How to Compare Texts (Edexcel GCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 1ET0
Comparing poems means exploring the similarities and differences in what two poems say and how the poets say it. Knowing how to compare poems well helps you build one clear argument across both texts in your Edexcel GCSE English Literature poetry essays, which is exactly what you need to achieve the highest marks.
This page shows you how to compare two poems step by step, how to write a comparison essay with a clear structure, and which phrases to use. The worked examples come from three Edexcel anthology poems: ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘The Manhunt’. All three are in the Relationships collection, so you could pair any two of them in the exam.
What does comparing texts mean in English Literature?
Comparing texts means looking at two texts side by side and explaining how they are similar and how they are different. You compare two things:
Ideas: what each writer says about the topic in the question, and their attitude towards it
Methods: how each writer presents those ideas, through language, form and structure
For example, ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ both present a relationship in which one person holds power over the other. That shared idea is your starting point. Your comparison becomes more interesting when you explain the differences, such as the very different methods Keats and Browning use to show what that power does to people.
Why does comparison matter?
Comparison questions appear on most GCSE English Literature courses. Comparing well helps your writing in three ways:
It improves your analysis of each poem, because a contrast with the second poem makes the first poet’s choices easier to see
It gives your essay a clear argument, because you have to decide what the most important difference is
It shows the examiner that you understand both texts well enough to link them, which the Edexcel mark scheme rewards
How to compare two poems
Comparing poems is easier when you follow the same five steps each time. Here is how to compare poems at GCSE in five steps:
Find the shared focus, which is the idea from the question that both poems explore, such as power, conflict or memory
Compare ideas: note what each poet says about that focus, and whether their attitudes are similar or different
Compare methods: for each idea, find a method in each poem (a word, image, form or structural choice) and decide what effect it creates
Decide your comparative argument: write one sentence that names what the poems share and the most important difference between them
Choose a structure for your essay, then plan which points go in each paragraph
How to compare methods as well as ideas
It’s easy to compare ideas only, for example by saying that both poems show power is dangerous. The Edexcel mark scheme rewards analysis of the writer’s methods, so each comparison point needs a method from both poems.
The simplest way to do this is to compare like with like. Ask the same question of both poems, then compare the answers:
Method | Question to ask of both poems |
|---|---|
Voice and perspective | Who is speaking, and who are they speaking to? |
Form | What type of poem is it, and why might the poet have chosen that form? |
Language and imagery | Which key words or images present the shared idea? |
Structure | How does the poem begin, change and end? |
For example, in ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, Keats frames the knight’s story with another speaker’s questions: “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, / Alone and palely loitering?” The lady’s voice survives only in the words the knight reports, such as “I love thee true”. In ‘My Last Duchess’, Browning uses a dramatic monologue, so the Duke reveals his own cruelty without realising it. Keats keeps the reader at a distance from the lady, while Browning gives us access to the Duke’s own perspective.
How to plan a comparison essay
A planning grid helps you find links quickly in the exam. Draw four columns and fill in two or three rows:
Shared focus | ‘My Last Duchess’ | Difference in effect | |
|---|---|---|---|
Voice | Another speaker questions the knight, who then tells his story | The Duke speaks directly | Keats distances the reader from the lady; Browning lets the Duke expose himself |
Language of control | “Thee hath in thrall!” | “I gave commands” | The lady’s power is like a spell that leaves even “pale kings” “death-pale”; the Duke’s command is still a real threat |
Ending | “And no birds sing.” | “Notice Neptune, though, / Taming a sea-horse” | Keats ends where he began, with the knight still trapped; Browning ends on another image of control |
The last column matters most. The difference in effect is where your argument comes from, so fill it in before you start writing.
Comparing poems essay structure: integrated or block?
Should you write about each poem separately or together? There are two common ways to structure a comparison essay, and both can work:
Integrated structure | Block structure | |
|---|---|---|
How it works | Introduction with your argument; three paragraphs, each comparing both poems on one shared point; conclusion | Introduction naming the link; two paragraphs on the first poem; two paragraphs on the second poem, linking back to the first; conclusion that draws them together |
Best for | Pairs with clear links in method, because the comparison stays visible in every paragraph | Analysing each poem in depth, especially if you find it hard to switch between poems |
Risk | It can turn into a quick list that jumps between poems without analysing either one closely | It can turn into two separate essays if the second half never mentions the first poem, which can leave the essay unbalanced |
Choose the structure you can keep up for the whole essay. The Edexcel mark scheme accepts different structures. However, answers that discuss one poem and then the other are less likely to compare effectively. If you use the block structure, open each paragraph on the second poem with a link back to the first, such as “Unlike Keats’s knight, the Duke…”.
Poetry comparison phrases
Comparative connectives make your comparison clear to the examiner. Group them by the job they do:
Job | Phrases |
|---|---|
Showing a similarity | Similarly, … / Likewise, … / In the same way, … / Both poets… |
Showing a difference | In contrast, … / However, … / Whereas… / Unlike…, … / On the other hand, … |
Showing degree | Both poets…, but X is more… / While both poems…, only X… / X is even more critical of… than Y |
Linking back | Like Keats, Browning… / This contrasts with… / Unlike the knight in ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, the Duke… |
Drawing together | Overall, both poets… / The key difference is… |
The phrases for degree are the most useful, because they let you show that a similarity isn’t exact. For example, Keats and Armitage both present a man damaged by what he has been through, but Armitage is more direct when he describes “the blown hinge of his lower jaw” in ‘The Manhunt’.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The most useful habit in a comparison essay is to decide your comparative argument before you start writing. That’s one sentence that names what the poems share and the most important difference between them. Put it in your introduction, then come back to it at the start of each paragraph.
It’s the easiest way to keep your essay focused on comparison, whichever structure you choose. It also means the examiner can see your line of argument from the first paragraph. For example, you could write: “Both Keats and Browning present relationships in which one person holds power over the other, but Keats shows a man destroyed by that power, while Browning shows a man using it.”
What does a comparison paragraph look like?
The table below shows the same point written two ways, with the comparative words in the strong version in bold.
Version | ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ |
|---|---|
Weak | In ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, the lady is powerful and mysterious. The pale kings say she has the knight “in thrall”, which shows she controls him. ‘My Last Duchess’ also shows a powerful person. The Duke says “I gave commands”, which shows he is controlling too. |
Strong | Both poets present relationships built on control, but Keats shows that control destroying the knight, while Browning shows the Duke still using it. In ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, the “pale kings” in the knight’s dream cry that “La Belle Dame sans Merci / Thee hath in thrall!” Their warning makes her power sound like a spell that no man can escape. In contrast, Browning lets the Duke speak for himself. When the Duke admits “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together”, the calm phrasing hides something violent, which suggests his power is still dangerous. Unlike Keats’s knight, who is left “Alone and palely loitering”, the Duke is about to choose his next wife. |
Weak: writes about each poem separately and joins them only with “also”
Strong: opens with a comparative argument, compares the same method in both poems (the language of control), then ends on the difference in effect, which gives the examiner a clear reason for putting the two poems together
What are the common mistakes when comparing?
Writing two separate essays: if the second half never refers to the first poem, the examiner can’t see any comparison
Comparing ideas only: saying that both poems are about power shows you understand the content, but your analysis of the writers’ methods stays thin, which limits your marks
Uneven coverage: spending most of your time on the poem you know best leaves the second poem underdeveloped, so your comparison looks one-sided
Listing similarities: if you list everything the poems share with no argument, the examiner has no clear line of thought to follow
Feature-spotting: writing that “both poems use alliteration” earns little credit on its own, because the effect of the method is what you’re comparing
Relying on “also”: “Poem B also…” bolts the second poem on to the first, and it hides the differences that make a comparison interesting
Comparing texts in your Edexcel GCSE English Literature exam
Edexcel asks you to compare poems in two places, both in Paper 2, Section B. This table shows what each question gives you and which assessment objectives (AOs) it assesses:
Paper | Question | What you have in the exam | Marks and AOs | What to compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Poetry anthology, comparing a named poem with one other poem from the same collection | The named poem is printed; your second poem is not | 20 marks: AO2 (15), AO3 (5) | The poets’ use of language, form and structure, and the influence of context, across both poems | |
Unseen poetry, comparing two unseen poems | Both poems are printed in full | 20 marks: AO1 (8), AO2 (12) | The ideas in the poems, the poets’ use of language, and their use of form and structure |
In the anthology question, you have about 35 minutes. Give your second poem plenty of attention too: if you write about only one poem, your mark can’t go above Level 2. The strongest answers compare both poems together, one shared idea at a time, so an integrated structure is the safer choice.
The unseen poetry question carries 20 marks, and you have about 45 minutes for it. Context isn’t assessed, so don’t spend time on it. Your ideas about the poems (AO1) count as well as the poets’ methods (AO2). Keep both poems balanced, because a very unbalanced answer can’t reach Level 3.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In the anthology question, you choose the second poem, so choose it for the question. It’s tempting to pick the poem you know best. Look for a poem that shares the focus of the question but presents it differently, because that difference gives you something to argue about.
Your second poem isn’t printed for you, so check that you can remember two or three short quotations from it. For example, for a question on ‘The Manhunt’, you could write: “Both Armitage and Keats present a damaged man, but Armitage’s speaker patiently reaches the ‘unexploded mine / buried deep in his mind’, while Keats’s lady leaves the knight ‘Alone and palely loitering’.”
Sources
Pearson Education. Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9–1) in English Literature Poetry Anthology. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9–1) in English Literature (1ET0) Specification, Issue 2 (June 2019). Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature (1ET0) Paper 2 Question Papers, June 2024 and June 2025. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature (1ET0) Paper 2 Mark Scheme (Results) Summer 2025. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature (1ET0) Paper 2 Examiners’ Reports, June 2024 and June 2025. Pearson.
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