When tackling the unseen poem, discuss the three T’s – themes, tone and techniques AKA ideas, feelings and style of writing. Don’t feel you have to be complimentary about the entire poem and don’t feel you have to discuss every line. Oh, and obviously I’m at a big advantage here: the poem isn’t unseen to [...]
Mother
Evelyn O’Connor
Mother says “don’t look at the sun, it will blind you”
so I don’t look at her.
I orbit the past, a seething mass of nuclear energy.
Sunspots float before my mind:
swimming in the pool, splashing in the sea, going to the library
eating Easter chocolate nests, plum [...]
Don’t tell the story of the poem, appreciate the ideas it expresses.
Don’t point out techniques, rather discuss the effect each technique has on the reader.
Don’t state facts, instead aim to capture your emotional response.
That is all.
I recently came across a scrap of paper written after correcting a bundle of unseen poetry tests. I may as well commit it to virtual paper before dumping it.
You need to remember the following:
A quality response here will get you a lot more marks than sheer quantity. Divide your time equally between questions. [...]
Once upon a time, long long ago, a song and a poem were published side by side on the Junior Cert exam paper, unseen poetry section. Students were asked to discuss the difference between the style of writing in songs and poems. I stumbled across this question in my first year of teaching and [...]
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