GCSE: Poems from Different Cultures

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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.

Marked by Teachers essays 14
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)
- Word count: 1729
- 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)
- Word count: 1292
- 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)
- Word count: 1785
- Submitted: 24/03/2010
- Marked by teacher: Laura Gater 15/04/2013
Comparing poems 'halfe cast' and 'nothings changed'

4 star(s)
- Word count: 1101
- Submitted: 22/10/2007
- Marked by teacher: Katie Dixon 10/05/2013
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)
- Word count: 823
- Submitted: 03/06/2005
- Marked by teacher: Melissa Thompson 09/04/2013
- Reviewed by: 02/08/2012
The theme of father and son relationships in Digging and Follower

3 star(s)
- Word count: 1009
- Submitted: 17/01/2009
- Marked by teacher: Jeff Taylor 13/08/2013
The poems No Problem written by Benjamin Zephania and Half-Caste written by John Aguard illustrate strong feelings towards race

3 star(s)
- Word count: 1066
- Submitted: 30/01/2007
- Marked by teacher: Melissa Thompson 09/04/2013
Poetry from other cultures

3 star(s)
- Word count: 1300
- Submitted: 14/02/2006
- Marked by teacher: Katie Dixon 10/05/2013
How are anger and frustration presented in 'Nothing's Changed' and 'Half-Caste'?

3 star(s)
- Word count: 1410
- Submitted: 15/07/2004
- Marked by teacher: Katie Dixon 10/05/2013
'Half-caste' and 'Unrelated Incident' are both written in varieties of non-standard English - What does this contribute to each poem?

3 star(s)
- Word count: 913
- Submitted: 05/01/2004
- Marked by teacher: Katie Dixon 10/05/2013

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GCSE: Poems from Different Cultures

How to respond to exam questions on poems from other cultures

Maya Angelou - Still I Rise

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

Comparing poems 'halfe cast' and 'nothings changed'

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 theme of father and son relationships in Digging and Follower

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

Poetry from other cultures

How are anger and frustration presented in 'Nothing's Changed' and 'Half-Caste'?

'Half-caste' and 'Unrelated Incident' are both written in varieties of non-standard English - What does this contribute to each poem?

Marked by a teacher

Peer reviewed

Peer reviewed