How To Answer The Unseen Poetry Questions (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature): Exam Questions

Read the two poems, The Newcomer by Brian Patten and The Fish Are All Sick by Anne Stevenson. Both poems describe the effects humans are having on the environment and natural world.

The Newcomer — Brian Patten

'There's something new in the river,'

The fish said as it swam.

'It's got no scales, no fins and no gills,

And ignores the impassable dam.'

'There's something new in the trees.'

I heard a bloated thrush sing.

'It's got no beak, no claws, and no feathers,

And not even the ghost of a wing.'

'There's something new in the warren,'

Said the rabbit to the doe.

'It's got no fur, no eyes and no paws,

Yet digs further than we dare go.'

'There's something new in the whiteness,'

Said the snow-bright polar bear.

'I saw its shadow on a glacier,

But it left no pawmarks there.'

Through the animal kingdom

The news was spreading fast.

No beak, no claws, no feather,

No scales, no fur, no gills,

It lives in the trees and the water,

In the soil and the snow and the hills,

And it kills and it kills and it kills.

— Brian Patten

The Fish Are All Sick — Anne Stevenson

The fish are all sick, the great whales are dead,

The villages stranded in stone on the coast,

Ornamental, like pearls on the fringe of a coat.

Sea men, who knew what the ocean did,

Turned their low houses away from the surf.

But new men who come to be rural and safe

Add big glass views and begonia beds.

Water keeps to itself.

White lip after lip

Curls to a close on the littered beach.

Something is sicker and blacker than fish.

And closing its grip, and closing its grip.

\ begonia – a type of flower*

— Anne Stevenson

Now compare The Fish Are All Sick by Anne Stevenson, and The Newcomer by Brian Patten. [25]

You should:

• compare what the poems are about and how they are organised

• compare the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about

• compare the poets' choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• compare how you respond to the poems.

Nettles — Vernon Scannell

My son aged three fell in the nettle bed.

'Bed' seemed a curious name for those green spears,

That regiment of spite behind the shed:

It was no place for rest. With sobs and tears

The boy came seeking comfort and I saw

White blisters beaded on his tender skin.

We soothed him till his pain was not so raw.

At last he offered us a watery grin,

And then I took my billhook, honed the blade

And went outside and slashed in fury with it

Till not a nettle in that fierce parade

Stood upright any more. And then I lit

A funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead,

But in two weeks the busy sun and rain

Had called up tall recruits behind the shed:

My son would often feel sharp wounds again.

— Vernon Scannell

Write about the poem Nettles by Vernon Scannell, and its effect on you. [15]

You may wish to:

• consider what the poem is about and how it is organised

• consider the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about

• consider the poet's choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• consider how you respond to the poem.

Read the two poems, Nettles by Vernon Scannell and Swimming with Aidan, aged 4 by Luke Wright. In both of these poems the poets write about the experiences of fathers with their young sons.

Nettles — Vernon Scannell

My son aged three fell in the nettle bed.

'Bed' seemed a curious name for those green spears,

That regiment of spite behind the shed:

It was no place for rest. With sobs and tears

The boy came seeking comfort and I saw

White blisters beaded on his tender skin.

We soothed him till his pain was not so raw.

At last he offered us a watery grin,

And then I took my billhook, honed the blade

And went outside and slashed in fury with it

Till not a nettle in that fierce parade

Stood upright any more. And then I lit

A funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead,

But in two weeks the busy sun and rain

Had called up tall recruits behind the shed:

My son would often feel sharp wounds again.

— Vernon Scannell

Swimming with Aidan, aged 4 — Luke Wright

You struggle more than other kids your age,

can't help yourself: picked scabs, pulled threads, left feet.

The effort overwhelms. Half-drowned in rage,

life throws you angry tears and sodden sheets.

But here you're magic, boy. While others tip-toe,

too scared to dunk their heads or leave their depth,

you swagger: grace, grit, guts and get-me gusto.

You gulp existence down with each gasped breath.

But when our time is up, the shiver-showers

smash your short-lived victory to shards.

That sock just won't go on. You've lost your powers.

I try to offer word but, boy, it's hard.

Aloud, my wise old lines are arid spin;

and so, a hug to keep the victory in.

— Luke Wright

Now compare Swimming with Aidan, aged 4 by Luke Wright and Nettles by Vernon Scannell. [25]

You should:

• compare what the poems are about and how they are organised

• compare the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about

• compare the poets' choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• compare how you respond to the poems.

Home — Fran Landesman

Home is where you hang your hat

And can't get a break

Home is what you ought to want

But can't really make

Home is where you're always wrong

Too fat or too thin

Home's an endless argument

You never can win

Home is a test you always fail

Emotions you have to fake

Where everybody does his thing

For somebody else's sake

Home is where love's old sweet song

Just won't set you free

Home is where you're not the way

They want you to be

Home sweet home will haunt your dreams

Wherever you go

Home is what there's no place like

But didn't you know

Home is where the heartache

Really started

— Fran Landesman

Write about the poem Home by Fran Landesman and its effect on you. [15]

You may wish to:

• consider what the poem is about and how it is organised

• consider the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about

• consider the poet's choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• consider how you respond to the poem.

Read the two poems, Home by Fran Landesman and Coming Home by William Cooke. Both poems describe thoughts and feelings about home.

Home — Fran Landesman

Home is where you hang your hat

And can't get a break

Home is what you ought to want

But can't really make

Home is where you're always wrong

Too fat or too thin

Home's an endless argument

You never can win

Home is a test you always fail

Emotions you have to fake

Where everybody does his thing

For somebody else's sake

Home is where love's old sweet song

Just won't set you free

Home is where you're not the way

They want you to be

Home sweet home will haunt your dreams

Wherever you go

Home is what there's no place like

But didn't you know

Home is where the heartache

Really started

— Fran Landesman

Coming Home — William Cooke

After a summer's absence I return

in early darkness. The house, unlit,

looks drear, extinct. My key scratches

in the lock and I enter half-surprised

by shrouded fustiness. Each room's familiar

yet strange with a stored silence.

No room is living. Plants look queasy,

On the window sill lie flies and one big moth.

Yet at my coming life revives. I resurrect

the clock and listen to its gentle pulse,

sweep back the curtains and open windows wide

to sweeter air. The room breathes, relaxes.

But outside the garden crouches in the dark,

a wild thing, thirsting. Roses have bled.

I go out, a rain-god, sprinkling my largesse

to tame, reclaim. Soil hisses, yields.

I hear its dank slow satisfying draught.

Going indoors, I feel the house becoming home.

— William Cooke

Now compare Coming Home by William Cooke with Home by Fran Landesman. [25]

You should:

• compare what the poems are about and how they are organised

• compare the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about

• compare the poets' choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• compare how you respond to the poems.