How to Compare Texts (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 4ET1
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 International 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 Pearson Edexcel anthology poems: ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘The Tyger’.
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 relationships shaped by power. 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 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 through AO3
How to compare two poems
Comparing poems is easier when you follow the same five steps each time. Here is how to compare poems IGCSE students study for Section B, 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
Many students 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 through AO2, 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 tells the knight’s story through a questioner, who asks “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms”, so the reader sees the knight from the outside before he tells his own story. 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 knight at first, 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 | ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ | ‘My Last Duchess’ | Difference in effect |
|---|---|---|---|
Voice | A questioner speaks first, then the knight tells his story | The Duke speaks directly | Keats shows the knight from the outside first; Browning lets the Duke expose himself |
Language of control | “Thee hath in thrall!” | “I gave commands” | The knight is controlled by the lady; the Duke controls his wife |
Ending | “And no birds sing.” | “Notice Neptune, though, / Taming a sea-horse” | Keats ends on emptiness; 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. The same grid works for any pair of poems, so it’s a reliable first step in how to write a comparison essay English Literature examiners can follow.
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 |
Choose the structure you can keep up for the whole essay. The Edexcel mark scheme rewards the quality of your analysis, and it doesn’t give extra marks for one structure. If you use the block structure, open each paragraph on the second poem with a link back to the first, such as “Unlike Keats’ 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… |
Pearson’s examiner reports for this paper tell students to practise discourse markers such as “on the other hand”, “whereas” and “however”.
The phrases for degree are the most useful, because they let you show that a similarity isn’t exact. For example, Browning and Blake both present frightening power, but Blake is more openly afraid of it when he asks what “dread hand” and “dread feet” made the tiger in ‘The Tyger’.
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 shaped by power, but Keats shows a man trapped by someone else’s power, while Browning shows a man whose power is still at work.”
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 cruel. 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 cruel too. |
Strong | Both poets present relationships whose power depends on control, but Keats shows a man who has lost his power, while Browning shows it still at work. In ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, the “pale kings” warn the knight that the lady “Thee hath in thrall!”, and he is left “Alone and palely loitering”. 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 “On the cold hill’s side”, the Duke is already arranging his next marriage. |
The weak version writes about each poem separately and joins them only with “also”. The strong version opens with a comparative argument and compares the same method in both poems, which is the language of control. It 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
Writing about only one poem: the Edexcel mark scheme says that your mark “cannot progress beyond the top of Level 2” if you only write about one poem
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 International GCSE English Literature exam
Edexcel asks you to compare poems in one place, Paper 1, Section B (Anthology Poetry). This question is assessed through two assessment objectives (AOs):
AO2: “Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects”
AO3: “Explore links and connections between texts”
Paper | Question | What you have in the exam | Marks and AOs | Is comparison assessed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Unseen poetry | One poem you haven’t seen before, printed on the paper | 20 marks: AO2 | No: you analyse one poem | |
Anthology poetry, comparing two poems from Part 3 of the anthology | Both poems are printed for you, whether the question names both or lets you choose the second | 30 marks: AO2 (15), AO3 (15) | Yes: ideas and methods, across both poems | |
Modern prose | No text (closed book) | 40 marks: AO1 (20), AO4 (20) | No | |
Modern drama | A clean copy of your text (open book) | 30 marks: AO1, AO2 | No | |
Literary heritage | A clean copy of your text (open book) | 30 marks: AO1, AO2, AO4 | No |
The coursework option (Component 3) covers the same texts as Paper 2, and its two assignments don’t ask you to compare either. Section A is about one unseen poem, so there’s no unseen comparison question on this course.
In Section B, AO2 and AO3 carry 15 marks each, so your comparison counts for as much as your analysis. Pearson’s examiner reports praise answers that take “a balanced approach”, with neither poem getting more attention than the other. They also say that the most successful candidates “intertwined both structural and language analysis between both poems in a fluid manner”.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In Section B, one question often names only one poem, so you choose the second poem yourself. Choose it for the question, even if it isn’t the poem you’ve revised most. Look for a poem that shares the focus of the question but presents it differently, because that difference gives you something to argue about.
Every anthology poem is printed for you in the exam, so re-read both poems and pick two or three short quotations from each. For example, for the sample question on relationships in ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ and one other poem, you could write: “Keats shows a man trapped by love, while Browning shows a man who destroys what he can’t control.”
Sources
Pearson Education (n.d.). Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology. Issue 8. Pearson Education.
Pearson Edexcel (n.d.). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Specification. Issue 3. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel (n.d.). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Sample Assessment Materials. Issue 3. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel (2025). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Paper 1 Mark Scheme, June 2025. Pearson.
Pearson Edexcel (2024–2025). International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) Paper 1 Examiner Reports, June 2024 and June 2025. Pearson.
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