GCSE AQA Lit- poetry+ Mice and Men

I'm currently doing the english lit course for aqa and studying mice and men novel ,
Gilian Clarke and seamus heany and pre-14s for poetry.

So far in my mock i struggled to face these questions as just got a B grade luckily even though i am predicted A* :frown:

So what i want to ask is how do i structure my poetry question and how do i structure my Mice and men questions too? + any other advice would be appreciated :smile:

poetry question was : Compare Seamus Heany's Follower with a Gillian Clarke and two pre-14 poems about parent and children relationships

Mice and Men question: EITHER --

Mice and Men is thought to be tragic novel. (forgot the rest of the question but i think it was asking to whether i agree with the statement

---> the other question was about stienbecks use of animals in the novel and thier effects and how successful he is.

Please help, i find literature quite hard :smile:

BTW: i'ave seen Form, structure and language on revision sites but i dont understand what it means :frown:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 1

Kalliope

Sorry, I study neither Gillian Clarke/Heanery nor Mice & Men. Posting anyway to bump in case someone else can help :smile:

I know how depressing the coursework.info bot can be!

I'll do some very quick, general advice.
Structure - for poetry this means things like how is the poem seperated into stanzas/lines ie is there any emjambment? what is the effect of this? are there any very short line? also rhyme and rhythm - is there a rhyme scheme? what does it do? how does rhythm (ie iambic pentameter in sonnets, little in the modern poems) enhance the reading of the poem and show tone?
Form - (this is basically another, more encompassing word for structure)
Language - what language techniques/imagery/symbolism does the poet use? ie off the top of my head isn't there that thick red rope of love in Catrin. Talk about the connotations of individual words and how these connotations expand when they are strung together, any monosyllables and the impact of them, similes & metaphors and how they work, how language communicates the poem's tone/theme. With language quality is always more than quality - it is better to go into a lot of detail about a few lines that skirt over the whole poem. Language analysis is one of the main discriminators between the top grades.

Structuring for poetry essays is one of the hardest things, I'll admit. A lot of candidates fall down because they don’t effectively move between all four poems throughout their essay – if you write all about one poem, then the next etc you are looking at a C. Remember - linking is crucial for the high grades - you need to make sure you know how and why the poems fit together. Teachers swear by different structures for the literature essays: say, link poem A & B with regards to language, then B&C with regards to theme, then C&D with regard to tone, then D&A with regards to structure, then variants on the same. Maybe if you ask your teacher she can give you the one she likes most. There is no set way to get you the marks. While it’s true these do work, I find it is best to mould your plan around the poems – if you find lots comparable with style but little with language, that’s okay. Just make sure you talk about them roughly equally.

EDIT: Structuring for Mice & Men is very much like structuring your coursework or any lit essay. Surely you have been doing some for homework (my teacher makes us do one a week?). Generally, give your essay a really good intro and conclusion as these will be instrumental in forming the examiners opinion. Make sure they actually say something and don't just say "My essay is going to..." as that is seriously irritating. Each paragraph should link based on one/several similar key points from the question you are given. Fairly self-explanatory really.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 2

EffKayy

Original post by BookWormShanti

Sorry, I study neither Gillian Clarke/Heanery nor Mice & Men. Posting anyway to bump in case someone else can help :smile:

As an A-level student, I have to correct this.
Form is like structure a bit, but here you have to talk about whether it's a dramatic monologue etc and the effect of this. Like in the laboratory, it's deceptive? I wish i could send you the notes i got given for GCSE!

Some more general tips:
Structure - the use of enjambment - does it show a natural flow of speech? End stopped lines - to create a calculated effect?
Use of consistent stanzaic (?) structure. if it's equal, what does it show? A calculated frame of mind, e.g. in the laboratory
For language look at stuff like sibilance, the use of the 's', - what effect does it have? Is the persona spitting these words out in distaste? Use of assonance - again, what effect does this have? What is the effect of of one word, such as 'gold' or something in the laboratory? Does it show how the elite class are full of corruption?

Remember to evaluate this, e.g. the use of enjambment creates a sense of frustration for the reader..
And so on.

Good luck.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 3

Kalliope

Original post by EffKayy

I stand corrected :biggrin:

Also, nice point about 'gold' in the laboratory. I'm guessing you mean the second one - "gorged gold"?

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4

EffKayy

Original post by BookWormShanti

I stand corrected :biggrin:

Sorry?

Reply 5

Kalliope

Original post by EffKayy

Sorry?

About the meaning of the word 'form' - also, see the bit I've edited in? Is it the second gold you'd link to corruption of elite classes - and how? :smile:

(always on the lookout for more interpretations)

Reply 6

EffKayy

Original post by BookWormShanti

About the meaning of the word 'form' - also, see the bit I've edited in? Is it the second gold you'd link to corruption of elite classes - and how? :smile:

(always on the lookout for more interpretations)

Well as the lady or whatever has gold or something, it shows shes part of the elite (?? I really cannot remember, these were the notes my teacher gave me)
And shes full of corruption as she's making poison?

I'm sorry but I really can't remember much - did it last year! :tongue: