Paper 2 Unseen Poetry: Reading a Poem Closely

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What Paper 2 asks

You read one poem (or extract) you have never seen and answer two compulsory questions, 15 marks each, in 1 hour 15 minutes.
The poem may be written in English or be in English translation; there are no set texts.
The rubric suggests spending about 20 minutes reading and planning before writing.
Both questions test all four AOs: detail and quotation (AO1), meaning (AO2), the poet's methods (AO3) and personal response (AO4).
The printed introduction to the poem is a clue — read it carefully (e.g.×"the poem describes the morning newspaper being delivered to the poet's apartment"×).

A reading routine

Read 1 — for sense: who is speaking, to whom, where, about what? What happens from start to end?
Read 2 — for shape: stanzas, line lengths, rhyme, repetitions, where the poem turns.
Read 3 — with the questions: underline everything that helps answer (a), then (b).
Note shifts in tone or perspective — words such as×but×,×yet×,×now×,×then×often mark a turn.
Always ask of any detail: what does it make me feel or think, and why did the poet choose it?

Speaker, voice and tone

The speaker (persona) is the voice of the poem; it may not be the poet.
Tone is the speaker's attitude — bitter, tender, playful, ironic, wistful, anxious.
Mood is the atmosphere the reader feels.
Direct address ("you") draws the reader in or speaks to a person; apostrophe addresses something absent or abstract.
Tone can shift: tracing that shift is often the heart of a good answer.

Imagery and figurative language

Simile: a comparison with×like×or×as×—×"as if knee-deep in water"×makes the delivery man's walk slow and effortful.
Metaphor: saying one thing×is×another, which transfers its associations.
Personification: giving human qualities to non-human things.
Symbol: an object that stands for a larger idea (a door, a season, a bird).
Semantic field: a group of related words (violence, light, water) that builds an idea across the poem.
Unexpected comparisons matter most — a newspaper set down "as if it were a newborn" and then "like a bomb" jolts the reader.

Sound and rhythm

Rhyme can bind ideas together, give closure, or feel forced and ironic; note when a rhyme scheme breaks.
Rhythm/metre: regular beats can suggest calm or routine; broken rhythm suggests disturbance.
Alliteration (repeated initial consonants), assonance (repeated vowel sounds) and sibilance (repeated×s×sounds) shape how lines feel.
Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds.
Only discuss a sound effect if you can say what it adds — and take care with sound in translated poems.

Structure and form

Enjambment: a sentence runs over a line break, creating momentum or suspense.
Caesura: a pause within a line, often for emphasis or hesitation.
Volta: a turn in thought or feeling.
Refrain: a repeated line; each return can change its meaning.
Know common forms: sonnet (14 lines), villanelle (19 lines with two refrains), ballad, dramatic monologue, free verse (no regular rhyme or metre).
The ending deserves special attention: does it resolve, twist or leave things open?

From feature to effect

Spotting a device is AO1 at best; examiners reward what you say about its effect (AO3) and meaning (AO2).
A useful pattern: what the poet does → how it works on the reader → why it matters to the poem's ideas.
Zoom in on single words: connotations of a verb or adjective often carry the poem's attitude.
Personal response (AO4) is a judgement:×"The final line is unsettling because…"×

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1.How many questions do you answer in Paper 2?
Easy
- ATwo, both compulsory
- BOne from a choice of three
- CFour short questions
- DTwo from a choice of four
2.Roughly how long does the rubric suggest spending on reading and planning?
Easy
- AAbout 5 minutes
- BAbout 45 minutes
- CNo time — start writing at once
- DAbout 20 minutes
3."The fog comes / on little cat feet." (Carl Sandburg) Which technique is this?
Easy
- AOnomatopoeia
- BRefrain
- CMetaphor
- DSimile
4."I wandered lonely as a cloud" (Wordsworth) uses which technique?
Easy
- ACaesura
- BSimile
- CMetaphor
- DAlliteration
5.What is a volta?
Easy
- AA turn in thought or feeling
- BA repeated line
- CA pause within a line
- DA rhyme at the end of a line
6.What is enjambment?
Easy
- AA pause in the middle of a line
- BRepeated vowel sounds
- CA fourteen-line poem
- DA sentence running over a line break
7.What is a caesura?
Easy
- AA type of rhyme
- BThe title of a poem
- CA pause within a line
- DA line break
8.What is the difference between tone and mood?
Medium
- ATone is the title; mood is the ending
- BTone is the speaker's attitude; mood is the atmosphere the reader feels
- CThey mean exactly the same
- DTone is rhythm; mood is rhyme

Thêm câu hỏi

9.Why read the printed introduction to the unseen poem carefully?
Medium
- AIt gives the situation and focus of the poem
- BIt contains the mark scheme
- CIt lists the techniques to find
- DIt is not part of the paper
10.A poem has 14 lines and turns in line 9. Which form is it most likely to be?
Medium
- AA villanelle
- BA ballad
- CA haiku
- DA sonnet
11.Which form has 19 lines and two repeated refrains?
Medium
- AFree verse
- BLimerick
- CVillanelle
- DSonnet
12.What is free verse?
Medium
- AA poem anyone may copy
- BPoetry without regular rhyme or metre
- CPoetry that rhymes every line
- DA poem with no punctuation
13.In the specimen poem, the newspaper is set down 'as if it were a newborn' and then 'like a bomb'. What is the main effect of the pair?
Medium
- AA shocking shift from tenderness to menace
- BA calm, reassuring picture
- CA description of the weather
- DHumour about babies
14.Which word most often signals a turn in a poem?
Medium
- AAnd
- BThe
- COf
- DBut
15.What is a semantic field?
Medium
- AA rhyme scheme
- BThe poem's title and first line
- CA group of related words that builds an idea
- DA poem set in a field
16.Which answer sentence earns most credit for AO3?
Medium
- ALine 4 is about a man walking.
- BThe simile 'knee-deep in water' slows the man's movement, making his work seem heavy and effortful.
- CThere is a simile in line 4.
- DThe poet uses lots of techniques.
17.When should you comment on a sound effect such as alliteration?
Medium
- AWhen you can explain what it adds to meaning or feeling
- BEvery time you find one
- CNever — sound is not assessed
- DOnly in the conclusion
18.What is apostrophe in poetry?
Medium
- AA punctuation mark for possession
- BA pause in the line
- CA repeated sound
- DAddressing someone absent or something abstract
19.Short, broken lines with frequent full stops in the middle most likely suggest…
Medium
- Aa regular song rhythm
- Bnothing at all
- Chesitation, shock or strain
- Da smooth, flowing calm
20.Why is the ending of an unseen poem worth special attention?
Medium
- AIt never contains imagery
- BIt often resolves, twists or reframes the whole poem
- CIt is always the least important part
- DExaminers only read the ending
21.Which are structural features? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AEnjambment
- BCaesura
- CStanza length
- DSimile
- EPersonification
22.Which are sound devices? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AAssonance
- BSibilance
- CMetaphor
- DVolta
- EAlliteration
23.Which questions should you ask on your first reading? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AWhat happens from beginning to end?
- BHow many syllables are in line 7?
- CWhich critic wrote about the poem?
- DWho is speaking?
- EWhat situation is described?
24.Paper 2 has set poems you study in advance.
Easy
True or false?
25.The speaker of a poem is always the poet.
Easy
True or false?
26.The unseen poem may be a translation.
Easy
True or false?
27.Both Paper 2 questions are worth the same number of marks.
Easy
True or false?
28.Listing techniques without explaining effects is the best way to show AO3.
Medium
True or false?
29.A break in a rhyme scheme can be significant.
Medium
True or false?
30.Personification gives human qualities to non-human things.
Medium
True or false?
31.Match each term to its definition.
Medium
- Simile
- Metaphor
- Personification
- Symbol
- A comparison using 'like' or 'as'
- Saying one thing is another
- Giving human qualities to non-human things
- An object standing for a larger idea
32.Match each form to its description.
Medium
- Sonnet
- Villanelle
- Free verse
- Dramatic monologue
- Fourteen lines, often with a volta
- Nineteen lines built on two refrains
- No regular rhyme or metre
- A single character speaks to a silent listener
33.Match each device to a likely effect.
Medium
- Enjambment
- Caesura
- Refrain
- Sibilance
- Momentum or suspense across a line break
- A pause for emphasis or hesitation
- Insistence; meaning that shifts with each return
- A hushed, whispering or hissing sound
34.Put the reading routine in order.
Medium
- Read with the questions and underline evidence
- Read for sense: speaker, situation, events
- Read for shape: stanzas, rhyme, turns
35.Order the steps of analysing one detail.
Medium
- Why it matters to the poem's ideas
- What the poet does
- How it works on the reader
36.Complete the sentence.
Easy
Each Paper 2 question is worth ____ marks.
37.Complete the sentence.
Medium
The voice of a poem, which may not be the poet, is called the ____.
38.Complete the sentence.
Medium
The repetition of vowel sounds is called ____.
39.What is the term for a repeated line in a poem?
Easy
40.How long is Paper 2?
Medium
41.Explain why noticing a shift in tone is valuable in an unseen poetry answer.
Medium
42.Explain the difference between identifying a technique and analysing it, with an example.
Medium
43.Describe what you would look for on your second reading of an unseen poem.
Medium

Ghi chú ôn tập

## Paper 2 - One **unseen** poem (English or translation), **two compulsory** questions × **15**; **1 h 15**; ~**20 min** reading/planning. All four AOs in each answer. ## Reading routine 1. **Sense**: speaker, situation, events. 2. **Shape**: stanzas, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, **turn**. 3. **Questions**: underline evidence. Track **shifts** (*but*, *yet*, *now*). ## Toolkit - **Voice**: speaker/persona, tone, mood, direct address, apostrophe. - **Imagery**: simile, metaphor, personification, symbol, semantic field. - **Sound**: rhyme, rhythm/metre, alliteration, assonance, sibilance, onomatopoeia. - **Structure/form**: enjambment, caesura, volta, refrain; sonnet (14), villanelle (19, two refrains), ballad, dramatic monologue, free verse. ## Method - **What → how → why**; then a judgement (AO4). Features without effects earn little.

Speaker / persona: The voice of a poem, which may not be the poet.
Tone: The speaker's attitude, e.g. bitter, tender, ironic.
Mood: The atmosphere the reader experiences.
Simile: A comparison using 'like' or 'as'.
Metaphor: Describing one thing as if it is another.
Personification: Giving human qualities to something non-human.
Enjambment: A sentence running over a line break.
Caesura: A pause within a line of poetry.
Volta: A turn in a poem's thought or feeling.
Refrain: A line repeated through a poem.
Villanelle: A 19-line form built on two refrains.
Free verse: Poetry without regular rhyme or metre.
Semantic field: A group of words related in meaning.

Thẻ ghi nhớ

Paper 2 format?

One unseen poem, two compulsory questions, 15 marks each, 1 h 15.

Suggested planning time?

About 20 minutes reading and planning.

Three reads?

Sense (speaker, situation) → shape (structure, turn) → questions (evidence).

Tone vs mood?

Tone = speaker's attitude; mood = atmosphere felt by the reader.

Simile vs metaphor?

Simile compares with like/as; metaphor says one thing is another.

Enjambment?

A sentence running over the line break.

Caesura?

A pause within a line.

Volta?

The turn in thought or feeling.

Villanelle?

19 lines, two refrains, strict rhyme (aba).

Sibilance?

Repeated 's' sounds — hushing, hissing or whispering effects.

Apostrophe?

Addressing someone absent or something abstract.

What earns AO3 credit?

Explaining how a method creates an effect and meaning — not just naming it.

Words that often signal a turn?

But, yet, now, then, still.

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