Planning for the COMPARE question.

For those of you who were in the lesson earlier on, you probably don't need this. But there were a few of you missing.

In the COMPARE section, you will simply need to analyse two poems (using OVERLAPPERS if you want). You should be looking to write between 6-8 paragraphs, which isn't very much really. The main thing you are trying to do is to find what the poems do that is SIMILAR or DIFFERENT.

What we said earlier on was this:

1. Do an introductory paragraphs where you demonstrate that you know the background and context of each of the two poems, and briefly state what they are about or what their purpose is.

2. Write about 4/5 paragraphs where you try to find LANGUAGE/IMAGERY features that they share in common or do differently. This is where OVERLAPPERS will come in handy. Remember, you're only trying to find about 4-5 points to make.

3. Your first of these paragraphs should be (to get you started) about the LEXICAL FIELDS that each poem uses. Look at what TYPE of words they use to create a certain atmosphere or tone. Give a few examples from each and explain what the effect on the reader is. EVERY poem does this, so it is a perfect way to begin.

4. Then use OVERLAPPERS - Maybe both use onomatopoeia, or alliteration, or juxtapositions, or graphic imagery, or dehumanisations etc....If you find something they BOTH do, then that is the basis of your paragraph!!

5. If you run out of things they BOTH do, then point out their differences instead. ie, one of them uses dehumanisations to show how badly people are being treated - the other does the same sort of thing, but it uses graphic imagery instead to achieve the effect.

6. Finish off with a paragraph about the STRUCTURE (stanzas, rhythm, rhyme, length, enjambment, caesura) of each poem, and a paragraph about the SIMILAR/DIFFERENT themes of each poem.

And relax :)

NW