1. UNSEEN POETRY
A664 – 45 minutes to write about an unseen poem (one question, no choice)

2. Lesson 1

3. PRACTICE FOR THE EXAM
ANNOTATE AS MANY FEATURES OF S.M.I.L.E. IN THIS
POEM AS YOU CAN IN 10 MINUTES
About His Person (page 105)
a rolled up note of explanation
Five pounds fifty in change, exactly, planted there like a spray carnation
a library card on its date of expiry.
but beheaded, in his fist.
A postcard stamped,
A shopping list.
unwritten, but franked,
A giveaway photograph stashed in his wallet,
a pocket size diary slashed with a pencil
a keepsake banked in the heart of a locket.
from March twenty-fourth to the first of April.
No gold or silver,
A brace of keys for a mortise lock,
but crowning one finger
an analogue watch, self winding, stopped.
a ring of white unweathered skin.
A final demand
That was everything.
in his own hand,
 Simon Armitage
What did you find?

4. LEARNING OBJECTIVE
OV E R T H E N E X T T W O L E S S O N S W E W I L L
THINK ABOUT:
How do we evaluate the tone of a poem? (AO1)
What does an A look like in the Contemporary Poetry exam? (AO1 and 2)

5. UNSEEN POETRY
PLAN
 Read the question, highlighting the key words. Read the poem with the question in
mind.
 Annotate the poem looking for features of SMILE that relate to the question you
are being asked to answer.
 Sequence these into clear points, cluster together any points that might be related
and can therefore be written about in the same PEARL paragraph.
 If there are bulletpoints to help you structure a response, make sure you have
selected a PEARL for each. If there are no bulletpoints, use the SMILE structure to
help you organise your response.
You have 10 minutes at the most to do this

6. UNSEEN POETRY
RESPOND
 Write a response which begins with an outline of the poem‟s meaning, tone
and how the poet wants the reader to feel about their subject. You should
include the key words from the question.
 Next come your PEARL paragraphs addressing either the bulletpoints or
SMILE. Remember the key words from the question should feature in your point
and in your EAR.
 Conclude with a personal response (remember to be positive – there are no
marks for „I hated this poem, it was rubbish!‟) and bring everything back to the key
words in the question.

7. HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE
TONE OF A POEM? (AO1)
In your introduction it is a good idea to summarise the poem‟s meaning, tone and
the response you think the poet wanted from the reader.
The tone and reader response are created by the poem overall – the events and
their order, the narrative voice, the rhythm and rhyme, the use of imagery, the
word choices, the layout on the page...
It is like looking at a picture and being able to sense the tone and mood an artist
wanted to create. Or hearing a piece of music and having it put you in a particular
mood.

8. HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE
TONE OF A POEM? (AO1)
 Listen to the songs. How does each make you feel?
This is probably the mood and tone the artist was going for when they
composed the song. They wanted to make the reader feel a particular way
about an idea or issue. They also wanted to portray their own feelings.

9. TEACHER: CHOOSE SOME
SONGS WITH CLEAR TONE
AND MOOD
e.g. Ride of the Valkyires, Swan Lake, The Lazy song Bruno Mars, So
what Pink... (all available on youtube – but just listen don’t watch)

10. HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE
TONE OF A POEM? (AO 1)
Take a look at the images that follow. For each write down the
tone/mood in the image and how you think the artist wanted
the person looking at it to feel. What emotion do they evoke in
you?

11. 1

12. 2

13. 3

14. 4

15. 5

16. 6

17. 7

18. 8

19. 9

20. 10

21. HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE
TONE OF A POEM? (AO1)
Poetry is just like the songs or painting, it is a way of communicating an idea and
feeling.
Now take a look at these extracts of poetry :
 What is the tone/mood of each extract?
 How do you think the poet wanted the person reading it to feel?
 What emotion do they evoke in you?
 How does the poet feel about the subject of their poem?

22. Brash with glass,
I‟m not playing ball boy any longer
Name flaring like a flag,
Batman, now I‟ve doffed that off-the-shoulder
It squats
Sherwood-forest-green and scarlet number
In the grass and weeds,
Explain yuself For a pair of jeans and crew-neck jumper;
Incipent Port Jackson trees:
wha yu mean Now I‟m taller; harder; stronger; older.
New, up-market, haute cuisine,
when yu say half-caste Guard at the gatepost,
Whites only inn.
Sometimes, the sudden rush
It grows back, a stump of a shoot Of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
Grows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins, Silver crashes to the ground
It ties the other tongue in knots, And the flow has found
The bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth, A roar of tongues.
It pushes the other tongue aside.
Every time I think I‟ve forgotten, This is the time and place to be alive:
I think I‟ve lost the mother tongue,
It blossoms out of my mouth.
When the daily furniture of our lives
Stirs, when the improbable arrives.

23. HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE
TONE OF A POEM? (AO1)
In your introduction it is a good idea to summarise the poem’s meaning,
tone and the response you think the poet wanted from the reader.
Here is an example introduction to the question: how does the poet show their
opinions strongly?:
In Agard’s Poem he expresses his reaction towards the use of the word ‘half-caste’ to describe
people of mixed race. His response is angry, almost confrontational, and direct in addressing
the reader. He demands the reader think about the use of the word and, by the end of the
poem, he makes us feel as strongly about it’s use as he does.
Explain yuself
wha yu mean
Your turn – choose any other extract and write when yu say half-caste
the introduction to the same question.

24. HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE
TONE OF A POEM? (AO1)
What are we looking for/at?






25. H O W D O W E E V A L UA T E T H E T O N E O F A P O E M ? ( A O 1 )
S O M E T I M E S YO U M I G H T R E A D A P O E M W H E R E T H E
T O N E C H A N G E S PA R T WA Y T H R O U G H
Morning Groggily groggily
And island man wakes up Comes back to sands
To the sound of blue surf in his head Of a grey metallic soar
What
The steady breaking and wombing To surge of wheels
different
To dull North Circular roar
tones and
Wild seabirds moods can
And fishermen pushing out to sea Muffling muffling you see in
The sun surfacing defiantly His crumpled pillow waves this poem?
From the east Island man heaves himself
Of his small emerald island
He always comes back Another London day

26. Lesson 2

27. LEARNING OBJECTIVE
OV E R T H E T W O L E S S O N S W E H AV E A N D
WILL BE THINKING ABOUT:
How do we evaluate the tone of a poem? (AO1)
What does an A look like in the Contemporary Poetry exam? (AO1 and 2)

28. STARTER:
Look at the poem: From the Motorway and the question .
You have 10 minutes to annotate the features of S.M.I.L.E.
that you think would help you answer this question.

29. Teacher: Feedback from starter onto board.

30. UNSEEN POETRY
PLAN
 Read the question, highlighting the key words. Read the poem with the question in
mind.
 Annotate the poem looking for features of SMILE that relate to the question you
are being asked to answer.
 Sequence these into clear points, cluster together any points that might be related
and can therefore be written about in the same PEARL paragraph.
 If there are bulletpoints to help you structure a response, make sure you have
selected a PEARL for each. If there are no bulletpoints, use the SMILE structure to
help you organise your response.
You have 10 minutes at the most to do this

31. WHAT DOES AN A LOOK LIKE IN THE
C O N T E M P O R A RY P O E T RY E X A M ? ( A O 1 A N D 2 )
How does the poet make From the Motorway such a powerful attack on motorways?
You should consider:
• how the poet describes the scenery and destinations on motorways L
&
• how the poet describes the experience of travelling on motorways I
• what the travellers on motorways are missing M
• the tone of voice in the poem E
• the language the poet uses L
• how the poem is structured S
• anything else that you think important.

32. FROM THE MOTORWAY
ANNE STEVENSON
Everywhere up and down the island till you‟re there, wherever there defending a shamelessly naked 25
Britain is mending her desert: is, ready to be someone in (rarely a stitch of work on her)
marvellous we exclaim as we fly on it,
Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, 15 captive free lane,
tying the country in a parcel.
they‟re all the same to the road,
London to Edinburgh, Birmingham to Cardiff. 5 which the inchlings inch on
which loves itself, which nonetheless
No time to examine the contents, without bite or sup, at most
here and there hands you trailing
a hard shoulder to creep on, 30
thank you, but consider the bliss of
necklaces of fumes in which to be
sitting absolutely numbed to your while there, on all sides,
one squeezed breather among 20
nulled mind, music when you want it, lie your unwrapped destinations,
rich and ragged, sprinter and staggerer,
while identical miles thunder under you, 10 lanes trickling off into childhood
a status parade for Major Roadworks
the same spot coming and going or anonymity, apple-scented villages
toiling in his red-trimmed triangle,
seventy, eighty times a minute, asleep in their promise of being 35
then a regiment of wounded orange witches
nowhere anyone would like to get to.

33. WHAT DOES AN A LOOK LIKE IN THE
C O N T E M P O R A RY P O E T RY E X A M ? ( A O 1 A N D 2 )
So you‟ve gathered your evidence to answer this question. Now, how will you
structure your response? What will your PEARLs be?
PEARLs:
1.
2.
3.
Number your evidence/annotations to show which PEARL it belongs with.
Will you cover all elements of the question/SMILE with this plan?

34. UNSEEN POETRY
RESPOND
 Write a response which begins with an outline of the poem‟s meaning, tone
and how the poet wants the reader to feel about their subject. You should
include the key words from the question.
 Next come your PEARL paragraphs addressing either the bulletpoints or
SMILE. Remember the key words from the question should feature in your point
and in your EAR.
 Conclude with a personal response (remember to be positive – there are no
marks for „I hated this poem, it was rubbish!‟) and bring everything back to the key
words in the question.

35. WHAT DOES AN A LOOK LIKE IN THE
C O N T E M P O R A RY P O E T RY E X A M ? ( A O 1 A N D 2 )
What follows is a response to this question, which
was the June 2011 exam question. Using the mark
scheme, what mark and band would you give it?

36. Contemporary Poetry A664
Band Mark AO1 AO2 QWC
1 16 •sophisticated critical perception in •sensitive understanding of the •text is legible
15 response to and interpretation of text significance and effects of writers‟ •spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate and
cogent and precise evaluation of well- choices of language, structure and assured
selected detail from the text form •meaning is very clearly communicated
2 14 •critical engagement and insight in •critical insight into the •text is legible
13 response to and interpretation of text(s) significance and effects of writers‟ •spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate
•evaluation of well-selected reference to choices of language, structure and •meaning is very clearly communicated
detail of text(s) form
3 12 •clear, sustained responses to the text(s) •clear understanding of some of •text is legible
11 •support from careful and relevant the effects of writers‟ choices of •spelling, punctuation and grammar are mainly accurate
reference to detail of the text(s) language, structure and form •meaning is clearly communicated
4 10 •reasonably developed personal •overall understanding that writers‟ •text is legible
9 response to the text(s) choices of language, structure and •some errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar
•use of appropriate support from detail form contribute to meaning/effect •meaning is clearly communicated for most of the answer
of the text(s)
5 8 •reasonably organised response to •understanding of some features of •text is mostly legible
7 text(s) language, structure and/or form •frequent errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar
•use of some relevant support from the •communication of meaning is sometimes hindered
text(s)

37. In the poem „‟From the Motorway‟ the motorway is portrayed as a mind-numbingly dull experience
which saps precious moments away from unwitting drivers.
The poet describes the motorway as an endless cycle of reoccurring images that never cease to bore
drivers as they witness the same road in the same constant stripe: “while identical miles thunder under
you”. The writer uses distressed, repetitive imagery to create the same dull feeling in the reader as the
scenery does to the driver. However the beginning may begin lacking excitement as the narrator
describes the motorway, the narrator ends the poem with a irresistibly luring description of the places
the drivers miss as they drive on past: “apple scented villages”. The narrator is therefore claiming that
the motorway drains and leeches the fun and excitement of travelling as it boxes you in its path and
won‟t release you until you reach your destination..
The narrator refers to the country as a gift not to be opened as you drive on down the frustratingly
never-ending motorway, “tying the country in a parcel... No time to examine the contents”. The
narrators tone when describing the parcel is pleasant and excitable however the tone drops to that of
depression like that of a disappointed child unable to open a present. Again this shows that the
motorway prevents any fun being absorbed on the long inescapable trek. However the poet does later
open the package for the reader towards the end of the poem. The gift is that of freedom “lanes
trickling off into childhood” all that which the motorway is stripping away. All these people need is a
way out, which presents them as prisoners and the motorway as the person with the key unwilling to
share once again portraying the motorway as an evil dictator.
The writer uses personification to place blame on the motorway as if it is the motorway‟s doing , like it
is the motorway‟s fault “they‟re all the same to the road which loves it‟s self... hands you...”. This
portrays the motorway as a selfish, self obsessed, attention clutching captor who will spit you out when
you‟ve served your purpose. It self-centred attitude means it cares not where you go, only how you get
there and that way is the motorway. It drags both you and your car along until you are both battered and
shattered and leaves you to fend for yourself once you leave its company.

38. In the poem „‟From the Motorway‟ the motorway is portrayed as a mind-numbingly dull experience
which saps precious moments away from unwitting drivers. Good overview
Textual Support 
The poet describes the motorway as an endless cycle of reoccurring images that never cease to bore
drivers as they witness the same road in the same constant stripe: “while identical miles thunder under

you”. The writer uses distressed, repetitive imagery to create the same dull feeling in the reader as the

scenery does to the driver. However the beginning may begin lacking excitement as the narrator

describes the motorway, the narrator ends the poem with a irresistibly luring description of the places
the drivers miss as they drive on past: “apple scented villages”. The narrator is therefore claiming that

the motorway drains and leeches the fun and excitement of travelling as it boxes you in its path and
won‟t release you until you reach your destination.. Reader involvement

The narrator refers to the country as a gift not to be opened as you drive on down the frustratingly
never-ending motorway, “tying the country in a parcel... No time to examine the contents”.Right Word
The
narrators tone when describing the parcel is pleasant and excitable however the tone drops to that of
depression like that of a disappointed child unable to open a present. Again this shows that with Metaphor
Engaging the

motorway prevents any fun being absorbed on the long inescapable trek. However the poet does later

open the package for the reader towards the end of the poem. The gift is that of freedom “lanes
trickling off into childhood” all that which the motorway is stripping away. All these people need is a
way out, which presents them as prisoners and the motorway as the person with the key unwilling to
share once again portraying the motorway as an evil dictator.
 
The writer uses personification to place blame on the motorway as if it is the motorway‟s doing , like it
is the motorway‟s fault “they‟re all the same to the road which loves it‟s self... hands you...”. This
portrays the motorway as a selfish, self obsessed, attention clutching captor who will spit you out when
you‟ve served your purpose. It self-centred attitude means it cares not where you go, only how you get

there and that way is the motorway. It drags both you and your car along until you are both battered and
shattered and leaves you to fend for yourself once you leave its company.
Critical engagement and insight. Not exhaustive but does discuss the material
in the poem and the candidate has structured well.

39. WHAT DOES AN A LOOK LIKE IN THE
C O N T E M P O R A RY P O E T RY E X A M ? ( A O 1 A N D 2 )
This is a forceful response to the unseen poem. The introduction suggests a
willingness to engage with both AO1 and AO2. The poet‟s disdain for the
motorways is immediately identified and literary devices referred to. There is
analysis of and response to the „parcel‟ metaphor and supported discussion of the
personification of the motorway and its arrogance. The candidate comments
intelligently on the structure in the last paragraph. Although there is not always
comment on some aspects on which the response touches (“orange witches”),
critical insight is clear.
What mark did you give it?
This was given a Band 2: 13 marks
Do we agree?

40. WHAT DOES AN A LOOK LIKE IN THE
C O N T E M P O R A RY P O E T RY E X A M ? ( A O 1 A N D 2 )
Examiner‟s tips:
Basic responses will make relevant comments on what Stevenson says, largely through
paraphrasing. They will move on through the bands as understanding becomes more secure and
better supported by textual reference. Good responses will begin to explore the language of the
poem. There are sound devices reflecting the miles travelled on a motorway that “thunder under”.
Metaphors like “necklaces of fumes”, and the activities of the military Major roadworks,
protecting the shamelessly naked free lane might be discussed/analysed in high band answers here.
Comment on structure might consider the use of enjambment, the constricted third line of verse
five mirroring the traffic filtering because of a lane not taken, the way the last five verses hurry to a
full stop at the end of verse 6. There is much that can be said about this poem (its title has
ambiguities) and it is important to accept thoughtful exploration here. Best answers will discuss
the poem, its language and structure with some insight.