Page 26 - Year 10

English Literature: 4 of 4

Steps to Success
Poetry exemplar response:
1. Start with an introduction outlining the link
between the two poems. How is the impact of war presented in ‘Poppies’ and one other

2. Begin each comparison with topic sentence poem of your choice?
that explains the focus for your comparison in Both ‘Poppies’ and ‘War Photographer’ deal with the impact of war
relation to the question. on people other than soldiers. Whilst ‘Poppies’ focuses on the

3. Add a point, technique and first quotation impact war has on a soldier’s mother, ‘War Photographer’ focuses
for poem 1 and briefly explain its on the eponymous photographer.
importance.

4. Explore how & why the technique has been Both poets use figurative language to portray the impact of war
used by the author. has. Weir uses a metaphor to convey the narrator’s distress at her
5. Use SWA to explore the deeper son’s leaving for war as she runs her ‘fingers through the gelled
connotations of the words used, and how blackthorns of [his] hair.’ The imagery suggests pain and suffering –

they link to the purpose of the text. blackthorn pricks can cause infection and joint swelling, so this has
6. What themes/techniques have been connotations of the physical pain his leaving is causing her. At a
developed and how? Could you add another symbolic level, the imagery reminds us of the biblical reference, in
SWA to support your ideas at this point? the new testament, to the crown of thorns based on Jesus’ head
7. Consider how the reader prior to his crucifixion. This reminds us of the belief held by

thinks/feels/responds to the Christians that Jesus suffered for the good of mankind, drawing a
purpose/message of poem 1. parallel with the suffering soldiers, and their families, undertake on
8. Consider how your quotes link to the our behalf. We sympathise with the mother who is
background and context of the poem.

9. Repeat the process for poem 2, making links suffering due to the indirect impact of war.
to poem 1, and the main focus of the Similarly, in ‘War Photographer’ Duffy uses figurative language
question. to portray the impact of war …