IGCSE English Literature - Poetry - Key Messages/Themes

If - Rudyard Kipling

Addressed to the poet's son, John. Explores how to live your life as a good and honorable 'man'.

form- Didactic poem / Advice poem

rhyme scheme- ABAB CDCD.

structure scheme- 4 octaves (8-line stanzas), regular rhythm - mirrors control and stability.

Linked to: Identity, Childhood, Relationships, What is means to be human, parents

Prayer Before Birth - Louis MacNeice

Narrative by an unborn child. Explores how society will harm the innocent unborn baby and shape what it will grow up to do. Presents a pessimistic view of society.

form- Dramatic monologue / Free verse

rhyme scheme- Irregular

structure- Varying stanza lengths – builds intensity. Written as a prayer from an unborn child.

Linked to: Death, Childhood, What it means to be human, suffering

Blessing - Imtiaz Dharker

free verse 4 stanza poem highlighting the value of water, written about the poet's experiences of a poverty-stricken slum just outside of Bombay. Uses lots of sensory language to evoke the scene.

4 stanzas - grows from short to long, mimicking the flow/explosion of water.

Linked to: Gratitude, religion, sensory language, suffering

Search for my Tongue - Sujata Bhatt

free verse poem highlights the poet's personal struggles with her perceived loss of her native language or 'mother tongue'. Shows the power of her 'mother tongue' and how it is a crucial part of her identity.

Mix of English and Gujarati. Visual fragmentation = identity split.

Linked to: Identity, language, suffering

Half-Past Two - U A Fanthorpe

A touching, somewhat nostalgic view of a child's perception of time. The absence of time for a child is presented as being something frightening.

form- Narrative poem

rhyme scheme- Irregular

Enjambment & irregular line lengths = child's innocent confusion of time.

Linked to: Time, memory, childhood, suffering, fear

Piano - D H LAwrence

A nostalgic yet sombre reflection of time over the years. The poet reflects on the overpowering emotions related with time, memories, ageing.

form- Lyric poem

rhyme scheme- Regular (AA BB...)

structure- 3 quatrains, rhymed couplets - gives musical, nostalgic rhythm.

Linked to: Time, memory, relationships, parents, love

Hide and Seek - Vernon Scannell

The poet uses the experience of a childhood game to explore the complex feelings around growing up and the anxieties of adult life such as loneliness.

form- Narrative poem

rhyme scheme- Free verse

structure- Single stanza = breathless, tense pace. Enjambment builds suspense.

Linked to: Childhood, time, loneliness

Sonnet 116 - Shakespeare

The poet explores the nature of love and how true love is something which is strong and powerful. It cannot be changed or diminished by time.

form- shakespearean sonnet

rhyme scheme -ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

structure- 14 lines, iambic pentameter - classic love poem form.

Linked to: Love, relationships

La Belle Dame Sans Merci - John Keats

A literary ballad that is based on an old medieval tale of the haunting femme fatale figure. Explores the knight's enchantment by this strange fairy woman leading to obsessive thoughts.

form- literary ballad

rhyme scheme- ABCB

structure-12 quatrains, regular rhythm - medieval feel, haunting quality.

Linked to: love, relationships, setting, strong emotions

Poem at Thirty-Nine - Alice Walker

A reflective, autobiographical poem which explores the poet's grief when remembering her father. The poet reflects on all the things she has learned from him and how she hopes he would be proud of the woman she has become.

form- Free verse / Autobiographical

structure- 5 stanzas, varied length - reflective, flowing memories.

Linked to: Childhood, parents, grief, memory, relationships

War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy

The poet explores the role of the war photographer and the tension between his duty and his feelings towards those he photographs. The poet is critical of the public who have been desensitized to images of suffering.

form- Dramatic monologue

rhyme scheme- ABBCDD

structure- 4 equal stanzas - order vs chaos. Juxtaposes control with emotional turmoil.

Linked to: Suffering, what it means to be human, society, strong emotions

The Tyger - William Blake

Questions the complexity of creation. Poses the question of how a God can create evil as well as things that are good/ innocent.

form- Lyric poem / Philosophical

rhyme scheme- AABB (mostly)

structure- 6 quatrains - regular, chant-like rhythm mirrors burning intensity.

Linked to: Evil, religion, human nature

My Last Duchess - Robert Browning

The poet uses a dramatic monologue to show the speaker's feelings towards his last wife. The poem shows the speaker's possessiveness and how women were treated like objects.

form- Dramatic monologue

rhyme schemes- Rhyming couplets

structure- Iambic pentameter, enjambment = flowing, manipulative speech

Linked to: Relationships, power, control, evil

Half-Caste - John Agard

The poet is defiant against those that don't value his identity. He celebrates being mixed-race and challenges the listener to re-evaluate their prejudices.

form- dramatic monologue

structure- Irregular structure - reflects broken identity and challenge to prejudice.

Linked to: Identity, power

Do not go gentle into that good night - Dylan Thomas

The poet explores how you should live your life to the fullest, even if facing death. The poem is addressed to his father but has a universal message.

form -Villanelle

rhyme scheme- ABA ABA...

structure- 6 stanzas - repetition of key lines builds urgency and resistance.

Linked to: Death, relationships, parents, what it means to be human

Remember - Christina Rossetti

A sonnet where the speaker reflects on her hopes that her partner will remember her when she is dead but then comes to the realisation that it is better they forget her if it means they will be happy.

form- Petrarchan sonnet

rhyme scheme- ABBA ABBA CDDECE

structure- Volta (turn) in line 9 - shifts from remembrance to letting go.

Linked to: Grief, death, memory, relationships, love

effect of iambic pentameter

Mimics the way we talk – gives a conversational, realistic tone

Regular beat creates order and balance, reflecting the speaker’s control, logic, or reason

gives a sense of importance and seriousness to the subject.