GCSE English Literature

Pack 3

Candidates and comparison

'Moreover the poem is very structured and is split in different stanzas, this possibly conveys that the writer is in hold of their

emotions and feelings and is very controlled.' (Higher Tier)

'In 'A Room in the Past' the structure of the poem is very free verse which creates a serious thoughts of the narrator is trying

to say. Also the free verse of the poem might imply the writer is very in control of his emotions.' (Higher Tier)

‘Both poems are about how difficult it is to be old and how we should feel sorry for old people and help them.’ (Foundation

Tier)

‘Both poems have ‘thirty years’ in them, suggesting they’re about the past.’ (Higher Tier)

‘Both poems use caesuras…’ (Higher Tier)

‘The second poem has more stanzas in it and each stanza has more lines than the other.’ (Higher Tier)

‘Both poems use colours to add more interest for the reader.’ (Higher Tier)

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Poetry Sample 1

How are themes of love and loss presented in 'Antonia’s story' by Owen

Sheers and 'Daylight Robbery' by Paul Henry?

‘Antonia's Story’ by Owen Sheers is the story of a man who gets turned away by the

love of his life and dies trying to get attention. The love is between partners in a

relationship and in this poem there is a real loss, a death. ‘Daylight Robbery’ by Paul

Henry features a different sort of love; a love a father feels for his son. The loss in

this poem is the loss of innocence of the son. The connection between the poems is

the presentation of love and loss.

In ‘Antonia's Story’, I can tell the 'love' is a violent and abusive relationship by the

violent language used in stanza one. 'Fists’ suggests thuds and anger. The ‘dull

thud’ is mirrored by her heartbeat as she tries to sleep. The reference to ‘heart’ could

suggest that she is emotionally attached the person beating on the door though it

seems that she has become used to the man beating on the door and she can fall

asleep while it happens. The writer uses onomatopoeia to describe the sound of the

violent boyfriend when he says 'thuds' and 'beats'. The noises get progressively

softer, from a 'thud' to a 'beat' to a 'rustle'. This suggests the softer sound shows

how she is falling asleep. This implies that she is very used to the violence, or she

doesn't take his threats seriously.

Antonia feels that she does not want to be in the relationship with her partner

anymore. The writer explains that Antonia has 'only one dream', this dream being to

be free. Owen Sheers then uses religious allusions about Eve and Adam and the

Garden of Eden. This shows her dream is of freedom and independence; also she

has out grown God. Antonia is ready to be free. Next the sounds from stanza one

return. They're all heard at the same time, which is the moment of the man's death.

The poet uses irony when the woman is dreaming as her dream becomes reality

when he falls and dies, so she becomes free of him.

Comment [SS1]: Clear introduction.

Comment [SS2]: Considering language.

Comment [SS3]: Aware of structure.

Comment [SS4]: Not explained/justified very convincingly.

Comment [SS5]: These ideas could be more fully explained.

3

In stanza three and four Antonia realises what has happened to her lover. The writer

uses 'she woke' as a transition back to reality from the dream. He then says how

she awoke to 'fists', not 'his fists' suggesting she knows they are different fists on the

door. The line 'surprised by the persistence of love' shows she was surprised that he

has loved her enough to keep going all night. This begins a change in how Antonia

speaks about her lover. Whereas before the death the man was described only

negative ways, now he is portrayed more positively.

She asks a question: ‘Why is he lying on the lawn, so pale and quiet?’ This suggests

some kind of concern for the man’s accident. Antonia feels her lover is the important

one and she betrays her dedication to him. The writer contrasts the beginning of the

poem where this lover was violent and aggressive with the description 'pale and

quiet', which shows the man is now peaceful. Religious symbolism is used when

Owen Sheers writes that the lover is 'covered in dew'. 'Dew' is part of religious

symbolism which is linked to the 'dew of heaven'. This is often used to mean a

blessing. He is blessed; she is not. Antonia realises that the drainpipe the man had

climbed to reach her was ‘broken’, like their relationship, and the phrase ‘ripe in the

night’ reminds us of her dream at the beginning of the poem about an apple ripening

and falling to the ground. The fall of the apple reflects the end of its contact with the

tree and his fall suggests his separation from her. The poet uses repetition of the

word 'broken' to convey it will never be the same.

In the fifth and sixth stanza of the poem, we see how though Antonia had wished for

separation in reality the loss she has made her trapped. The quotation ‘each night

she unlocks the door’ suggest that she is trapped in a never-ending cycle. The use

of the words 'each night' shows that this is a constant battle she fights every night,

attempting to open the door to let her lover in. This is chain of events has been

caused by Antonia. The poem continually use the word 'and' shows that one thing

followed another - Antonia believes her shutting the door is ultimately to blame for

her lover’s death. The poem suggests that we do not always like what we wish for

when we get it.

Comment [SS6]: Sensible comment.

Comment [SS7]: Reasonable point which could be developed.

Comment [SS8]: Sees inference.

Comment [SS9]: Neat internal link.

Comment [SS10]: Thoughtful comment.

Comment [SS11]: Prepared to consider thematic content.

4

In the poem 'Daylight Robbery' a father is watching his son have his hair cut and he

comes to the realisation that his sons is growing up. We see this when the son has

a hair cut.

Through out the poem the narrator presents the son as a different person: 'a different

boy in the mirror’. This suggests he doesn't know his son anymore. Later on he

refers to his son as a 'stranger' and this suggests he has lost his son in some

respects at the hairdressers.

The writer uses sibilance to draw attention to the qualities the boy has lost and

gained during the visit to the hairdressers. For example, he is now 'suddenly

serious’ and 'silent'. These are not childish qualities because as a child nothing

matters. He is 'blushing’ because he has become more aware of the world around

him whereas he didn't care before. He loses his childlike features and gains older

qualities. The father directly references the hair cut as being the physical change

(‘out of blond curls’), which causes the loss of these emotional qualities.

In the second stanza of the poem there is imagery that links to the loss to death in

the quotation 'when the sun lies in its ashes'. The word 'sun' is being used as a

homophone of 'son'. The use of the word 'ashes' relates to death, grief and deathly

imagery. The father feels that his son is getting buried and a new older boy is being

born from the ashes. It shows how harshly the father feels this loss.

The father doesn't seem to believe that the son is growing up. We begin to discover

this in the quotation 'this seven year old begins to see'. The use of the word 'begins'

suggests that not until the child is sitting down does he see a difference in his son.

This suggests the father has been refusing to believe his son is naturally growing up

and this is the father's way of blaming the barbers for the child growing up.

The father's grieving is all to do with the loss of his son as a small child. Throughout

the poem the author uses imagery to make the dad look like a victim as can be seen

in the quotation 'and when the crime’s done'. The father starts to understand that the

son has changed forever. The use of the word 'crime' suggests wrong offensive and

illegal acts. The father continues to use such imagery in the reference to 'identify

Comment [SS12]: Appropriate introduction.

Comment [SS13]: Aware of the basic theme.

Comment [SS14]: Sees the change in the child.

Comment [SS15]: Quotation does not quite support the point. Lack of clarity here.

5

parade' and reinforces it with the title – ‘Daylight Robbery’. The father may think that

his son is too young to grow up but has to come to the realisation that his 'old' son is

lost, stolen from him in broad daylight as a result of the haircut.

‘Daylight Robbery’ is written in a free verse throughout. This represents the son's

freedom, which is shown by 'his hand slips from mine' in the last stanza. The fact

that the poem never rhymes shows the loss isn’t a harmonious event as is also the

case in ‘Antonia’s Story’.

There are many differences and similarities between the two poems. For example,

both poems use some of the common stages of grief, denial being one in ‘Antonia’s

Story’ when it says 'why is he lying on the lawn, so pale and quiet’. Later we learn

she stops locking the door at night almost suggesting that she believes that her lover

will return. In 'Daylight Robbery' the sense of denial is shown when he says 'his hand

slips from mine'. This shows the father has only now come to terms with his son

growing up.

Loss is a theme both poems share but the loss is different. In ‘Antonia's Story', the

loss is physical and permanent as her lover dies. He had fallen from the broken

drainpipe. On the other hand, the loss in 'Daylight Robbery' is metaphorical 'a

different boy in the mirror’. This shows the son’s loss of childhood innocence and the

start of a new kind of relationship with his father.

At the beginning, the father wants to keep hold of his son but Antonia is ready to let

her lover go, and she actually wishes for it in her dream of one dark sleep with the

one dream 'of an apple which falls ripe in the night’. Yet the father in 'Daylight

Robbery' regrets how 'his hand slips from mine' which symbolises the beginning of a

new relationship. It still hurts, though, that he feels, now his son has grown up a bit

with his new haircut, he cannot be completely protected. The hand slipping is ‘final’

proof that the child is not now locked to his father. The final simile ‘like a final,

forgotten strand snipped from its lock’ suggests a new freedom for the child who is

no longer locked to his father. In ‘Antonia’s Story’, the woman has not achieved this

new freedom. Instead she’s locked into her regret about locking the door, which

resulted in the loss of her partner.

Comment [SS16]: Able to comment on extended image.

Comment [SS17]: Simple link made.

Comment [SS18]: Reasonable link.

Comment [SS19]: Clear link.

Comment [SS20]: Link more fully developed.

6

In 'Daylight Robber' after the loss, the father reacts as if he’s experienced a death

when he says 'lies in its ashes'. Antonia’s loss continues as she has realised the

‘persistence of love’, which can now never be fulfilled.

Lastly the father blames the barber when the 'scissors round a bend' a 'crime’s

done'. This shows the father thinks what the barber has done is illegal whereas

Antonia feels guilty herself as she has caused the definite end of the relationship.

Along with differences there are also similarities. For example, after the loss both

protagonists idealise the past. Antonia’s lover is peaceful; 'pale and quiet', 'covered

in dew' and in ‘Daylight Robbery’ the father says that the barber’s chair was

‘suddenly serious’ while ‘last year’ it had been ‘a roundabout’. Also both poems have

structures that are basically narratives although we know the narrator in ‘Daylight

Robbery’ while in the other poem it seems to be recounted by somebody Antonia

has told the story to.

I enjoyed reading both poems though my favourite was ‘Daylight Robbery’ as it

reminded me of how much my relationship with my father has changed over the

years. I realise now how difficult some of those changes must have been for my

father which is something I had never thought about before.

AO1 Critical response to texts

This candidate makes ‘detailed reference to texts’ and is able to comment on

relationships and characters. There is occasional probing of the sub-text though

some points are not fully developed and occasionally aspects of the poems are not

considered in much depth. Generally, the ideas are conveyed ‘clearly’. It deserves a

Band 5 mark of 5.

AO2 Language, structure and form.

Throughout the essay there is a serious effort made to grapple with the language of

the texts. The ability to show a clear ‘appreciation of how meaning and ideas are

conveyed’ is evident throughout the essay. A Band 5 mark of 5 is fair for this work.

Comment [SS21]: Reasonable comment.

Comment [SS22]: Considers points of similarity.

Comment [SS23]: Interesting personal comment.

7

AO3 Making links and comparisons.

There is a number of clear links/comparisons made though most could be

developed. Nevertheless, the candidate makes some ‘evaluation of subject, theme,

character and the impact of the texts’. This deserves a Band 4 mark of 9.

Total: 19

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Poetry Sample 2

Both Nigel Jenkins' poem 'Wild Cherry' and Jean Earle's poem 'Jugged

Hare' consider relationships. After looking at the poems in detail,

compare how the two poets present these relationships.

Both Nigel Jenkins' poem 'Wild Cherry' and Jean Earle’s Poem 'Jugged Hare'

explore and tell the stories of two couples who are not consumed by love. In

fact, any love that may once have been shared has now been lost.

The title 'Jugged Hare' simply refers to the meal the mother is creating for the

speaker’s father. However, as the hare is seen as a sacrifice, it also

represents all that she has had to give up in order to become the perfect wife.

Likewise, 'Wild Cherry' may represent how their relationship is temporary and

will die along with the wild cherry blossoms. Both poems are named after the

gifts to highlight how important they are. As well as this, both gifts represent

an aspect of the relationships in the two poems. Jenkins tells us of a man

who goes to extreme lengths to get his girlfriend the 'flounciest sprays'. While

Earle tells us of a woman who goes to great lengths, though not as dangerous

as in 'Wild Cherry', to make her husband the perfect meal. In 'Wild Cherry' he

seems to be doing it out of devotion, while in 'Jugged Hare' all the effort she

puts in from duty and not love.

The structure of 'Wild Cherry' is very simple. It recounts the collecting of the

blossom, the woman’s acceptance of the flowers and the inevitable outcome

as the gift is discarded. Like all poetry, understanding relies on the reader

thinking carefully about language choices. 'Jugged Hare' is also narrative in

structure with the cooking of the hare, the meal and the sexual intercourse

aftermath. In this poem, the reader has to consider the sub-text carefully

because it is here that the true meaning lies, highlighting how the wife’s life is

not perfect, but messy and confusing. 'Wild Cherry' is written in first person

making the poem private and personal. In contrast, the scene in 'Jugged Hare'

is considered through both the naïve eyes of the couple’s daughter, as well as

the more understanding eyes of the daughter when she is grown up. The

Comment [SS1]: Clear start.

Comment [SS2]: Perceptive comment.

Comment [SS3]: Able to make thoughtful links between poems.

Comment [SS4]: Considers structure in a meaningful way.

9

man in 'Wild Cherry' doesn't really seem to understand what is going on until

the end of the middle stanza. While the girl in 'Jugged Hare' is just too young

to understand the complexity of her mother’s situation though she picks up on

the issues that will shape her more mature understanding as seen in the final

lines of the poem.

The first stanza of 'Wild Cherry' is an illustration to show the reader how

devoted this man is. He is ‘Tiptoe on wall-top’ showing how precarious his

position is, perhaps suggesting the precarious nature of the relationship.

Jenkins uses foregrounding when he says 'head in/clouds'. This idiom is our

first clue that there are cracks in their relationship. It shows that he is in a

dream world and not reality, which implies that their relationship is not perfect.

There is then alliteration when he describes the cherry as the 'fullest' and

'flounciest'. This highlights how much effort he has put into this gift as his

girlfriend has to have the best. However, the superlative 'flounciest' also

implies that they may not be the best, just the biggest and showiest. This lets

us know that their love may be based on looks and not what is in the inside.

The man’s commitment to the woman is revealed when we learn that he

‘travelled many miles to give them’ but it also suggests their separation.

In the second stanza we really start to see how damaged his relationship is.

She receives them 'smiling', which is seen as a positive thing. However, in

this context I get the impression that that she is just going through the

motions, doing what is expected of her. Anyone can fake a smile; she just

doesn't seem that interested. While a girlfriend consumed with love would

show her gratitude with lots of emotion and expression. He uses the abstract

noun 'beauty' when he describes the flowers in between them. While 'beauty'

is usually seen as a positive thing, in this phrase it shows that something that

was supposed to bring them closer together has in fact pushed them further

apart. We then have repetition of the phrase 'between us' which reinforces

the ideas that there is something between the couple blocking out a complete

union. It proves that they don’t have perfect feelings, where they share

everything. Their love is flimsy and vulnerable and will not last with so much

going against them in much the same way as the flowers will not last. The

Comment [SS5]: Considers the effect of the viewpoints taken.

Comment [SS6]: Aware of significance of imagery.

Comment [SS7]: Careful consideration of the implicit content.

Comment [SS8]: Willing to investigate language choices.

10

'words' between them prove how superficial their relationship is, as to have a

long happy life with someone you have to have a strong mental connection.

However, if there is already resentment and unsaid feelings you know that the

relationship won't last. When Jenkins repeats the word 'clouds' it makes you

think of how comic strips show thoughts in clouds. They are also something

that you can't see through. This gives the idea, along with the ellipsis, that

there are old fights and feelings that have been kept inside, instead of being

spoken.

In the final stanza, we find out he kept 'One of the sprays' so that he could

know 'on what morning' she will have to get rid of them. There is alliteration

with the words 'toss' and 'twigs'. This shows how little effort she will put in

when disposing of them, compared to all he had to do to collect them. This

highlights the unfairness in their relationship. To me this is almost tragic as

he can no longer live in his fantasy, as he knows deep down that they cannot

last. Their love may once have been fiery and passionate, but is now cold

and even dead like the 'ashes' and 'empties' she throws out. This stanza is so

final and absolute. She can move on from 'yesterday's news', but for him

there is just heartbreak.

'Jugged Hare' begins in a similar way to the end of 'Wild Cherry', with

mourning for the death of something. In 'Wild Cherry' it is their relationship,

while in 'Jugged Hare', at this stage of the poem, it is a hare. Earle doesn’t

actually say hare; she instead refers to it as 'long-ears'. This gives it life as

you begin to get the image of a noble, majestic creature, too beautiful to

deserve this kind of death. Before ‘gutting’ the creature the wife ‘smoothed’

the ‘shot fur’, an action, which shows her sympathy for the dead animal. She

can hardly bear to prepare the food for a man, we later learn, she has little

love for. Consequently, the reader becomes sympathetic towards this woman

who has to do such a horrendous task. We then have sibilance in the second

and third lines with the words 'shot', 'softly', 'dishevelled' and 'smoothed'.

These make the poem sound just like the woman- soft and gentle.

Comment [SS9]: Questioning the meaning/significance of the language used, although this section is not completely convincing.

Comment [SS10]: Personal opinion well justified by the consideration of the poem.

Comment [SS11]: Pleasing link.

11

In 'Wild Cherry' the man puts his life at risk this get his girlfriend flowers. This

woman is not in danger, yet she seems to be putting in just as much effort, as

she is doing a task that is completely against all of her nature.

The second stanza emphasises how 'tender' this woman really is. However,

we also get to see a powerful strong side to her. To me this is extremely

important as well as upsetting. It is tragic that the only time this woman can

be 'resolute' and have 'fortitude' is when she has to 'sicken herself' in order to

please her husband. This foreshadows the action in the penultimate verse

where she similarly sickened by her husband’s sexual demands. Although this

is upsetting, it also makes me proud of this woman, who is stuck in both the

20th Century and an unhappy marriage. This stanza presents the view not of

their little girl, but their more mature, older daughter. She can see how strong

her mother is being, which is highlighted by the short sentences and

exclamation marks. After reading this stanza, it made me think differently of

the woman in 'Wild Cherry'. It is not her fault that she didn't love him, and it

would most likely have been worse if she had kept him in an unhappy

relationship. Maybe she was right to act the way she did.

The third stanza then gives us some understanding as to how she gets

through the day. 'She sustained marriage', she doesn't enjoy it, yet she

doesn’t hate it. The word 'sustained' highlights how normal and monotonous

her life is, as in those days her situation would have been common. When she

is compared to a 'child' who 'plays house' it makes you think of the man in

'Wild Cherry', as they both have to pretend in order to make their life bearable.

The reader is then reminded of the woman in 'Wild Cherry' when the mother

'Tossed the heart', while the other woman went to 'toss out the twigs'. This

shows how both women had a desire to rid themselves of something. In 'Wild

Cherry' it is the relationship, while in 'Jugged Hare' it is the memory of what

she has done to the hare and to herself.

We then have the first stanza that doesn't consist of five lines. It is only a

short line (‘She was in full spate’) and means one thing; she is unstoppable.

This woman and the man in 'Wild Cherry' are the ones without control in their

Comment [SS12]: Sensible link based on the verse.

Comment [SS13]: Shows an ability to cross- reference.

Comment [SS14]: Perceptive link.

Comment [SS15]: Clear link.

Comment [SS16]: Sensible link.

12

relationships. The man does nothing and waits for his girlfriend to end their

relationship. However, this woman has at least taken control where she can,

even if it is just in the kitchen. This highlights how strong she is and how,

even after all she has been through, she will be strong for herself and her

daughter. In the next stanza we see more of the theme of religion. The

kitchen is 'blessed' and the hare is 'braised by god', similar to the 'sacrificial

gravy' in the second stanza. This highlights how well the food has been

cooked, and makes you think that it is so delicious that even God had a part in

its cooking. The daughter tells us how her mother 'smiled' as she 'dished up

on willow'. The willow pattern china with its miniature scene reflects the ‘0ne-

off’ scene of the mother cooking. The daughter may have seen it as a positive

thing but, like the 'smiling' woman in 'Wild Cherry', we know that it is fake.

While in 'Wild Cherry' she is pretending for her boyfriend, here it seems to be

more herself than anyone else. It gave me the impression that she was trying

to convince herself that she was happy, and that this woman, who she was

pretending to be, was not fake.

Next, we finally get to see the husband's reaction to the meal. He is 'stunned

with tribute', unlike the woman in 'Wild Cherry' who is disinterested and

indifferent to her gift. Both poems show a woman in an unhappy relationship.

However, in 'Wild Cherry' she has the power to leave. In contrast, Earle

shows us a woman whose only chance to 'sob' and escape 'her frame' is

while her daughter's 'father slept'. Earle lets us know that it is the young

daughter speaking in this stanza as she 'guessed it was the hare’ which in a

sense it may have been, as the hare represents all that she has had to give

up. The sacrifice of the hare mirrors her sacrifice in the marital bed.

In the final stanza we see a very feminine side to the mother. She has 'lady-

hands' and 'martial skills'. These both highlight how all she is seen as is a

mother and wife, instead of having her own identity. We then find out that

'she wooed a man' instead of a man wooing her. This conveys the idea that

when she was younger this was her dream. However, the reality of marriage

is not as good as the idea of it. The poem then ends with the very simple, but

powerful phrase 'In years to come, I understood'. For me, this was very

Comment [SS17]: And another.

Comment [SS18]: This aspect could have been developed.

Comment [SS19]: More cross-referencing.

Comment [SS20]: Keeps making the links.

Comment [SS21]: Perceptive point.

Comment [SS22]: Clear on the sacrificial aspect.

13

important as it shows that now the daughter has grown up, she understands

how her mother felt. It conveys pain but more importantly respect. She

realises that her mother’s life was not perfect and the final comment could

also suggest that the daughter has fallen into the same trap. Perhaps one

day the daughter found herself in an unhappy relationship. But, like the

woman in 'Wild Cherry', she was fortunate enough to be living in a time where

she could leave.

To conclude, both 'Wild Cherry' by Nigel Jenkins and 'Jugged Hare' by Jean

Earle show us how much love and duty can be behind a gift for a partner.

They are both brilliant poems. However, I think that I preferred 'Jugged Hare'

as I got much more out of it. I think that I really connected with it because if I

was born even a hundred years earlier, that could have been me. Although I

did also really like the way 'Wild Cherry' changed so much as I read it the

second and even the third time. I also enjoyed the endings of both poems, as

I was left thinking of all the possible futures for the couples. In one poem the

relationship ended, leaving us with hope for both of their futures. While in

'Jugged Hare' their relationship will have lasted until death, and we can only

hope that the mother's memory was carried on by her daughter and that she

learned from her mother’s mistake.

AO1 Critical response to texts

The candidate selects appropriate detail and is able to speculate. The texts

are handled with confidence and with a good understanding of the poets’

purposes and themes. The ideas are conveyed persuasively with solid textual

support. This work is perceptive, observant and cogent. It is clearly the work

of a thoughtful and mature mind. It deserves full marks.

AO2 Language, structure and form

There is a pleasing willingness to investigate the language of the poems and

the structures of the poems are understood and commented upon. The

analysis of stylistic features is assured. A mark of 6 is appropriate.

AO3 Making links and comparisons

Comment [SS23]: More linkage.

Comment [SS24]: Interesting personal opinion.

14

This is a strength within the essay and a number of clear links are developed,

based on the close study of the details of the poems. Links are probed

confidently. Full marks are deserved for this essay.

Total 24.

15

Candidate 1

16

17

18

19

20

20 Higher Tier

A Room in the Past

It’s a kitchen. Its curtains fill with a morning light so bright you can’t see beyond its windows into the afternoon. A kitchen falling through time with its things in their places, the dishes jingling up in the cupboard, the bucket of drinking water rippled as if a truck had just gone past, but that truck was thirty years. No one’s at home in this room. Its counter is wiped, and the dishrag hangs from its nail, a dry leaf. In housedresses of mist, blue aprons of rain, my grandmother moved through this life like a ghost, and when she had finished her years, she put them all back in their places and wiped out the sink, turning her back on the rest of us, forever.

Ted Kooser

Family House

I slept in a room in the roof, the white planes of its ceiling freckled with light from the sea, or at night leaf shadows from the street-lamp in the lane.

Below, the flame of her hair, and the gleam of a colander as she bent among the pea-rows, or pulled a lettuce from the black earth, wearing silly shoes to make her taller.

Even in summer, sometimes, salt on the air, I’d hear far off that faltered heartbeat of the Breaksea lightship, then the held breath of silence to the count of ten.

Now the vegetable garden is a lawn, and they sold the coach house, pigsty, the old stable where in wet summers we crouched over our cache of secrets under the cidery air of an apple-loft.

From a hundred miles and thirty years away I smell long rows of fruit, turned to rotten gourds of juice soft-skinned as toads.

Gillian Clarke

21

On Ageing When you see me sitting quietly, Like a sack left on the shelf, Don’t think I need your chattering, I’m listening to myself. Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me! Hold! Stop your sympathy! Understanding if you got it, Otherwise I’ll do without it! When my bones are stiff and aching And my feet won’t climb the stairs, I will only ask one favour: Don’t bring me no rocking chair. When you see me walking, stumbling, Don’t study and get it wrong. ’Cause tired don’t mean lazy And every goodbye ain’t gone. I’m the same person I was back then, A little less hair, a little less chin, A lot less lungs and much less wind, But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in.

Maya Angelou

Childhood

I used to think that grown-up people chose

To have stiff backs and wrinkles round their nose,

And veins like small fat snakes on either hand,

On purpose to be grand.

Till through the banisters I watched one day

My great-aunt Etty’s friend who was going away,

And how her onyx beads had come unstrung.

I saw her grope to find them as they rolled;

And then I knew she was helplessly old,

As I was helplessly young.

Frances Cornford

22

GCSE English Literature Unit 3 – Unit 3 Section A: Shakespeare Section B: Welsh Writing in English Candidates may be selective in their coverage of the chosen texts but their work should be informed by a knowledge of the text as a whole. Please note all poems listed for the task should be studied in preparation for the controlled assessment. Section A: Shakespeare Generic Task 1 Theme: The presentation of female characters Examine Shakespeare's presentation of female characters in one of his plays with the exception of 'Othello' and 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Sample tasks Task 1:

• Examine the way Cleopatra treats Antony and Octavius in 'Antony and Cleopatra'.

Task 2:

• 'Lady Macbeth is responsible for her own downfall?' How far do you agree?

Task 3: • Examine the way Shakespeare presents The Nurse in 'Romeo and Juliet'.

You may wish to think about:

• her relationship with Juliet at the beginning of the play • her relationship with other characters in the play • how she speaks and behaves at the end of the play

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Generic Task 2 Theme: Commitment Examine the way Shakespeare presents the theme of commitment in any of his plays with the exception of 'Othello' and 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Sample tasks Task 1:

• Examine the way Shakespeare presents the theme of commitment in 'Romeo and Juliet' paying close attention to Romeo's relationships with Rosaline and Juliet and to the language he uses.

Task 2:

• Examine the way Shakespeare presents Petruchio's commitment to Katherine in 'The Taming of the Shrew', paying particular attention to the development of the characters.

Task 3:

• 'None of King Lear's daughters show any real commitment to their father.' How far do you agree?

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