The two poems present similar experiences of bullying at school but with some differences: - Both speakers write about being bullied by other children, experiencing hurtful name-calling and social isolation in "The Place's Fault" and physical threats in "My Parents Kept Me." - However, the poems differ in tone - "The Place's Fault" expresses anger and a sense of having no escape from the bullying, while "My Parents Kept Me" reflects more on the speaker's fear of the other children. - Structurally, "The Place's Fault" directly describes the bullying experience, while "My Parents Kept Me" more subtly conveys the speaker's feelings through comparisons to other children.

1. UNSEEN POEMS
Highlight/circle/underline the prompt phrase – love,
school days, change, ageing, feelings about…. etc.
1.Paragraph 1 – meaning/main idea - What is the
poet trying to present about ___________ ? Can you
find a single phrase that perfectly summarises this?
The poet presents her feelings towards her daughter as loving
and protective, terrified that she becomes ‘more breakable’ as
she grows older.
Paragraphs 2-4 could be in any order:
2. Paragraph 2 – How is the poet using the structure
to present _____________ ?
3. Paragraph 3 – Starting from the top, zoom in on
the most noticeable language or imagery that fits the
meaning/main idea?
4. Paragraph 4 – zoom in on more noticeable
language or imagery that fits the main idea.
5. Paragraph 5 – How does the end fit with the main
idea? What is the final thought we are left with?
In my view the poem argues that…
______ conveys…
The poem is about…
The meaning of the poem is clear from…
_________argues we should ___________…
Structurally the poem…
The language of the poem is…
This imagery could refer to…..
….possibly conveying the idea of ….
…..might be used to highlight…..
What is the poet doing?
(Point/Topic Sentence)
How is the poet doing it?
(Technique/Evidence)
Why is the writer doing it?
(Analysis – zoom in on
word meaning and writer
impact)
MISZZE – Main Idea, Structure, Zoom in, Zoom in, End.
If you are really, really stuck : what does the title suggest?

2. Q27.2
In ‘My Parents Kept Me’ and in ‘The Place’s fault’, both speakers write
about their experiences of bullying. What are the similarities and /or
differences between the ways the poets present these experiences?
Q27.1
In ‘The Place’s Fault’ how does the poet present feelings about his
school days?
The Place's Fault
Another afternoon, after a rotten day at school
Hating this place, hating them, and feeling like a fool
Sweat on my fingers, pages dirty with smears
I stumbled up the street, still swallowing my tears
Held my head high in pride I walked on the hot concrete
I blinked out to the sunlight, exhausted from the heat
At the gate they stood. Same old looks thinking I chose to stay
I looked back with disgust. Shouted swear words and walked away
"****" they called me. "Freak!" they yelled and ran
It hurt and I didn't understand. But I tried to keep it in as hard as I can
I didn't want to seem weak. And that anger started to build up
I thought I was right, yet I was punished when I tried to make it stop
that's when I knew, only I take care of myself but don't get caught.
More anger and more violence. No other choice. It was the place's fault
Time could not fix that, nothing could make these wounds heal
That's just how they damage you, my innocence they did steal
There was nothing there for me. Nothing I haven't had to learn.
Nothing I'd care to teach. A childhood lost with no return.
Phillip Hobsbawm
My Parents
My parents kept me from children who were rough
Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes
Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street
And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.
I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron
Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms
I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys
Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.
They were lithe they sprang out behind hedges
Like dogs to bark at my world. They threw mud
While I looked the other way, pretending to smile.
I longed to forgive them but they never smiled.
By Stephen Spender

3. Q27.2
In ‘A Wish for My Children’ and in ‘A Child’s Sleep’, both speakers write
about watching their children. What are the similarities and /or
differences between the ways the poets present these experiences?
Q27.1
In ‘A Child’s Sleep’ how does the poet present feelings about her
daughter?
A Wish for My Children
On this doorstep I stand
year after year
to watch you going
and think: May you not
skin your knees. May you
not catch your fingers
in car doors. May
your hearts not break.
May tide and weather
wait for your coming
and may you grow strong
to break
all webs of my weaving.
Evangeline Paterson

4. Q27.2
In ‘I Had Rather Be A Woman’, the poet describes feelings about
relationships. What are the similarities and/or differences between the
ways the poets present those feeling in ‘First Frost’ and this poem
Q27.1
In ‘First Frost’ how does the poet present feelings about love?

5. Q27.2
In ‘The Road Not Taken’ and in ‘The Journey’, both speakers write
about making difficult choices in life. What are the similarities and /or
differences between the ways the poets present these experiences?
Q27.1
‘The Journey’ is a poem about changing a bad situation and becoming
independent. How does the poet present these feelings?

6. Comparison Question
• How are the poems similar/different in terms of content?
• How are the poems similar/different in terms of themes/messages.
• How are they similar/different in terms of mood and messages?
• How are they similar/different in terms of style/structure?
• How are they similar/different in terms of personal response?
Write more about poem 2 as you have written a full essay for poem 1.