer is
imprisoned and trapped by the unspecified 'ordeals' she has been subject to and is fearful of men. She is
somewhat in the literary tradition of Penelope or The Lady of Shallot but with the prancing tigers in her soul.

There is ample opportunity for exploration of context and comparison of the striking ways in which the poets
present their subjects to us. The verse forms contrast with Aunt Jennifer's Tigers being written in tight
couplets in regular quatrains, suggesting the Aunt's constrained life and Still-life in the form of a
Shakespearian sonnet, with the heiress making a striking entrance in the sestet, after her environment has
been clearly conveyed to us. Both poems have striking, optimistic final couplets.

Below are some suggestion of how candidates at different levels might approach the issues of context and
comparison:

At a basic level there may be a response to Aunt Jennifer's situation, perhaps picking up on the
gender/era/age implications of her tapestry hobby and to the depiction of the tigers. The basic narrative of
Still-life might be considered with an appreciation of the luxury of the breakfast .There may be a little
response to the diction such as: 'prance...proud...warm sun...polished' in stronger answers in this range and
some basic engagement with the content. Candidates may make intermittent comment on both poems. There
may be some response to imagery or the use of rhyme with some quotation. Some responses may consider
only one poem, whereas stronger answers may make some broad descriptions of both or some simple
comparisons such as the contrast between the age and lifestyle of the two women.

Mid-range responses would directly address the stem question and show some understanding of the deeper
contextual issues such as Aunt Jennifer's oppression and the contrast between her life and the tigers she
creates and/or the charmed existence of the heiress in Still-life as symbolised by the breakfast table.
Candidates may begin to analyse how the poet's language conveys the vivid glory of the tigers using
techniques such as imagery, listing and alliteration: 'bright topaz' and 'prancing, proud and unafraid'. There
may be response to how Aunt Jennifer's fear is conveyed by 'terrified hands' or the effects of the repetition of
'silver', or the implications of 'fairy' in Still-life. Candidates may make a personal response to the type of
lifestyle portrayed or to the way in which the poets use the objects that surround them to portray the two
women.

Stronger answers might be expected to show some appreciation of the historical and cultural context in terms
of the role of women and the kind of lives they lead. They may consider these separately though they may
make some comparisons or engage with the striking contrast between the two portrayals.

Such responses should show clear understanding of the portrayals of the women and their lives in both
poems and make a comparison between them. The striking depiction of Aunt Jennifer's oppression as in the
'massive weight' of the wedding band which 'rings' her with ordeals and 'sits heavily' may be considered.
There may be a response to what the tigers in their 'sleek, chivalric certainty' represent in terms of what the
poet wishes to convey about her Aunt. The contrast between this and the 'charmed life' in Still-life created by
diction such as 'arrayed' and the soft sounds, metaphors and similes in the sestet, may feature. There may
be a considered personal response to the fierceness and intensity of the portrayal of Aunt Jennifer's life and
to the implicit criticism of that of the heiress as implicit in in the ambiguity of the title and 'future lies' and in the
lack of individualisation − she has no name unlike Aunt Jennifer. Answers in this range may be strongly
grounded in an awareness of the gender and class issues underlying these poems and very strong
responses might also refer to the literary traditions of ballad and sonnet, myth and legend which may

Cambridge IGCSE® (9–1) English Literature 0477 17

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