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Poems from Different Cultures

GCSE: Poems from Different Cultures

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Where can I get help to understand the poems in the AQA Anthology for the GCSE English language exam?

YouTube have very good tutorial videos for GCSE English language essays. There are loads of videos about the poems in the AQA Anthology book.

A rush

781 GCSE Poems from Different Cultures essays

Marked by Teachers essays 5
Peer Reviewed essays 40

Compare how the past reveals feelings about a place in Nothings Changed with the ways another poet reveals feelings about a place or places in one other poem.

5 star(s)

A very good essay. Detailed and perceptive analysis of poetic techniques used by both poets.
Accurate and thorough analysis of language using correct poetic terminology.
Most comments are supported…
- Essay length: 1729 words
- Submitted: 04/01/2012
- Marked by teacher: Katie Dixon 09/02/2012
The poems Strange fruit written by Abel Meeropol (Lewis Allen) 1937 and Still I rise written by Maya Angelou both convey the racism which fell upon the lives of many black individuals.

4 star(s)

This is a good attempt at analysing two poems and tackling a very broad subject.
Some very good and perceptive analysis of the language both poets use to convey their…
- Essay length: 1292 words
- Submitted: 10/05/2011
- Marked by teacher: Katie Dixon 09/02/2012
Compare Two Robert Frost Poems, The Road Not Taken & Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

4 star(s)

There are some good points in this essay, particularly when looking at the structure of the poems. When comparing two texts it is important to identify key differences and similarities…
- Essay length: 1785 words
- Submitted: 24/03/2010
- Marked by teacher: Laura Gater 15/12/1999
How does John Agard make the poem Half-Caste seem controversial? Think about the main features of the poet's language which make it different from Standard English. Is the poem mainly directed against white people who use the term 'half-caste'?

3 star(s)

The essay has its merits: the student demonstrates a sound understanding of the themes of the poem. The student begins to take a close look at some of the language…
- Essay length: 823 words
- Submitted: 03/06/2005
- Marked by teacher: Melissa Thompson 09/04/2013
- Reviewed by: 02/08/2012
The poems No Problem written by Benjamin Zephania and Half-Caste written by John Aguard illustrate strong feelings towards race

3 star(s)

There are strengths in this essay. The student has clearly engaged with both poems, and has begun to offer interpretation into what the writers were hoping to achieve.
However, the…
- Essay length: 1066 words
- Submitted: 30/01/2007
- Marked by teacher: Melissa Thompson 09/04/2013
How does Sujata Bhatt show that identity is important in from Search For My Tongue? Compare the methods she uses with the methods another poet uses to show that identity is important in one other poem.

5 star(s)

The response here is for a question on the importance of identity and the means by which Sujata Bhatt and one other poet display this importance. The candidate has opted…
- Essay length: 643 words
- Submitted: 23/05/2011
- Reviewed by: sydneyhopcroft 19/03/2012
Compare how a persons culture is shown to be important in Hurricane Hits England and in one other poem.

5 star(s)

This response is extremely well-focused on the question proposed. The candidate addresses a wide variety of different features of the two poems and how they present the idea of culture…
- Essay length: 1013 words
- Submitted: 29/04/2011
- Reviewed by: sydneyhopcroft 22/02/2012
In both Hurricane Hits England and Search For My Tongue, the poems explore the theme of culture being important to person, both poems approach this theme in different ways.

5 star(s)

This answer responds excellently to the question. Even though the candidate chooses to analysis poem-by-poem rather than point-by-point (the latter structural form often saving on time and more encouraging of…
- Essay length: 815 words
- Submitted: 03/04/2011
- Reviewed by: sydneyhopcroft 14/04/2012
How does Tom Leonard present his Views about Language and Culture?

5 star(s)

This essay asks candidates to discuss how the Scottish poet Tom Leonard presents his views of culture. The key here is to comment on the poetic devices and the attitudes…
- Essay length: 1683 words
- Submitted: 25/09/2010
- Reviewed by: sydneyhopcroft 21/02/2012
Compare How Agard Challenges Particular Values and Ways of Thinking in Listen Mr. Oxford Don and Half Caste

4 star(s)

The student has answered the question very well, but the response could have been made clearer to the reader. Various aspects of the two poems have been picked up by…
- Essay length: 1289 words
- Submitted: 19/01/2012
- Reviewed by: SunSunHemnilrat 26/02/2012

How to respond to exam questions on poems from other cultures

1 You will usually be asked to compare at least two poems, sometimes you will be given one poem and asked to choose another.
2 Use the language of comparison in your answers. Good words are: 'however', 'therefore', 'in contrast', 'on the other hand'.
3 Use PEE to help you structure your essays. This means point, evidence and explanation.
4 Embed all of your quotations into your essay. Your writing should be fluid and the quote should be encased by the rest of the sentence.
5 Make sure all poetic terminology is used accurately when you discuss the language and the structure of the poem.

Maya Angelou - Still I Rise

1 Maya Angelou is an African American writer of novels and poems.
2 In Still I Rise she writes about the fact that she, as a black woman is not subjugated or broken by what has been done to both her personally and the black race as a whole.
3 She addresses her readers directly as ‘you’, asks rhetorical questions and uses repetition metaphors and similes.
4 Angelou references Africa’s natural riches and the exploitation of these.
5 The phrase Still I Rise is a refrain and is repeated three times at the end of the poem.

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GCSE: Poems from Different Cultures

781 GCSE Poems from Different Cultures essays

Compare how the past reveals feelings about a place in Nothings Changed with the ways another poet reveals feelings about a place or places in one other poem.

The poems Strange fruit written by Abel Meeropol (Lewis Allen) 1937 and Still I rise written by Maya Angelou both convey the racism which fell upon the lives of many black individuals.

Compare Two Robert Frost Poems, The Road Not Taken & Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

How does John Agard make the poem Half-Caste seem controversial? Think about the main features of the poet's language which make it different from Standard English. Is the poem mainly directed against white people who use the term 'half-caste'?

The poems No Problem written by Benjamin Zephania and Half-Caste written by John Aguard illustrate strong feelings towards race

How does Sujata Bhatt show that identity is important in from Search For My Tongue? Compare the methods she uses with the methods another poet uses to show that identity is important in one other poem.

Compare how a persons culture is shown to be important in Hurricane Hits England and in one other poem.

In both Hurricane Hits England and Search For My Tongue, the poems explore the theme of culture being important to person, both poems approach this theme in different ways.

How does Tom Leonard present his Views about Language and Culture?

Compare How Agard Challenges Particular Values and Ways of Thinking in Listen Mr. Oxford Don and Half Caste