Anthology Poetry Comparison Past Exam Questions – Edexcel English Literature IGCSE (4ET1/01) Paper 1 Section B
The poetry comparison section of the exam is one that tests several skills. You will need to be able to understand the nuance and meaning for both poems before comparing language form and structure. Practising on past exam questions will allow you to know and understand the style, format and type of questions that may be asked in the exam.
For the Edexcel IGCSE English Literature exam, the poetry questions relating to the Anthology requires you to compare two poems. You have the option of comparing two named poems from the Anthology or one named with another of your choice. The purpose of this part of the exam is to test your ability to analyse language used by poets and also test your ability to explore links and connections between two poems. For a more detailed guide on how to answer these comparison questions, read How to answer the Poetry Comparison Question.
What you need to know
Paper 1 Section B: Anthology Poetry
This section of the test was not tested during the Covid years (2021, 2022). The complete paper has been reinstated from January 2023 onwards.
In Section B of Paper 1, you have to answer one out of a choice of two questions.
Aim: develop skills to compare a range of poetry
One 30 mark essay question from a choice of 2 comparing two poems from Part 3 of the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Anthology. You must be able to apply knowledge of poetic form, content and meaning to compare poems.
You need to:
- demonstrate understanding of how writers create literary effects using, for example, imagery, descriptive skills, language choice, tone and mood, structure and form
- understand and use appropriate literary terminology
- make comparisons between poems, including use of language, structure and form
- identify and use relevant examples from poems.
Questions will test the following Assessment Objectives:
AO2 Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects.
AO3 Explore links and connections between texts.
So far, the questions have been in the style of:
Question 2 compare two named poems from the Anthologies based loosely on a ‘theme’. E.g. compare how the writers present – isolation, loneliness, childhood etc.
and
Question 3 compare one named poem and one of your own choice, here again centred lovely around a theme. E.g. compare how the writers present sadness, personal thoughts, death etc.
List of set texts:
If– – Rudyard Kipling
Prayer Before Birth – Louis MacNeice
Blessing – Imtiaz Dharker
Search For My Tongue – Sujata Bhatt
Half-past Two – U A Fanthorpe
Piano – D H Lawrence
Hide and Seek – Vernon Scannell
Sonnet 116 – William Shakespeare
La Belle Dame sans Merci – John Keats
Poem at Thirty-Nine – Alice Walker
War Photographer – Carol Ann Duffy
The Tyger – William Blake
My Last Duchess – Robert Browning
Half-caste – John Agard
Do not go gentle into that good night – Dylan Thomas
Remember – Christina Rossetti
Related
Anthology Poems Comparison Past Exam Questions
Also read: Edexcel IGCSE English Literature: How to Answer the Poetry Comparison Question (Paper 1 Section B)
May 2024
EITHER
2 Re-read Half-caste and Remember.
Compare the ways the writers express their feelings in Half-caste and Remember. You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Half-past Two.
Compare the ways the writers present being alone in Half-past Two and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
May 2024 Resit
EITHER
Re-read Piano and Remember.
Compare how the writers present remembering in Piano and Remember. You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
Re-read If–.
Compare the ways the writers present giving advice in If– and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Nov 2023
EITHER
2 Re-read Sonnet 116 and My Last Duchess.
Compare how the writers present their thoughts about relationships in Sonnet 116 and My Last Duchess.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Do not go gentle into that good night.
Compare the ways the writers present emotions in Do not go gentle into that good night and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
June 2023
EITHER
2 Re-read Search For My Tongue and Half-caste.
Compare how the writers present concerns about language in Search For My Tongue and Half-caste.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Poem at Thirty-Nine.
Compare the ways the writers present family relationships in Poem at Thirty-Nine and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
June 2023 Resit
EITHER
2 Re-read If– and Prayer Before Birth.
Compare how the writers present thoughts about life in If– and Prayer Before Birth.
You should make reference to language, form and structure.
Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Piano.
Compare the ways the writers present love for another person in Piano and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Jan 2023
EITHER
2 Re-read Half-past Two and Sonnet 116.
Compare how the writers present the passing of time in Half-past Two and Sonnet 116.
You should make reference to language, form and structure.
Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Blessing.
Compare the ways the writers present the story of an event in Blessing and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Jan 2023 Resit
EITHER
2 Re-read Poem at Thirty-Nine and Do not go gentle into that good night.
Compare how the writers present feelings about fathers in Poem at Thirty-Nine and Do not go gentle into that good night. You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Search For My Tongue.
Compare the ways the writers present loss in Search For My Tongue and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Read a sample answer comparing Search for My Tongue and Half-caste on www.blueberrysnail.com
Nov 2020
EITHER
2 Re-read Hide and Seek and War Photographer.
Compare how the writers present isolation in Hide and Seek and War Photographer. You should make reference to language, form and structure.
Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Piano.
Compare the ways the writers present recollections of the past in Piano and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Nov 2020 Resit
EITHER
2 Re-read Blessing and The Tyger.
Compare how the writers present a sense of wonder in Blessing and The Tyger. You should make reference to language, form and structure.
Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read My Last Duchess.
Compare the ways the writers present people who want to control others in My Last Duchess and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Jan 2020
EITHER
2 Re-read If – and Do not go gentle into that good night.
Compare the ways the writers present people giving advice to others in If – and Do not go gentle into that good night.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Remember.
Compare how the writers present sadness in Remember and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Jan 2020 Resit
EITHER
2 Re-read Half-past Two and Hide and Seek.
Compare how the writers present childhood in Half-past Two and Hide and Seek. You should make reference to language, form and structure.
Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read La Belle Dame sans Merci.
Compare the ways the writers present a woman in La Belle Dame sans Merci and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
(Total for Question 3 = 30 marks)
May 2019
EITHER
2 Re-read Prayer Before Birth and Half-caste.
Compare the ways the writers present concerns about society in Prayer Before Birth and Half-caste.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Blessing.
Compare how the writers present a moment in time in Blessing and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
(Total for Question 3 = 30 marks)
May 2019 Resit
EITHER
2 Re-read Search For My Tongue and Poem at Thirty-Nine.
Compare the ways the writers present memories in Search For My Tongue and Poem at Thirty-nine.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Sonnet 116.
Compare how the writers convey personal thoughts in Sonnet 116 and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Jan 2019 Paper 1
EITHER
2 Re-read La Belle Dame sans Merci and My Last Duchess.
Compare the ways the writers present a story in La Belle Dame sans Merci and My Last Duchess.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems
OR
3 Re-read The Tyger.
Compare how the writers present power in The Tyger and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
Jan 2019 Resit
EITHER
Re-read Half-past Two and War Photographer.
Compare the ways the writers present experiences of different types of difficult situations in Half-past Two and War Photographer.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
OR
3 Re-read Do not go gentle into that good night.
Compare how the writers present death in Do not go gentle into that good night and one other poem from the anthology.
You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.
