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GCSE: Love Poetry

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771 GCSE Love Poetry essays

  • Marked by Teachers essays 10
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  1. Marked by a teacher

    Compare and contrast how the writers of "My Last Duchess" and "Remember" portray different views of love

    5 star(s)

    This is a well informed, intelligent essay, which gives a strong insight into both poems and makes some interesting comparisons and contrasts between them. *****…

    • Essay length: 1509 words
    • Submitted: 17/10/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 28/04/2012
  2. Marked by a teacher

    Using a selection of pre-twentieth century verse, compare and contrast the ways in which different poets approach the themes of love and loss.

    4 star(s)

    This is a very articulate, comparative essay, which provides interesting parallels and contrasts between the poems. With more attention to quotation and closer observation of poetic techniques, it would have…

    • Essay length: 1245 words
    • Submitted: 27/02/2007
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 25/04/2012
  3. Marked by a teacher

    Compare and contrast the attitudes of John Donne and Robert Browning towards love in The Apparition and Porphyria's Lover

    4 star(s)

    This is a very good essay, showing an excellent understanding of both texts as well as a strong knowledge of poetry techniques. With more comparison/contrast between the poems, this would…

    • Essay length: 1434 words
    • Submitted: 17/10/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 25/04/2012
  4. Marked by a teacher

    Comparison Of Love Poetry:Remember by Christina Rossetti, How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and When We Two Parted by Lord Byron

    4 star(s)

    This is a perceptive comparison between the poems which shows a knowledge of poetic techniques and the contexts in which writers were writing. With more frequent, embedded quotations, the writer…

    • Essay length: 1519 words
    • Submitted: 05/04/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 08/04/2112
  5. Marked by a teacher

    The poet Robert Browning of 'Porphyria's Lover' and the writer of 'First Love', John Clare, both delve into the complexity of love in many ways, some similar and others contrasting.

    4 star(s)

    The writer makes many illuminating comparisons and contrasts between these texts, using apt quotations and accurate terminology to support the ideas. With better paragraphing, this would be a top standard…

    • Essay length: 1758 words
    • Submitted: 14/02/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 08/05/2012
  6. Marked by a teacher

    Explore how R.Browning's use of the Dramatic Monologue, helps to shape our understanding of the narrators in 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess. Which narrator do you find the more disturbing and why?

    3 star(s)

    This is a perceptive essay which works best when it quotes directly from the texts and uses technical terminology accurately. With better spelling and expression, it would have achieved a…

    • Essay length: 1008 words
    • Submitted: 21/09/2007
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 25/04/2012
  7. Marked by a teacher

    I am contrasting the poems, "My Last Duchess" and "On the Departure Platform". Both poems, although are written in very much contrasting styles, share a central theme of loss and separation of a women

    3 star(s)

    This essay shows a knowledge of both texts and an engagement with poetry techniques. The writer should learn to embed quotes more effectively and address the question with more focus…

    • Essay length: 1326 words
    • Submitted: 18/08/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 28/04/2012
  8. Marked by a teacher

    I think that although the 'First Love' and 'When We Two Parted' are different due to the fact that one focuses on love and the other on loss. The difference in language of the two poems is tied up with the theme

    3 star(s)

    This essay shows a good knowledge of both poems as well as a knowledge of poetic devices and techniques, but the writer becomes increasingly repetitive and should aim to include…

    • Essay length: 1938 words
    • Submitted: 24/04/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 02/05/2002
  9. Marked by a teacher

    Comparing and contrasting

    3 star(s)

    The writer achieves some interesting comparisons between the poems, but this essay could afford to analyse areas of both texts in more detail, including more quotations and commenting further on…

    • Essay length: 914 words
    • Submitted: 14/02/2006
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 02/05/2012
  10. Marked by a teacher

    How do 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'The sisters' explore the themes of love, jealousy and madness?

    3 star(s)

    This essay begins promisingly, but becomes very descriptive, retelling the events of each poem instead of closely examining the differing techniques used to construct each text and present themes. Be…

    • Essay length: 1974 words
    • Submitted: 06/06/2005
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 29/05/2012

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Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

  1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?
  • Choose three poems from the pre-1914 section of your anthology which present different views of love. Compare the poems considering carefully the language the poets have decided to use and its effects on the reader.

    "In conclusion love in these poems is portrayed in a number of different ways. 'My Last Duchess' is very cold poem where the woman is objectified and there is a distorted view of love. There is also little passion shown. 'Porphyria's lover' is quite a passionate poem, which portrays the woman as respectable and brilliant. However the love becomes sinister as in 'My last Duchess'. 'To his Coy Mistress' is much more light hearted than the others and is comic. The poem is quite passionate, but lust is the form of passion and that is not true love, but a love that like in 'My Last Duchess' objectifies the woman. Also the women in the two poems are seen as less important as in 'Porphyria's Lover' which represents the woman as the most important thing in the world. Therefore Browning poems are more sinister and different to Marvell which is more like Donne as their poems are more comic and lustful."

  • Compare Shakespeare's sonnets 18 and CXXX.

    "Which brings up a theme: irony. Both poems give us an unexpected conclusion, one that proves ironical in both cases. In both cases, of course, the poet maintains his love, which is the strongest element, not nature. And this is the strangeness of the poems. We generally think of the power of nature to overrule all. There is a theme of "unchanging love." But you might consider instead a theme closer to "all important love." Neither of these poems actually says that love will remain permanent. Sonnet 18 tells us that beauty will, and Sonnet 130 shows us that his love is strong even if the woman has flaws. But both poems demonstrate the sheer dominating power of love, a power even over Nature. And this is powerful indeed."

  • Compare and contrast "The Rendezvous" by Stanley J. Thomas, "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell and "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" by William Shakespeare.

    "In conclusion the theme of love is displayed in The Rendezvous, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day and to his coy mistress because they are showing how much they care for their women. They are all similar because they all use nature; they all have lust and beauty. They are different because in Rendezvous it is about romantic love, to his coy mistress is about lust and shall I compare thee to a summer's day is about beauty and romance. In my opinion shall I compare thee to a summer's day has the most realistic view of love because William Shakespeare uses nature which is romantic; he also has a good view of women. ISHTIAQ AHMED"

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