The Unseen Poem

It's a stupid name, I know, how can you write about an unseen poem? Well, the idea is, you won't have seen it before the examination, unlike the poems in your anthology (AQA). So how is it different from the other poetry you've studied, and, is there a different way of answering it? Well, basically, no, not really. Poetry is poetry, it's just that this poem is new to you. You haven't been able to prepare or study it. So your response will be different. It will be spontaneous.

The best way to tackle it, is to read it first, highlighter in hand, and pick out anything interesting that strikes you while you are reading. Read it a second time, and highlight some more. Read it again, and you will have 3 or 4 pieces of evidence to write about.

Focus on two of the three main elements of any poem: LANGUAGE and IMAGERY. STRUCTURE if you get time, as most people don't say very much that is relevant about structure (see the other POETRY page).

So, here is an example, based on the poem Long Distance II by Tony Harrison.

Question:

How are the speaker and his father each affected by their loss, and how does the poet present their thoughts and feelings to the reader?

There are two parts to this question. First of all, showing your understanding of the language and imagery of the feelings the poet and his father have, and then secondly, the technical ways in which these feelings are put across, through structure, language choices or imagery.

Though my mother was already two years dead
Dad kept her slippers warming by the gas,
put hot water bottles her side of the bed
and still went to renew her transport pass.

You couldn't just drop in. You had to phone.
He'd put you off an hour to give him time 
to clear away her things and look alone 
as though his still raw love were such a crime.

He couldn't risk my blight of disbelief
though sure that very soon he'd hear her key
scrape in the rusted lock and end his grief.
He knew she'd just popped out to get the tea.

I believe life ends with death, and that is all.
You haven't both gone shopping; just the same,
in my new black leather phone book there's your name 
and the disconnected number I still call.

Here's my attempt:

POINT (what the feelings are)
Tony Harrison shows his father's grief and refusal to accept the death of his wife:
EVIDENCE
"kept her slippers warming by the fire."
EXPLAIN ( the way they are presented)
This is a touching image, a simple kindness, the softness of the slippers, the warmth of the fire, and is made all the more pathetic to the reader, and also to the poet, as we both know, she has passed away.

POINT (what the feelings are)
Clearly, Harrison's father is still in the early stages of grief
EVIDENCE
he describes his father's "love" as "still raw", a metaphorical device we use to describe something that hasn't healed yet, like a fresh scab or a scar.
EXPLAIN (how they are presented)
The word "raw" is very physical, perhaps making us think of  uncooked meat, or recent cuts and bruises. It's an unpleasant word, designed to help the reader feel the father's vulnerability. He also uses the word "crime", to infer guilt or a clandestine, shameful act. The father want to hide the way he is feeling from his son, as he feels it is somehow wrong.

POINT (what the feelings are)
Harrison's feelings are more realistic, and he is critical of his father's pretence:

EVIDENCE
"He couldn't risk my blight of disbelief."

EXPLAIN (how they are presented)
Harrison describes his own realistic feelings as a "blight" or curse on his father's. It means their relationship has become strained, and they keep out of each other's way.

POINT (what the feelings are)
Finally, Harrison shows the truth of his own feelings, and by the final stanza, we realise that he is now talking about his father also being dead.

EVIDENCE
"You haven't both gone shopping."

POINT (what the feelings are)
But he also confesses his own reluctance to admit that his parents are gone, ironically now, as he was scathing of his father doing what he himself is doing now,

EVIDENCE
"there's your name and the disconnected number I still call."

EXPLAIN (how they are presented)
In the end, Harrison uses pathos and irony to shows his own feelings and behaviour  are the same as his father's, inspite of his own beliefs about death.