poem and essay similarities

Poetry & Poets

Explore the beauty of poetry – discover the poet within

How To Structure A Poetry Comparison Essay

Introduction

Comparing two poems typically involves analyzing the content and structure of the poetry, as well as its universal themes, language, and the imagery used. Writing a poetry comparison essay is considered a formidable task for many because determining the similarities and differences between two pieces of poetry can be quite difficult. With the right approach, however, it’s quite possible to produce an impressive essay. For example, It’s essential to understand that it doesn’t suffice to point out the differences and similarities between two pieces of poetry, explain how they compare and contrast, and then summarize the findings. To write a successful paper, one needs to apply higher-level thinking to structure information gathered from researching the poems. This article provides useful tips on how to compare two poems and structure a successful poetry comparison essay.

Finding two poems to compare

The first step to writing a successful poetry comparison essay is finding two poems to compare. To facilitate this process, one can choose two poems by the same author or two poems on the same subject or theme. Alternatively, one can compare or contrast poems from different authors with content that explores the same themes, such as love, war, etc. Alternatively, one can go through existing literary criticism material or search in literary databases to find poets/poems to compare.

Creating a thesis statement

Next, it’s essential to put together a persuasive thesis statement that explains how two poems are related in terms of a specific literary element or idea. A thesis statement should make a direct, clear, and concise point. It’s also important to back up points made with direct citations or reference to the poems. Depending on the topic of the essay, the thesis statement may contain a number of concepts discussed in the body of the essay.

Outlining the paper

The structure of the paper should include an introduction with a thesis statement, a body, and a conclusion. A great example of an outline for this type of paper would be as follows: 1. Introduction with a thesis statement 2. Explain the first poem 3. Explain the second poem 4. Discussion of the differences and similarities between the two poems 5. Conclusion Moreover, it’s important to clearly point out how the comparison of the two poems relates back to the thesis statement. If the paper is more than 5 paragraphs, one may consider adding a paragraph discussing how each poem imparts a certain meaning or provides insight into a larger idea, such as how two poets view a single subject differently.

Discussing structure

When discussing the structure of two poems, one must look at how both poems are organized. This includes paying attention to the titles of the poems, the length of the lines, and the use of words. Perhaps, one poem has a traditional structure and rhythm, while the other is more flexible in terms of structure. Maybe the two poems have a similar tone or mood, yet have different ideas about a particular topic. How the poems use language to provide perspective or build an idea is also essential to consider.

Analyzing content

For this section, it’s important to focus on comparing the content and ideas of both poems. This includes looking at the themes, imagery, and characters in the poems, as well as the symbols, metaphors, and figurative language used by the characters. Likewise, one can analyze the type of diction and syntax that is used to create a certain tone or mood. Moreover, it’s important to consider how the message or meaning of a poem changes when it is viewed as part of a larger context. For example, is the author expressing a particular point of view, or is the poem a response to a previous poem?

Comparing universal themes

The final element to consider when writing a poetry comparison essay is the universal themes that are evident in each poem. Universal themes are the underlying messages that give shape to the poem and can be found in most poems. Examples of universal themes include love, loss, mortality, loneliness, joy, and growth. It’s important to examine how the poets explore these universal themes in each poem and consider how the themes work together to create a unique perspective. Additionally, one can consider how a poem might be interpreted differently by different readers due to their personal experiences.

In conclusion, writing a successful poetry comparison essay requires an in-depth analysis of two poems and the development of an overall argument or point of view. It’s essential to pick two poems to compare, create a thesis statement, develop an organized outline, and analyze the structure, content, and universal themes of both poems. With the right attention to detail and strategy, it is possible to write a successful, impactful, and well-structured poetry comparison essay.

Discussing structure of each poem

When evaluating the structure of both poems, one should focus on the title, length of lines, and the words used. For instance, one poem may have a traditional structure and rhythm, while the other might have a looser structure with irregular recurring patterns. On top of that, the two poems may or may not have the same tone or mood. It may be worth noting the difference in how the authors use words to help build their ideas.

Activity: Describing Content of each poem

When it comes to the content of both poems, consider to analyse the themes, characters, and symbols in each work. For example, what type of metaphors are used? What kind of diction and syntax help to create the mood and tone? Also, try to look at how the idea of each poem works within a larger context. For instance, is the poem a response to another poem or is it a stand-alone work?

Examining universal themes

The core messages in both pieces of poetry are known as the universal themes. These themes could be something like love, loss, or mortality. Look for these themes and analyse how each author explores those universal themes. Additionally, consider how the poem might be interpreted differently based upon different reader’s individual experiences.

Structuring the paper

When it comes to putting the paper together, you will need to create an outline. A great outline would be something like: Introduction, explanation of each poem, comparison of differences and similarities, and conclusion. Remind yourself of the thesis statement and make sure the comparison of both poems relates back to it. If the paper is more than 5 paragraphs, consider adding a section discussing how each poem imparts a certain meaning or provides insight into a larger idea.

Minnie Walters

Minnie Walters is a passionate writer and lover of poetry. She has a deep knowledge and appreciation for the work of famous poets such as William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and many more. She hopes you will also fall in love with poetry!

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How to compare poems – 5 steps

Previously, I wrote a post on how to analyse any unseen poem , which a lot of you found useful. One of you asked if I could also write a guide on how to compare poems, so that’s what this post is for. 

What’s the deal with comparative analysis – and why does it always seem so much harder…? 

Between an unseen single-poem analysis task and a prepared comparative poetry analysis task, which one would you prefer?

Both can be tricky to master, but neither is unmanageable – we just need to find the right strategy. 

Personally, I think the reason that comparative tasks seem more challenging is largely psychological. It’s not so much that the act of comparing texts itself is hard as it is that we get easily flustered when asked to multitask – especially in a high-stress situation like an exam.

Obviously, if these are set texts that you can prepare for, that should relieve a lot of the stress which would otherwise come with tackling an unseen comparative task (with the right sort of guidance, granted). 

So, what’s my point here?

I’m trying to say if you find comparative tasks intimidating, don’t – because

a) there’s a systematic way to go about doing it well, and

b) I’m going to show you just how to do it in this post, complete with steps and examples. 

5 steps to comparing any poems: a guide

Step 1: summarise the main idea of each poem in 1-2 sentences , step 2: find similarities – thematic, stylistic, structural and formal, step 3: find differences from similarities , step 4: identify 3 key ideas for comparison, step 5: summarise your main argument in a comparative statement.

Or watch my video below, in which I go through the 5 steps to comparing poems (but stick around this blog post for a demonstration of how to do it in the next section, where I compare Carol Rumens and Seamus Heaney’s poems):

What’s the first thing we do when encountering any poem? We read it, of course. But what do you do after you first read the poem? We’re likely to re-read it – either because we don’t really ‘get it’ the first time round, or because we need to start sourcing clues for our analysis. 

Re-reading is all good and well (not to mention necessary), but the problem with it is there’s potentially no end to how many times we could re-read a poem, and so the more we re-read, the more we’re likely to be led into a labyrinthe of questions, which causes more confusion. In normal, non-exam circumstances, that’s perfectly fine, but if you’re racing against time, then a better tactic is to read once, then summarise your first impressions; read twice, and summarise the main idea of the poem. 

But, what if I really don’t get it? Obviously, there’s room to take ‘once’ or ‘twice’ liberally, so no issues if you have to re-read a couple of times before you can summarise anything. My point, however, is not to get sucked into an endless process of reading and re-reading, because before long you’ll have whittled all your time away – only to have nothing to show for it at the end. 

To prevent this, start actively engaging with the poem by asking yourself these questions immediately after reading it: 

What is the main gist of the poem’s content?

How do I feel after reading this poem? 

What are some themes or ideas that jump out at me? 

Is there anything special or weird about this poem? 

Etcetera. 

Then, scribble them down on your planning sheet (you should always plan before you write!), so at least you’re visualizing your response to the poem, which gives you a much better place to start than simply keeping everything in an abstract, befuddled jumble in your head. These notes don’t have to be long – just 1-2 sentences or even bullet points will suffice. 

Once we’ve settled on a main understanding of the poems, it’s time to switch our thinking to a ‘lateral’ mode. By ‘lateral’, I mean to think across both poems in terms of different aspects of analysis (i.e. theme, style, structure, form), instead of focusing on only one poem at a time. 

Let’s start by looking at the similarities in theme, style, structure and form between the poems. If you’ve read my post on ‘how to tackle any unseen poetry’ (which you should!), you’ll know I love me some tables, rows and columns, so here’s a sample table for us to systematise our observations:

Similarities between Poem A and Poem B

Again, as I’ve mentioned in the unseen post, the ability to spot these similarities (and differences, as we’ll cover in the next step) is predicated on us being familiar with the technical basics. I.e., we can’t spot a metaphor if we don’t know what metaphor means, so make sure that you sort out the fundamentals first – a wobbly foundation is no place to start any poetry analysis task, comparative, unseen, or otherwise.

Differences across poems can appear on multiple levels. There can be complete differences (e.g. Poem A is a sonnet whereas Poem B is a ballad), but more often, we’re looking for ‘differences within similarities’. This is why a good place to start identifying differences is, perhaps a bit ironically, in our similarities table. 

The guiding questions to ask, then, would include the following:

How do the poems present the same theme in different ways? 

How do the poets use the same stylistic, structural or formal techniques to present different aspects of the theme? 

For instance, while both poems may be about love, A could be about unrequited love and B about mutual love, so there’s a thematic difference for you. Alternatively, both poems may feature comparative devices, but while metaphors are used to compare love with dandelions in Poem A, similes could be used to compare love with an onion in Poem B.

Likewise, both poems may be odes , but perhaps A is a Pindaric ode, while B is a Horatian ode (for a more detailed explanation of the ode, read this post). So on so forth. You’ll notice that the ‘differences’, then, could simply be your analysis of the different quotations you’ve sourced for each poem’s ‘similarities’. 

So instead of creating a new table, we can add one extra line underneath each aspect of analysis to address how each ‘similarity’ differs across the poems, like this: 

Once we’ve reviewed all the ‘differences-in-similarities’, we can then zoom out and see if there are other fundamental points of divergence between the poems, i.e. is there something in Poem A that’s totally absent from Poem B, and vice versa? If it serves your argument to also bring these points in, then feel free to add them in. 

Now that we’ve mapped out all the thematic, stylistic, structural and formal similarities and differences, it’s time to zoom in on how the theme is presented from various angles through the use of style, structure and form.

This means going back to the quotations we’ve sourced for the stylistic, structural and formal categories in each table, and looking at how these quotations present the theme in different ways through the poet’s use of techniques.

The purpose of this is to identify 3 main points of discussion for our main body section, which could look something like this:

Main body 1: How the poems present the nature of love (unrequited vs mutual)

• Techniques used for this: Poem A (metaphor); Poem B (rhyme) 

Main body 2: How the poems present the fickleness of love, regardless of unrequited or mutual affections 

• Techniques used for this: Poem A (organic imagery); Poem B (irony) 

Main body 3: How the poems reach their respective revelation about the role of love in our lives

• Techniques used for this: Poem A (indentation / formal variation); Poem B (rhyming couplet at the end)

Together, your 3 main body points should cover the entirety of both texts, and not be limited to just one section of each poem. As for the ‘techniques used’, these should come in organically as part of your analysis, as you explain how the poet(s) convey these ideas through the use of metaphor , rhyme, organic imagery , irony etc. 

One more point to note is this: even within a comparative framework, there’s likely to be an arc of transformation in the way a theme is portrayed in each poem.

So, if Poem A is about unrequited love, does it begin in a despairing tone, but ends on a more stoic note? And if Poem B is about mutual love, is the idea presented in a purely joyful light throughout the poem, or does an element of doubt seep in halfway?

It’s important that we pay attention to these changes within each poem even while comparing across poems. 

Finally, let’s summarise the poems’ similarities and differences in a comparative statement.

This should be the guiding thesis for your essay, which also doubles as your main line of argument and cascades into points of analysis for the main body section.

Perhaps it seems a bit odd to ‘work backwards’ by coming up with the introductory thesis at the end of our planning process, but it works, because when you think about it, your argument should be a distillation of your main points, which are the specifics in each main body paragraph. 

To formulate the thesis, use comparative sentence structures like the following:

While both Poem A and Poem B are about…, Poem A portrays… as…, whereas Poem B casts… as… 

Poem A and Poem B are concerned with…, but Poem A presents… in a … light, while Poem B paints… as…

In Poem A, … is depicted as… However, this same subject matter is dealt with differently in Poem B, where the poet portrays… as… 

Your comparative thesis should be thematic in nature (i.e. it spells out how a theme is portrayed across both poems); any shared or different techniques could either be left to the main body analysis, or – if it helps clarify your focus as you go on to write the rest of your essay – you could add one follow-up sentence after the comparative thesis to summarise the technical overlaps and divergences between the poems.

For example, “Poem A relies mainly on comparative devices and imagery, while Poem B features personification and rhyme to convey the nuances of…” etc etc. But this is largely optional. 

Quick demonstration: Carol Rumens’ ‘The Emigree’ vs Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on an Island’ | AQA GCSE English Literature Power and Conflict Poetry

Below, I’ll demonstrate how we can apply these steps to a comparison between two GCSE Power and Conflict poems – Carol Rumens’ ‘The Emigree’ and Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on an Island’. 

You can refer to the texts here (The Emigree) and here (Storm on an Island).

In ‘Emigree’, the persona is a political exile (hence the title) who has left her home country to escape political persecution. In the poem, she reminisces about her native city with nostalgic fondness, while conveying her awareness of the tyrannical threat that lurks in the shadows of her past. In a nutshell, she misses home but knows that she will probably never be able to return. 

The main idea of ‘Storm in an Island’ is that we’re often afraid of things that aren’t out to get us. We prepare for potential dangers, and yet are unaware that we can’t always prepare for them, or that they usually turn out to not be dangerous at all. In this poem, the persona initially sees nature as a force of threat, but ultimately understands that while nature is forceful, it doesn’t have to be threatening. 

Main idea 1: Preserving the home against external dangers  

• In ‘The Emigree’, the persona fights back against her political persecutors by preserving a pure memory of her home city
• In ‘Storm’, the persona braces himself for a potentially devastating storm by fortifying the structures of his home
• Techniques used: war and natural imagery

Main idea 2: Reality vs expectation / ideal

• In ‘The Emigree’, the persona would ideally like to return to her city, but it is implied that those in power back home do not welcome her presence.
• In ‘Storm’, the persona anticipates a threatening storm, but ultimately realises that it’s much less destructive than he had expected it to be.
• Techniques used: alliteration (plosives vs sibilants) 

Main idea 3: The turbulent nature of life 

• In ‘The Emigree’, the persona is unmoored from her roots, and as an exile, she constantly struggles with conflicted emotions about wanting to return and yet knowing that she probably can never do so.
• In ‘Storm’, nature is seen to be a turbulent force that changes in ways humans can’t quite anticipate.
• Techniques used: enjambment and varied lineation 

Both ‘The Emigree’ and ‘Storm on an Island’ present the individual in the face of external dangers, whether real or imagined. However, while Rumens’ persona faces the threat of political persecution, and chooses to counter it by preserving a purer memory of her home, Heaney’s persona over-calculates the dangers of the storm, and eventually discovers that his fear of nature is largely unjustified. 

Bit of a mammoth post, I know, but I hope this helps break down the poetry comparison process into digestible chunks! If you have any questions, reach out to me here .

To read other study guides, check out my posts below: 

• How to ace any Shakespeare question
• How to analyse any unseen poem – 3 top tips
• How to revise for English Literature – 8 top tips

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Comparing Two Poems: Essay Example

Poetry is a unique art form as it usually captures the feelings of a particular individual. Therefore, two poems with the same genre and similar themes can have substantial differences. On the other hand, verses that seem different can share striking resemblances. To compare and contrast two poems, this essay example will focus on the message they carry.

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is a poem written by Langston Hughes during the Harlem Renaissance. It was 1921, and the young Hughes was just adding his voice to the plight of the African Americans at the time. “We Wear the Mask” is a piece by the famous author and activist Laurence Dunbar. The lyrical poem was written twenty-five years before Hughes published “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” By comparing two poems, this essay example will reveal both their similarities and differences.

These two poems were written in the period between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. This period was characterized by deep emotions concerning the struggles of the African Americans. Each of these poems represents the poets’ feelings towards the struggles of the African Americans. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” chronicles the speaker’s historical journey from Africa to the West. The speaker refers to African Americans, their history, and their heritage.

The poem captures this rich heritage albeit in a nostalgic manner. On the other hand, “We Wear the Mask” is a poem by one of the first African American writers to be accorded a national accolade for his work. Dunbar explores the coping mechanisms of the African Americans during their struggles. Both poems address issues that happen in the same period.

Dunbar’s poem was published at the turn of the century shortly after slavery was outlawed. This period was expected to be a victorious time for African Americans and everyone assumed that they were happy. “We Wear the Mask” disputes this idea and presents an argument that happiness among the African American population was a façade.

According to Dunbar, deep inside, African Americans have ‘torn and bleeding hearts’. The message in this poem is not direct and it is in line with the situation in the ground. When this poem was written, the fight for equal rights among African Americans had not started in earnest. Instead, the struggle for equal rights was just bubbling under the surface.

Dunbar’s poem hints at this discontent by claiming that African Americans were just masking their feelings. Dunbar digs deeper into the issue by claiming that most of the population at the time was hiding behind religion to avoid confronting the issues of inequality. In addition, the speaker accuses the African American population of misleading the rest of the population about their actual feelings.

Langston Hughes’ poem has a more melancholic tone. Hughes wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” twenty-five years after Dunbar’s poem was written. Hughes’ poem uses a different approach to address the African American issues of the time. His poem highlights the pride of origin that African Americans have.

The speaker in this poem speaks proudly about his rich history and heritage and how it is closely connected to some mighty rivers around the world. Unlike Dunbar, Hughes does not hide the message of his poem. This is mostly because there was no need for indirect messages after the Civil Rights Movement had already taken shape. Hughes took time out of the equal rights struggles of the African Americans to reflect on this population’s prolific heritage.

By doing this, the poet was alluding to the fact that the Civil Rights Movement was a small hurdle for the population that had come so far. The message in Hughes’ poem is structurally different from that in Dunbar’s poem. Hughes is reassuring African Americans of their supremacy and the need to hold on to their mighty heritage while Dunbar is indirectly urging African Americans to do something about their veiled unhappiness.

The mask that Dunbar talks about hides a prolific history and heritage about the African Americans. On the other hand, Hughes reiterates the need for African Americans to hold on to their rich heritage. Hughes’ poem is also meant to remind the world that African Americans have contributed towards major civilizations around the world. For instance, the speaker reminds the readers that African Americans were part of the civilization that brought the pyramids.

Hughes’ point is that African Americans thrived through various civilizations around the world and the Civil Rights Movement is just another hurdle. The rest of the population at the time viewed the African American population as the recently freed slaves who were supposed to show gratitude. However, most people failed to put into consideration the fact that African Americans’ history predated slavery.

Dunbar’s poem is also structured in a manner that addresses African Americans and the rest of the population. Dunbar sends a call to action to African Americans although his message is not direct. On the other hand, Dunbar’s poem informs the rest of the population that the happiness they see among the African American population is not real. While Hughes’ message is assertive and direct, Dunbar’s message is provocative and indirect.

One of the most striking similarities between these two poems is the fact that they use a central metaphor. Hughes’ poem uses the River as the main metaphor. In addition, he includes it in the poem’s title. The river is used to show the passage of time in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. African Americans have come a long way and triumphed over several forms of adversity. However, just like rivers flow eternally, African Americans have kept on flowing.

The metaphor of the river is also used to show that the existence of African Americans will outlast many things. At one point in the poem, the speaker says that he has seen rivers change their appearance depending on the time. This signifies that a time will come when the outlook of African Americans will be favorable. Dunbar’s poem uses the mask as the main metaphor.

The poet also boldly introduces this metaphor in the poem’s first line. The mask refers to the façade that prevents people from seeing the discontent of the African American population. According to Dunbar, African Americans use masks to hide their actual feelings and avoid provoking those who oppress them. The mask is a strong metaphor that also lends itself to the poem’s title. Use of metaphors gives these two poems a valuable outlook and helps the poets pass their strong messages to their audience.

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “We Wear the Mask” are two poems that address the plight of the African Americans albeit from different perspectives. The wishes of the two poets materialized with the success of the Civil Rights Movement. Both poets reckon that the struggle of African Americans is an ongoing process.

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1. IvyPanda . "Comparing Two Poems: Essay Example." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/comparison-of-two-poems/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Comparing Two Poems: Essay Example." October 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/comparison-of-two-poems/.

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Comparing and Contrasting

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.”

Introduction

In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.

Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments

Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few hypothetical examples:

• Compare and contrast Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression.
• Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars.
• Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry?

Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both.

But it’s not always so easy to tell whether an assignment is asking you to include comparison/contrast. And in some cases, comparison/contrast is only part of the essay—you begin by comparing and/or contrasting two or more things and then use what you’ve learned to construct an argument or evaluation. Consider these examples, noticing the language that is used to ask for the comparison/contrast and whether the comparison/contrast is only one part of a larger assignment:

• Choose a particular idea or theme, such as romantic love, death, or nature, and consider how it is treated in two Romantic poems.
• How do the different authors we have studied so far define and describe oppression?
• Compare Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression. What does each imply about women’s collusion in their own oppression? Which is more accurate?
• In the texts we’ve studied, soldiers who served in different wars offer differing accounts of their experiences and feelings both during and after the fighting. What commonalities are there in these accounts? What factors do you think are responsible for their differences?

You may want to check out our handout on understanding assignments for additional tips.

Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects

Sometimes you may want to use comparison/contrast techniques in your own pre-writing work to get ideas that you can later use for an argument, even if comparison/contrast isn’t an official requirement for the paper you’re writing. For example, if you wanted to argue that Frye’s account of oppression is better than both de Beauvoir’s and Bartky’s, comparing and contrasting the main arguments of those three authors might help you construct your evaluation—even though the topic may not have asked for comparison/contrast and the lists of similarities and differences you generate may not appear anywhere in the final draft of your paper.

Discovering similarities and differences

Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two or more things or ideas. To make a Venn diagram, simply draw some overlapping circles, one circle for each item you’re considering. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the two items have in common. Assign each one of the areas that doesn’t overlap; in those areas, you can list the traits that make the things different. Here’s a very simple example, using two pizza places:

To make a chart, figure out what criteria you want to focus on in comparing the items. Along the left side of the page, list each of the criteria. Across the top, list the names of the items. You should then have a box per item for each criterion; you can fill the boxes in and then survey what you’ve discovered.

Here’s an example, this time using three pizza places:

As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and the focus of the class. What do you think the professor wants you to learn by doing this comparison/contrast? How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself?

Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare. These are by no means complete or definitive lists; they’re just here to give you some ideas—you can generate your own questions for these and other types of comparison. You may want to begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? If you’re talking about objects, you might also consider general properties like size, shape, color, sound, weight, taste, texture, smell, number, duration, and location.

Two historical periods or events

• When did they occur—do you know the date(s) and duration? What happened or changed during each? Why are they significant?
• What kinds of work did people do? What kinds of relationships did they have? What did they value?
• What kinds of governments were there? Who were important people involved?
• What caused events in these periods, and what consequences did they have later on?

Two ideas or theories

• What are they about?
• Did they originate at some particular time?
• Who created them? Who uses or defends them?
• What is the central focus, claim, or goal of each? What conclusions do they offer?
• How are they applied to situations/people/things/etc.?
• Which seems more plausible to you, and why? How broad is their scope?
• What kind of evidence is usually offered for them?

Two pieces of writing or art

• What are their titles? What do they describe or depict?
• What is their tone or mood? What is their form?
• Who created them? When were they created? Why do you think they were created as they were? What themes do they address?
• Do you think one is of higher quality or greater merit than the other(s)—and if so, why?
• For writing: what plot, characterization, setting, theme, tone, and type of narration are used?
• Where are they from? How old are they? What is the gender, race, class, etc. of each?
• What, if anything, are they known for? Do they have any relationship to each other?
• What are they like? What did/do they do? What do they believe? Why are they interesting?
• What stands out most about each of them?

Deciding what to focus on

By now you have probably generated a huge list of similarities and differences—congratulations! Next you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:

• What’s relevant to the assignment?
• What’s relevant to the course?
• What’s interesting and informative?
• What matters to the argument you are going to make?
• What’s basic or central (and needs to be mentioned even if obvious)?
• Overall, what’s more important—the similarities or the differences?

Suppose that you are writing a paper comparing two novels. For most literature classes, the fact that they both use Caslon type (a kind of typeface, like the fonts you may use in your writing) is not going to be relevant, nor is the fact that one of them has a few illustrations and the other has none; literature classes are more likely to focus on subjects like characterization, plot, setting, the writer’s style and intentions, language, central themes, and so forth. However, if you were writing a paper for a class on typesetting or on how illustrations are used to enhance novels, the typeface and presence or absence of illustrations might be absolutely critical to include in your final paper.

Sometimes a particular point of comparison or contrast might be relevant but not terribly revealing or interesting. For example, if you are writing a paper about Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight,” pointing out that they both have nature as a central theme is relevant (comparisons of poetry often talk about themes) but not terribly interesting; your class has probably already had many discussions about the Romantic poets’ fondness for nature. Talking about the different ways nature is depicted or the different aspects of nature that are emphasized might be more interesting and show a more sophisticated understanding of the poems.

Your thesis

The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused argument and give your reader a road map so they don’t get lost in the sea of points you are about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”

Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument (that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos, or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:

Pepper’s and Amante both offer a greater variety of ingredients than other Chapel Hill/Carrboro pizza places (and than any of the national chains), but the funky, lively atmosphere at Pepper’s makes it a better place to give visiting friends and family a taste of local culture.

You may find our handout on constructing thesis statements useful at this stage.

Organizing your paper

There are many different ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay. Here are two:

Subject-by-subject

Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are discussing, then move on and make all the points you want to make about the second subject (and after that, the third, and so on, if you’re comparing/contrasting more than two things). If the paper is short, you might be able to fit all of your points about each item into a single paragraph, but it’s more likely that you’d have several paragraphs per item. Using our pizza place comparison/contrast as an example, after the introduction, you might have a paragraph about the ingredients available at Pepper’s, a paragraph about its location, and a paragraph about its ambience. Then you’d have three similar paragraphs about Amante, followed by your conclusion.

The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will simply be a list of points: a certain number of points (in my example, three) about one subject, then a certain number of points about another. This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a paper—generally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very directly, rather than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up to the reader to reflect on how those traits are similar or different and why those similarities or differences matter. Thus, if you use the subject-by-subject form, you will probably want to have a very strong, analytical thesis and at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points together.

A subject-by-subject structure can be a logical choice if you are writing what is sometimes called a “lens” comparison, in which you use one subject or item (which isn’t really your main topic) to better understand another item (which is). For example, you might be asked to compare a poem you’ve already covered thoroughly in class with one you are reading on your own. It might make sense to give a brief summary of your main ideas about the first poem (this would be your first subject, the “lens”), and then spend most of your paper discussing how those points are similar to or different from your ideas about the second.

Point-by-point

Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish to talk about one point of comparison at a time. There are two main ways this might play out, depending on how much you have to say about each of the things you are comparing. If you have just a little, you might, in a single paragraph, discuss how a certain point of comparison/contrast relates to all the items you are discussing. For example, I might describe, in one paragraph, what the prices are like at both Pepper’s and Amante; in the next paragraph, I might compare the ingredients available; in a third, I might contrast the atmospheres of the two restaurants.

If I had a bit more to say about the items I was comparing/contrasting, I might devote a whole paragraph to how each point relates to each item. For example, I might have a whole paragraph about the clientele at Pepper’s, followed by a whole paragraph about the clientele at Amante; then I would move on and do two more paragraphs discussing my next point of comparison/contrast—like the ingredients available at each restaurant.

There are no hard and fast rules about organizing a comparison/contrast paper, of course. Just be sure that your reader can easily tell what’s going on! Be aware, too, of the placement of your different points. If you are writing a comparison/contrast in service of an argument, keep in mind that the last point you make is the one you are leaving your reader with. For example, if I am trying to argue that Amante is better than Pepper’s, I should end with a contrast that leaves Amante sounding good, rather than with a point of comparison that I have to admit makes Pepper’s look better. If you’ve decided that the differences between the items you’re comparing/contrasting are most important, you’ll want to end with the differences—and vice versa, if the similarities seem most important to you.

Our handout on organization can help you write good topic sentences and transitions and make sure that you have a good overall structure in place for your paper.

Cue words and other tips

To help your reader keep track of where you are in the comparison/contrast, you’ll want to be sure that your transitions and topic sentences are especially strong. Your thesis should already have given the reader an idea of the points you’ll be making and the organization you’ll be using, but you can help them out with some extra cues. The following words may be helpful to you in signaling your intentions:

• like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless, despite, while, on the one hand … on the other hand.

For example, you might have a topic sentence like one of these:

• Compared to Pepper’s, Amante is quiet.
• Like Amante, Pepper’s offers fresh garlic as a topping.
• Despite their different locations (downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro), Pepper’s and Amante are both fairly easy to get to.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Comparing Poems

After studying this section you should be able to understand:

• what features to look for in each poem
• how to plan and write your response

As part of the GCSE English Literature course, one of the things you will need to do is to ‘explore relationships and comparisons between text, selecting and evaluating relevant material ’. One of the ways in which you might be asked to do this is to compare two poems.

When comparing poems you need to look for all the features that you look for when studying a single poem.

You need to look at the:

• content of the poem
• tone and mood of the poem
• form in which it is written and structured
• ways in which language is used

When writing your response, avoid writing an examination of one poem and then the other and comparing them in a final paragraph. Integrate your comments on the poems throughout.

However, you also need to compare these features in both poems.

You will need to look at each poem individually to plan your response, but when writing your response you need to integrate your ideas on both poems.

Watch the video below to help you understand key poetic terms and the forms and structure of poetry to help you analyse and compare poems for your unseen poetry paper.

Here’s one way you could approach this task:

Planning your response

1. Read both poems through carefully and get an overall sense of what each poem is about and how the poets handle their topics.

2. Re-read poem ‘A’ and make brief notes either around the poem, if you are able, or on a separate sheet, noting key words, phrases, images etc. and your response to it. Do the same with poem ‘B’.

3. Note down some brief quotations from each poem that you will use to illustrate your ideas. You could underline or circle these if you can write on the copy of the poem.

4. Make two lists – one headed similarities and one headed differences and list the main points under each heading.

Writing the response

It is important that you avoid writing an essay on each poem and then try to join them together. The best responses are those that integrate the ideas in parallel throughout the essay.

Here’s one way you could approach this:

INTRODUCTION

Introductory paragraph commenting on what each poem is about and capturing the ‘flavour’ of each.

Several paragraphs based on your detailed reading of the poems. It is a good idea to make a point about poem ‘A’ and then a point about poem ‘B’.

It can help you structure your ideas in a logical way, e.g. one paragraph could compare the way each uses imagery , while another paragraph could focus on structure etc.

A concluding paragraph, summing up the main similarities and differences, saying which you find more effective and why, if you are asked this .

Keep both poems at the centre of your focus and don’t be tempted to write all about one and then the other.

Anthony Cockerill

| Writing | The written word | Teaching English |

Teach your students how to compare poems for GCSE English Literature, Paper 2, Section B

Learn some of these brilliant strategies for teaching really effective poetry comparison for  GCSE English Literature, Paper 2, Section B.

One of the elements of our students’ exam performance we identified as a weakness in last summer’s examination series was comparing poems from the AQA poetry anthology, Poems Past and Present, which forms part of GCSE English Literature Paper Two. In the English Department at Boroughbridge High School, where we teach the Power and Conflict cluster, we’ve been spending time over these past few weeks taking a closer look at what our students need to do in order to write a great poetry comparison. Using our current students’ work alongside papers we recalled from last summer – plus the ever helpful examiner’s report – we’re working to establish some maxims for how we teach this particular aspect of the examination, which I’d like to share with you in this blog post.

1. Get your students to know the poems really well.

‘Students who knew the text were able to move around and within it in order to respond to the specifics of the task.’ AQA Examiners’ report, June 2017. 

There are some great ways to introduce students to poems, such as D irected A ctivities R elated to T exts, in which a student is usually instructed to reconstruct or resequence a text. An activity might encourage students to think about the form of the text, the structure, or the recurrence of particular types of language.

As a first encounter with Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’, students might consider what the poem could be about by exploring the nouns. Are there any patterns? Could they be classified into lexical fields? Or they might attempt to write a poem or description using words sorted by their function. Alternatively, a teacher might encourage students to engage intellectually or emotionally with the poem by exploring a still image, a moving image clip or by sharing a story.

The subsequent process of the shared reading of the poem in its entirety and the ensuing discussion is a great opportunity to model the process of reading, understanding and thinking analytically.  A series of prompts – or something akin to ‘Key Questions’ – can work as a framework for class discussion, enabling students to think, and ultimately write, about the poems and also to provide a ‘schema’ to help them build and consolidate their knowledge and understanding.

When helping students to deal with aspects of language and structure, a teacher might provide a tool to help students structure their thinking and note-making (the acronym FLIRTS, for example, which stands for F orm and Structure, L anguage and Sounds, I magery, R hyme, Rhythm and Repetition, T heme and Tone, S peaker).

2. Cluster and study the poems thematically to help  students to make a good choice of second poem.

‘The selection of the second poem is one of the keys to success as this gives the student the material to construct a holistic response.’ AQA Examiners’ report, June 2017.

The Power and Conflict cluster could be usefully divided into poems about power and legacy; poems about the power of natural world and conflict with humans; poems about conflict that can happen as a result of culture and belonging; poems about war and conflict. Thinking about the poems in these clusters will guide students toward making a helpful choice of second poem.

3. Don’t constrict written responses with a rigid framework, but instead provide more flexible ways of comparing the poems.

‘One examiner commented that one of their key teaching points for next year will be that “comparison comes in a variety of shapes and does not have to be formulaic”‘. AQA Examiners’ report, June 2017.

Some of the possible ways of structuring a poetry comparison can lead to answers which can constrain the level of the response. This can usually be evident when ‘essay plans’ are too simplistic (Poem A, then Poem B) or too artificial (Similarities and Differences) but also when they become too unwieldy. But the examiners’ report suggests that ‘…the key message here is to enable and guide students to form a comparison relative to their level of ability.’ In engaging with the poems, a student aiming for a top grade should aim for a conceptualised response which is exploratory in nature. A confident student might write an ambitious introduction which outlines their ‘angle’ on the question. They might seek an interesting angle on the task, such as how patriotism might lead soldiers into combat. Then they might develop their response along a series of conceptual lines of enquiry, integrating analysis of the writers’ methods as they go; illuminating their interpretation with contextual insight relevant to the task.

Rather than offering up a rigid ‘essay plan’, the ‘series of prompts’ I described above as a cognitive tool can function, when applied to both poems, as a sort of ‘loose structure’ to help students produce a more focused written response. I have found these ‘Key Questions’ to be useful in encouraging students to focus on a comparison of two poems. ‘What are the poems about?’ serves as an introduction to the whole response.

‘Who is ‘speaking’ in the poems?’, as I discuss in more detail below, allows the student to engage with the ‘constructed voice’ of the poem. ‘How has the poet used language and structure to convey their message?’ allows students to consider the writers’ methods. ‘Why have the poems been written?’ offers the opportunity to explore deeper layers of meaning, authorial intent and conceptual interpretations. However, it’s important to think of this approach as flexibly as possible. It wouldn’t be good, for example, to encourage students to think of the Key Question ‘why have the poems been written?’ as an opportunity to shoehorn context into their response. Ideas, exploration of the writers’ methods and apt integration of context should be evident throughout the response. 

4. Think about the voice as a construct.

‘Students who recognised where the voice was a construct were more successful than those who regurgitated biographical information about the poet that they then attempted to link to the poetic voice.’ AQA Examiners’ report, June 2017.

Addressing the task itself – and considering why the poems might have been written – will enable the student to naturally explore context – rather than including lots of biographical information. But the ‘persona’ of the constructed voice might also provide a very useful way of considering context. In Simon Armitage’s ‘Remains’, for example, the narrative voice deftly reflects the turmoil of someone struggling to come to terms with what they’ve seen. Armitage’s narrator uses first-person plural pronouns, for example, to emphasise the narrator’s attempt to redistribute his own guilt among his comrades. Similarly in ‘Beatrice Garland’s ‘Kamikaze’, the modulating narrative perspective creates distance between the reader and the narrator that reflect the gulf between pilot and family. Context in this analysis, therefore, becomes implicitly connected to the student’s understanding of the task.

5. Make sure students understand the importance of answering the question.

When students start to write their responses – and if they’re using my ‘Key Questions’ approach, they’ll begin by considering what the poems are about – they must respond in terms of the question rather than with something generic. ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley for example, explores the power of the natural world, but if the question is about the theme of mortality, then it is through this filter that the student must construct their response. It’s useful reiterate the key word from the question throughout throughout the answer to keep the response on track.

6. Get students to engage with the poem, rather than obsessing about poetry terminology.

‘Some responses set out to identify poetic techniques and employ as much terminology as possible before engaging with the poems themselves.’ AQA Examiners’ report, June 2017.

Sometimes, a student who is too heavy handed with various poetry terms can find themselves attributing questionable effects to the features they’ve ‘spotted’. It’s much better to encourage students to consider different layers of meaning in language and to consider possible interpretations.

7. Flexible analytical writing is much more effective than the PEE paragraph.

‘The use of structures such as PEE / PEA and its variants worked in the sense that they allowed students working at the lower levels to access Level 3 in the mark scheme. However less rigid structures worked better for those working at higher levels.’ AQA Examiners’ report, June 2017.

As I have explained in an earlier blog post , I’m not sure I always taught analytical writing well earlier in my teaching career. For me, like many, the PEE paragraph was a formula to get students through coursework essays and to use as a model for exam-style responses.

8. Teach students to integrate and embed short quotations – it’s much more effective than copying out longer quotations.

It’s much more productive when students embed judiciously chosen, short quotations into the essay, rather than wasting time copying out large chunks of text. The response will feel much more fluid.

9. Encourage students to write individual responses with precise, cogent expression and more sophisticated analytical writing techniques.

When aiming for top flight responses, there are several techniques students can deploy as part of a well-structured, insightful essay. These include evaluation, anticipating the response of the reader, tentativity, spotting patterns and deepening analysis are some great ways of making analytical writing more ambitious. 

Here, the student has spotted patterns of language throughout the poem.

The student here has noted the ambiguity of the poem in this example of deepening analysis…

10. Familiarise students with how their work will be marked.

‘Mark schemes’ should be used with care, as the process of arriving at a level is a subjective judgement based around a guided standardisation process. Futhermore, the meta-language around each level needs to be properly exemplified and understood – something even experienced teachers and examiners need ongoing support with. This said, it is always a worthwhile exercise to share with students an exemplar script or two and a ‘friendly’ version of the mark scheme they can use to become familiar with the standard and where their own writing sits.

Photo by Artur Matosyan on Unsplash

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How to Compare and Contrast Two Poems

When you compare and contrast two poems, focus on similarities and differences between the themes, tone, imagery and language . You might compare and contrast two poems by the same author to show how the poet uses diverse methods to get her points across. Or, you might compare and contrast poems by different authors.

Focus on the Themes

Show how two poems have similar or different themes such as romantic love, death or courage. For example, you might compare and contrast themes in the epic poem "Beowulf" with those in "The Odyssey" by Homer. The two poems are similar because both contain themes of courage, honor, loyalty, hospitality and duty. However, Beowulf also contains themes about revenge and tribal allegiances, and "The Odyssey" contains themes about free will.

Examine the Mood and Tone

Two poems by the same author can have similar or different moods and tones . For example, you might compare and contrast two poems by the same author, such as "A Prayer in Spring" and "A Late Walk," by Robert Frost. The poems are similar because both focus on the wonders of nature and the changing seasons. However, "A Prayer in Spring" has a cheerful, delightful tone and a peaceful, grateful mood. Conversely, "A Late Walk" has a melancholy, somber tone and a depressing, pessimistic mood. Frost effectively differentiates the beauty of spring in one with the barrenness of fall in the other .

Study Imagery in Both Poems

Poets often use imagery and symbolism to reveal important truths about man and nature. Compare and contrast the use of imagery and symbolism in one poem with another poem from the same era. For example, you might compare and contrast Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" with Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven." The two poems are similar because they deal with themes of death and loss, and both poets use imagery to reveal truths about death . However, Dickinson uses a pleasant carriage ride with a gentlemanly driver, the sunset and a house as a final resting place to show the inevitable, yet understandable and acceptable, role death plays in human lives. Poe uses an ominous, haunting raven who only utters "nevermore" to represent the dark, unwelcoming finality of death.

Evaluate the Language, Style and Format

Examine the language, style and format of both poems to find similarities and differences. Look at the author's choice of words, the meter, rhythm and the length of each line or stanza. For example, some poets prefer one-syllable words and short lines, such as Dr. Seuss, and others, such as William Wordsworth, prefer multisyllable words and long lines or stanzas. Consult with your teacher to determine how technical she wants your comparisons and contrasts to be, such as whether she wants you to discuss iambic pentameter, stressed syllables and feet.

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- The Writing Center: Comparing and Contrasting
• Santiago Canyon College: English 102 -- Essay #2 -- Writing About Poetry; Professor Maureen Roe
• The Odyssey; Homer
• Poem Hunter: A Prayer in Spring; Robert Frost
• Poem Hunter: A Late Walk; Robert Frost
• Poetry Foundation: Because I Could Not Stop for Death; Emily Dickinson
• Poetry Foundation: The Raven; Edgar Allan Poe

As curriculum developer and educator, Kristine Tucker has enjoyed the plethora of English assignments she's read (and graded!) over the years. Her experiences as vice-president of an energy consulting firm have given her the opportunity to explore business writing and HR. Tucker has a BA and holds Ohio teaching credentials.

CMP102 - Composition 2 - Taylor: Poetry Essay: Comparison/Contrast Assignment

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Poetry Essay: Comparison/Contrast Assignment Details

• Innocence and Experience   p. 74
• Conformity and Rebellion     p. 316
• Culture and Identity              p. 534
• Love and Hate                      p. 858
• Life and Death                      p. 1122
• Find two (2) poems from within that section that, after reading, you feel you "digested" them well. They may be very much alike or very different
• Do you SSSSTTh and F of S. Find one or two things about each poem that you thought were special.
• Following your comparison/contrast sheet for your essay. Be sure to write down the sources you may have used from the library.
• Don't forget your cover page and Work Cited page.
• When finished you should feel as if you have given the reader of your paper a good understanding of the poems.
• Proofread/revise.
• Go to the Writing Center if you would like some help.
• Remember - you have many chances to make this paper better (peer editing, revision). 

About the Comparison/Contrast Essay

A comparison/contrast essay weighs the differences and sometimes similarities between two distinct things: two boyfriends, high school vs. college courses, your first car with the car you have now, two of your children or a brother and sister, etc. As always it is important to do some pre-writing to be sure you have enough "ammunition" to write a complete essay. 

In this assignment, your job will be to compare/contrast two poems. If you turn to page xvii, you will see four basic themes - Parents, Nature, Love, and War. Pick the subject that interests you the most. Pick one or two poems from that section or pick one poem from that section and find a second poem that has the theme you have chosen. Do a poetry analysis sheet for each poem to be sure you ave a good grasp. If not, pick a different poem. 

• Pick your poems. It might be a good idea to skim a few poems so that you choose two that truly interest you. 
• Once you have picked your two poems, you should do a poetry analysis sheet for each poem. Maybe you will decide you do not like these poems or the poet. Maybe you will decide you don't understand the poems. This is an important step. It always helps to somewhat enjoy what you are doing. 
• Now your poetry analysis sheet is completed and you have a grasp of the poems. Pick the 3 or 4 sections of the analysis sheet in which you have the most to say. Two of your choices should be situation and theme. Now for the format:

Introduction  - (Just what the name says!) Your job in this paragraph is to introduce the reader to the tow poems. It would be good to give an overview about your choices, perhaps why you made your choices. Be sure to say the poet's name and the name of the two poems. Remember our introduction discussion. (7-8 s.)

First Body Paragraph  - Give the best information you have about the first poem (S,S,S,S,Tone, Theme, F of S). You need not use all our analysis, just where you have a better grasp. You want the reader to truly understand the poem. If you find you do not have much to say, perhaps you should have picked another poem. (12-14 s.)

Second Body Paragraph  - Now you are writing to about your second poem. Keep a keen eye on what aspects you chose to write about in the first poem since it makes sense to be somewhat similar or entirely different. Try to follow the same order you wrote in for your first body paragraph since that will make your paper clearer for your reader and more of a comparison/contrast. (12-1 s.)

Conclusion - Sum it up. Why do you suppose these poems are in your text? Might they be there in 100 years? Would you like to meet this author? Did this poets life have an influence on what the poet says? These are things your reader may be interested to know (5-7 s.)

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London and Checking Out Me History – Comparative Essay + Feedback

Below, you’ll find a comparative essay of the poems from the AQA Power and Conflict Poetry collection, specifically the poems “London” + “Checking Out Me History”. This is a borderline L7/L8 A/A* Comparative Essay Example with teacher feedback at the end.

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AQA English Language Paper 2 

Compare the way poets present negative emotions in London by William Blake and another poem of your choice.

London by William Blake, is a poem criticising how the poor people are left to suffer. Whereas Checking out me History by John Agard, voices the lack of consideration given to aspects of history which are important to understanding British identity within minority communities. Both poems illustrate the negative emotion of anger and how the disenfranchised within society have very little power.

Blake uses a regular rhyme scheme of ABAB to create his poem. This simple rhyming is unbroken throughout the poem and echoes the relentless misery suffered in the city. Likewise, Agard also uses simple rhymes when describing British school topics and this is to make them seem familiar. However, when reciting elements of Caribbean history, Agard uses a mixture of regular and irregular rhymes, and short and long lines suggesting he is breaking the confining structure of the Education system. Both poets use the natural, pleasant feeling of rhyme to disturb the reader into recognising what ‘appears’ to be normal, is unfair on others, therefore highlighting the poem’s negative feelings.

Agard uses colloquial language to celebrate inclusion of identities. He repeats the phrase ‘Dem tell me…’ to provide the speaker with a cultural identity of someone who isn’t represented by the school Curriculum. The phonetic spelling of ‘Them’ leaves the reader without doubt that the speaker is of Caribbean descent. The imperative use of the word creates the negative feelings associated with school and how rules are enforced. On the other hand, Blake uses formal language in his poem to reach out to those in power to enact change “Every black’ning church appals” the verb ‘to appal’ is one likely used by the people in power to describe the behaviour of poor people, yet Blake uses it to criticise institutionalized religion. The adjective ‘black’ning’ illustrates a tarnished and corrupt church failing in their duty to support those in need. Blake’s formal language unites the reader in their plight whereas; Agard’s binary of ‘Dem’ aligns the reader with the speaker’s negative feelings by showing their perspective and not focusing on their hopeless condition. Both poems use language to present negative feelings, but Blake present a poor to be pitied and not the identity to be celebrated in the more empowered ‘Checking Out Me History.’

London by William Blake – Poem Analysis

Checking Out Me History – Summary and Analysis

Agard uses imagery of light to show a contrast to the negativity. Toussaint L’Ouverture, a hero from the Haitian revolution is described as a ‘beacon’ and Mary Seacole, a ‘healing star’ and ‘yellow sunrise’. These warm images suggest hope within the desperate situation of war and freedom fighting and emphasises the binary of ‘light and dark’ emphasising the ‘them and us’. In contrast, Blake focuses on bleak imagery to illustrate how everything is affected by the neglectful treatment of the poor and nothing pure or innocent remains. The metaphor ‘mind-forged manacles’ presents a hopeless situation comparing the poor’s entrapment to a life of poverty with the way others are trapped by their thoughts and attitudes. These manacles have not been forged in a literal blacksmith’s, but in the minds of people. Blake’s imagery unsettles the reader into improving the way they view the poor. On the other hand, Agard’s hopeful, light use of imagery illustrates that people can overthrow oppression.

Checking Out Me History is a contemporary poem published in 2007 whereas, William Blake’s London was written in 1794. Blake wrote two volumes of poetry which explored the state of the human soul. London comes from the ‘Songs of Experience’ collection which explored how society had been corrupted. Blake held radical political views for the time ‘Runs in blood down palace walls’ suggests a reference to the French Revolution where the people overturned the Monarchy. Blake’s negative feelings and anger reflect radical views held at the time. In contrast, John Agard is writing at a time when people have an amount of freedom, but are still restricted by people in power and denied access to fair representation. Agard references historical figures such as Mary Seacole ‘she travel far/ to the Crimean War’ to emphasise how far we’ve come on the road to equality, but shows anger that we are still not there by illustrating our lack of focus on these figures in Education by naming her white British counterpart ‘Florence Nightingale and she lamp’ who is regularly drawn to in reference to the Crimean War. Blake’s poem is secured within a specific historical period whereas Agard’s draws on history to suggest change in the present.

To conclude, both poets illustrate their anger within the poems and direct it at people in authority; those who hold power. Blake uses anger to shame his readers into changing their attitudes toward the poor and accepting responsibility. Agard uses negative feelings of power to align the reader with his perspective. Both want society to change and suggest their anger will not be dissipated until change happens for one and all.

EXAMINER FEEDBACK:

• Clear intro with a good detailed point of comparison that shows awareness of context. 
• The approach of comparing techniques is perhaps not entirely helpful, the structure of the essay would be better if the student started with comparing / contrasting ideas to do with the question, then using the techniques to back up their analysis. 
• There’s a clear shape to the essay including a thesis, separate middle paragraphs and a conclusion. 
• The AO2 analysis is very thorough and precise, often considering words and the effects of techniques in detail .

AO1 L4-L5 9/12 

• Clear, explained response to the task and whole text. 
• Effective use of references to support the explanation.
• Needs a little restructuring to achieve a higher level – paragraphs should explore topics rather than techniques. 

AO2 L5-L6 11/12 

• Examination of writer’s methods with subject terminology used effectively to support consideration of methods .
• Examination of effects of writer’s methods to create meanings.
• Precise application of themes and context .
• Thoughtful consideration of ideas/perspectives/contextual factors shown by examination of detailed links between context/text/task.
• Could go into further precise detail to achieve even higher – sometimes the context points are underdeveloped and quickly skipped over, although they are precise and accurate .

25/30 83% Borderline L7-L8 grade

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