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The unseen poetry section of the AQA English Literature GCSE seems to strike fear into the hearts of many students, and I’ve never understood why! Many students believe that the poems will be impossible to understand and that they won’t be able to say anything sensical at all.
However, nothing could be further from the truth!
This section allows for your own creative mind to interpret a poem in any way you like. You can use all the skills you have developed for the anthology poetry section, but with simpler-to-understand poems, no need to learn or write about context, and a much shorter and less in-depth comparative element.
What a doddle, right?
What seems to throw students off is how to unpick the meaning of the poems. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do this so that you can write confidently and effectively about any poem the exam may throw at you.
What is unseen poetry?
The unseen poetry section is on Paper 2, Section C of the AQA GCSE English Literature exam. It consists of two questions; the first (worth 24 marks) asks you to analyse how a given theme or concept is presented in just one poem, and the second (worth 8 marks) asks you to compare two unseen poems.
For the 24-mark question, you are assessed on both AO1 (your understanding and interpretation of the poem, supported by references) and AO2 (your analysis of the writer’s methods, such as language, structure and form).
For the 8-mark comparison, you are assessed ONLY on AO2, meaning you are marked solely on how well you analyse and compare the poets’ methods. This means there is much less to consider for this comparison than for the anthology poetry comparison question.
You have 45 minutes for this section of the exam. I would advise spending around 30–35 minutes on the 24-mark question and 10–15 minutes on the 8-mark comparison.
How to unpick an unseen poem
When facing a poem you have never seen before, it’s important to take the time to really get to grips with the ideas in the poem so you understand it clearly.
Always read the question first, highlighting the focus of the question, as this will give you a clue as to a message or idea in the poem.
I advise you to then read the poem multiple times, with a different goal each time you read, to focus your mind. You could follow the suggestion below:
- Read the poem once, and note down the first three words/phrases that come to mind. These should not be quotations, but rather thoughts and ideas, relationships spotted, or even questions that arise from reading the poem. These are just your initial thoughts – don’t overthink these!
- Read the poem a second time, this time highlighting any key images or phrases that stand out.
- Read the poem a third time. Using your notes and highlighted phrases along with this third reading, try to note down what you think the poem is about, or what you believe the key message or purpose of the poem is.
You should follow this process for both of the unseen poems.
How to respond to the unseen poetry single poem analysis
In the June 2023 paper, students were asked how Seamus Heaney presents the speaker’s feelings about their relationship in the poem Scaffolding. You can view a copy of the poem here.
The question was worth 24 marks.
Once you have unpicked the poem, it’s time to select the points you wish to make in response to the question. You should use your “Read three” message-of-the-poem ideas as a starting point, ensuring that these ideas directly address the question.
For example, for this poem and question, I wrote the following notes:
Speaker accepts there are problems at times, but is confident they can get through anything. Relationship was tested well from the start, so he feels they are solid and will last long term.
Using this as a starting point, you should come up with 3-4 key points in response to the question.
Label these points by number, then find evidence in the text for each point. Label the relevant quotations with the corresponding number and also label them with the technique used (language, structure, or form). This ensures that you don’t forget to discuss AO2.
Now you’re prepped and ready to write!
Using your notes from the third read-through and the points you’ve created, write an opening thesis paragraph. This shows the examiner that you have really considered the question and the poem thoroughly, and forms the concept into which all of the analysis paragraphs in the rest of your essay will feed.
Each point should include:
- a clear statement in response to the question
- appropriate evidence (this is usually, but not necessarily always, a quotation)
- a discussion of the ideas and inferences
- an analysis of methods
Unseen poetry model answer
Below is an example response.
The speaker feels incredibly confident in his relationship. Whilst he accepts that they will come across testing times, as all couples do in life, he knows that they tested their relationship well in the beginning and built the right foundations for their relationship to ensure that they can get through anything, and so he is secure in his belief that they will last for the long haul.
It is clear that the speaker knows they may come across problems in their relationship when they say, ‘So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be old bridges breaking between you and me.’ This suggests that he knows the relationship will shift and change as they grow together, and that some things may feel broken at times, implying that they may have disagreements or arguments, or even become different people as they get older. However, he ensures that he keeps his partner feeling confident and loved with the addition of the embedded phrase ‘my dear’, connoting love and care, as well as suggesting that he cherishes his partner.
The noun ‘bridges’ in this quotation has connotations of connection and strength, implying that they will always have a strong bond and connection to each other, with the use of enjambment in this phrase placing emphasis on the adjective ‘old’. This suggests that any parts of their relationship that do fall away and disappear were simply not needed anymore, the two of them having grown together, and that new ‘bridges’ have already been built to ensure they stay together.
In addition, the speaker seems to have a strong belief that they put in the work at the beginning of the relationship to ensure that they can get through any issues they do come across. He writes that masons are ‘careful to test out the scaffolding.’ This is used as part of the extended metaphor of the poem, with building walls representing building a relationship. This phrase suggests, therefore, that he believes it is important to ensure a support system is put in place before building a relationship together, and that anyone looking to embark on a relationship should have fail-safes in case of any issues that inevitably will come their way. By the end of the poem, he says that they can be ‘confident that we have built our wall.’ This suggests that he knows for sure that no matter what problems they encounter, they can never be broken; they will never fall. The use of the metaphor ‘wall’ has connotations of solid, strong and building, implying that he feels their relationship is solid, difficult to break, and can also be built upon, adding more strength with every new ‘brick’ – every passing year and experience together. The use of similar line lengths throughout creates the sense of stability and reliability; the poem literally looks like a solid wall, further highlighting the stability and assured reliance he has in their relationship. The fact that each stanza is two lines, or a couple, again highlights that they will remain a couple throughout everything they may face, never moving away from one another.
Finally, the speaker feels so confident in his relationship that he also feels able to reassure his partner of this confidence, in the fact that he appears to be speaking directly to them throughout. The line ‘Never fear’ suggests that his partner has no reason ever to worry about the state of their relationship, that no matter what happens, he will always stand by her side, and they will always be together and be able to rely on each other. This short sentence and caesura create a sense of finality – there is no alternative to the assured confidence, emphasising that he wants his partner to know he will always be with them. However, the use of imperative here also creates a sense of demand, perhaps insinuating that he is able to feel such complete confidence in their relationship because he also feels a sense of authority and dominance in their relationship, meaning that he never needs to question if his partner would leave, as he has total control over them.
Note: This example response was written by the author of this article and has not been provided or approved by AQA.
Notice that some paragraphs are longer than others. That’s okay! For some ideas, you may have more than one quotation to support your point; you may have multiple aspects of language and structure to discuss. For other points, there may just be one quotation and one clear aspect of language or structure to discuss.
As long as you give at least three clear points, discuss inferences and concepts for AO1, and discuss language, structure, or form for most of these points, you’ll be absolutely fine.
How to respond to the unseen poetry comparison question
You need to remember to allow enough time to respond to this question – many students just don’t attempt it. Try to leave 10-15 minutes for this.
On the flip side, remember that this question is only worth 8 marks, so ensure you spend the bulk of your unseen poetry section time on the 24-marker.
This question, despite looking very similar to the comparison question on the Anthology Poetry section, is actually much simpler. You are ONLY given marks for AO2 here, which is your analysis of methods (language/structure/form).
This does not mean that you need to compare like-for-like, such as how each poem uses similes. It means that you need to identify clear points for comparison based on ideas, but then zoom straight in to discuss how that idea is shown through methods.
If we look at the question from the June 2023 paper, I’ll show you exactly what I mean. The second unseen poem in this exam was Yours by Daniel Hoffman.
Students were asked to compare how Daniel Hoffman and Seamus Heaney present the speakers’ feelings about the strength of romantic relationships in Yours and Scaffolding, considering similarities and/or differences in their methods.
- First, you need to unpick the poem in the same way as for the first poem.
- From here, identify 2-3 clear similarities or differences between the IDEAS in the poem that are linked to the question. If these aren’t immediately apparent to you, it can be a good idea to create a Venn Diagram or a table to look at ideas for each poem and the similarities.
For example:
- From this, select two points to discuss and label these with numbers.
- Next, highlight relevant quotations from each poem, labelling each with the corresponding number, as well as the method you will be discussing. This could be language, form, or structure. The methods DO NOT need to be the same in each poem.
Writing up your comparison
Ensure that the opening line of each new idea shows a very clear point of comparison. Sentence starters could be:
- Both poems explore the idea of…However, in Poem A…, whereas in Poem B…
- Poem A shows X, whereas Poem B shows Y.
- Both poems create a sense of…
You can then explore each poem in turn. You could embed comparative phrases such as:
- ‘In a similar way to Poem A, Poem B…’
- ‘…which is the complete opposite of Poem B’.
The focus of your essay should be on analysing methods. This means exploring the impact, effects and suggestions of language, form or structure.
You could use the ‘What, How, Why’ method to explore this.
- What idea has the writer created?
- How have they shown this (what method have they used)?
- Why have they included this (what are the effects)?
Remember that this question is marked completely separately from the individual unseen poetry analysis, and so if there are ideas in your first response that are relevant for this question, you can absolutely reuse them. Just ensure that you only reuse relevant ideas. Plan your response without this in mind, though, to ensure you don’t end up discussing irrelevant points.
Unseen poetry model answer
Here is an example response.
Both poems show a sense of commitment in their relationship. However, in ‘Scaffolding’ this seems to be a healthy and mutual commitment, whereas in ‘Yours’ it seems toxic and one-sided.
In ‘Scaffolding’, Heaney writes:
‘We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident we have built our wall.’
Here, the writer uses the collective pronouns ‘we’ and ‘our’, implying that they are in this together and that they can rely on one another. Further to this, this is the final line of the poem, demonstrating that the speaker doesn’t feel the need to further convince his partner, knowing that they will be together. The use of the metaphor ‘wall’ as the final word has connotations of stability, solidity and bricks being permanently attached to each other. This implies that the speaker feels convinced that they will stick together permanently, never failing in their commitment, highlighting the strength of their relationship and love for each other.
However, in ‘Yours’, the writer uses the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘you’, never using ‘we’. This highlights that there is a sense of separation between them, that they are not committed to each other and that the strength of their love is failing them. Further to this, the writer uses the rhetorical question and metaphor, ‘What is an island, without a sea?’ This implies that the speaker feels lost without their partner and that they would be incomplete without them. The word ‘island’, however, has connotations of isolation, suggesting that the speaker knows their partner is not truly committed to them, and that they will end up alone in the end. ‘Sea’ has connotations of constant movement and waves, implying that their partner is likely to move on from this relationship, or that their demonstration of love ebbs and flows, forever keeping the speaker guessing as to what they are feeling or how committed they are.
In ‘Scaffolding’, the speaker shows confidence in the strength of their relationship in that they feel no more work is needed to ensure they stay together, whereas in ‘Yours’, the speaker shows anxiety about the strength of their relationship as they are seemingly pleading with their partner to stay.
In ‘Scaffolding,’ the speaker writes ‘the job’s done’. The noun ‘job’ has connotations of hard work, implying that building a committed and trusting relationship is difficult and requires a lot of effort. It also suggests that it isn’t always something they enjoyed doing. However, the use of the verb ‘done’ implies that he feels their relationship is now so solid that they no longer need to work at it. On the one hand, this could suggest that their relationship is mutually committed and solid; however, it could perhaps imply a sense of apathy as they have been together for a long time and they no longer bother to work at it, allowing ‘old bridges’ to fall away.
Note: This example response was written by the author of this article and has not been provided or approved by AQA.
Now you know how to unpick and interpret an unseen poem, plan, and write your responses to both questions, you can head into your exams confident in your approach!
FAQs
What paper is unseen poetry in?
Unseen poetry appears in Paper 2 (Modern Texts and Poetry), Section C of the AQA GCSE English Literature exam.
How many marks are unseen poetry questions worth?
The unseen poetry section is worth 32 marks in total: 24 marks for analysing a single unseen poem and 8 marks for comparing two unseen poems.
How long should I spend on AQA unseen poetry?
Students should spend around 45 minutes on the unseen poetry section. A good guideline is 30–35 minutes on the 24-mark question and 10–15 minutes on the 8-mark comparison.
How many paragraphs should I write for GCSE unseen poetry?
For the 24-mark question, aim for 3–4 analytical paragraphs plus a short introduction. For the 8-mark comparison, 2 clear comparison paragraphs are usually enough.
How do I get a 9 in unseen poetry?
To achieve a top grade, students should show a clear understanding of the poem’s ideas (AO1) and analyse how the writer uses language, structure and form (AO2) in the 24-mark question. In the 8-mark comparison, the focus is entirely on AO2, so you should concentrate on how each poet presents ideas through their methods. Strong responses select precise evidence, explore thoughtful interpretations, and clearly explain the effects of the poets’ choices. Reading mark schemes and examiners’ reports for past papers can also help you understand how marks are awarded and what examiners are looking for.
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