Although the open-book Poetry exam means that (I)GCSE students may find it easier to prepare for their comparative poetry essay, many students we tutor find it initially quite stressful regardless. The sheer number of poems that candidates feel they must memorise, as well as the possibility of being unable to choose a ‘good’ question, are both big sources of frustration. This can make analysis quite tedious; so when we tutor we take care to emphasise a structured model that allows students to build confidence alongside practical and analytical skills. 

Comparative poetry is assessed in relation to the IGCSE Anthology poetry selection, in section B of the Paper 1 (Understanding Poetry) exam. Candidates can usually choose from a few ‘collections’, which will each include a different theme and question for the comparative essay. One of the poems will be set in the question. This will usually be followed by general guiding features that the response must exhibit, such as ‘the language and organisation of the two poems’, and the ‘similarities/differences between the two poems’. The comparative essay is the second of two questions in the IGCSE English Literature exam, and is worth 30 marks.

With our IGCSE English Literature students, we make sure to tutor a strong foundation in analytical and critical thinking skills. While candidates are allowed to take in a blank copy of their Anthology for the exam, this should mainly serve as a point of quick reference for direct quotations. This is because the bulk of the preparation and analysis will have been done during tutoring sessions and revision, and should allow students to comfortably choose a question they feel confident answering. Since it is impossible and unhelpful to memorise the annotations for every Anthology poem for the exam, we make sure to tutor a capacity for adaptability that is similar to what is required for unseen essays.

Let’s take a look at a higher-level paragraph in a comparative poetry essay:

Compare how the poets explore ideas related to grief and sorrow in “Poem at Thirty-Nine” and “Remember.”

In “Poem at Thirty Nine” and “Remember,” both Alice Walker and Christina Rosetti explore the grief and sorrow which come with death. Despite a similar theme, the poets’ perspectives differ greatly. Whereas Walker writes from the perspective of an adult reflecting on her father's death, Rosetti writes as someone close to death advising those who will live on after her passing. Despite this difference, the poems’ messages are quite similar. Walker and Rosetti are both able to evoke feelings of closure with the former reflecting her father would “admire the woman I’ve become” and the latter advising “better by far you should forget and smile” rather than dwell in grief and sorrow.

This response is strong because it introduces a clear topic sentence, which first establishes a commonality between the poems compared. Comparison of the poems should be integrated in each paragraph, rather than structured as a paragraph for each poem. We can see that the student does this by structuring sentences using ‘whereas [poet x] writes [a], [poet y] writes [b].’ This kind of structure facilitates the kind of GCSE higher-level comparison that we aim to tutor in our lessons. 

As long as IGCSE English students master a comparative essay structure and receive adequate guidance for poetry analysis, they will be able to do well in the comparative poetry exam. That’s why continued practice in literary analysis in general is the key to success. 

While some IGCSE English students certainly find comparative poetry challenging, by following a rigorous structure and sticking to the scope of the question, you should be able to pick up all the marks you need. BartyED IGCSE English Literature tutors are always eager to help guide candidates towards the grades they want to get. Make sure to check out our website here, for more information about our IGCSE English Literature teaching programmes. If you’re interested in finding out more from our expert tutors, reach out today. 

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