How to Approach IGCSE Unseen Poetry: Structure, Techniques and Timing

Table of Contents

• Why Is IGCSE Unseen Poetry Especially Hard?
• Unseen Poetry in CIE vs. Edexcel
• Key Skills for Acing IGCSE Unseen Poetry
• How to Understand and Discuss ‘Purpose’ for IGCSE Unseen Poetry
• Example of a Strong Purpose Statement for IGCSE Literature
• Example of Weak vs. Strong Analysis
• IGCSE English Poetic Techniques
• Contact BartyED IGCSE Tutors for Guidance with Unseen Poetry

The ability to analyse unseen poetry is crucial for high scores in both the CIE CIE Literature in English and Edexcel English Literature exams at IGCSE. In this blog, I’ll be discussing what makes unseen poetry so challenging, how the two exam boards differ, key skills for analysing unseen poems, and much more. 

Why Is IGCSE Unseen Poetry Especially Hard?

Most students find unseen poetry a challenge. Typically, the number one concern that learners voice is, ‘what happens if I don’t understand what the poem is about’. While this is a reasonable worry, it can be overcome with practice: the more poetry you read, the better you become at reading poetry.

The more pressing issue facing students is not to what extent they ‘understand’ the poem, but whether they can successfully organise their thoughts to produce a strong response that meets the requirements of the question. Marks are won and lost here, not whether you understand all aspects of a work of art that, by its very nature, is open to interpretation.

Unseen Poetry in CIE vs. Edexcel

Two of the more common IGCSE exam boards are CIE and Edexcel. Both the CIE Literature in English exam and the Edexcel English Literature paper contain unseen poetry tasks. However, both have slightly different requirements. 

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Differences Between CIE and Edexcel Exams

Exam Board	Paper	Marks Available	Time Allotted	Question Format
CIE	Literature in English Paper 2, Section B	25 marks	2 hours (whole paper)	Essay, based on one of two prompts
Edexcel	English Literature Paper 1, Section A	20 marks	2 hours (whole paper)	Essay, based on a single prompt

As can be seen from the table, there are certain differences between the two papers. For example, while both exam papers total two hours of work, the marks allotted to the tasks are different, with CIE giving over 25 marks to unseen poetry and Edexcel offering 20. Moreover, candidates taking the CIE IGCSE Literature in English paper are given two questions and must choose one to answer, while Edexcel candidates have no such option. Rather, they are presented with a single prompt and must respond to this. 

Key Skills for Acing IGCSE Unseen Poetry

To gain high marks in the unseen poetry component of IGCSE examinations, it’s important that students learn to use the information given in the question. The essay questions are phrased in a way to give candidates an idea of how to structure their responses.

For example, let’s take this question from a past CIE paper on the poem ‘The Moment’ by Margaret Atwood: ‘How does the poet vividly convey to you ideas about the relationship between humans and nature?’

Here, the examiner offers up the information to be used. If you are stuck for a sensible structure in the exam, the three bullet points below are a good place to start:

• what the poet feels about owning a home or land

• the words and images the poet uses to describe nature

• the impact the final stanza has on you (from ‘No, they whisper’).

In the response itself, candidates must analyse certain aspects of the work. These include:

1. Authorial choice (diction, literary and structural devices)

2. Form 

3. Structure

It should also be noted that all strong responses are guided by an argument that speaks to the poet’s purpose. This helps with the organisation of the essay. If you can imagine writing a response to a question on the poem ‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley, such an argument might take the following form: 

‘In “Ozymandias”, Percy Shelley’s purpose is to criticise hubris and convey the impermanence of power.’

How to Understand and Discuss ‘Purpose’ for IGCSE Unseen Poetry

When tackling a poem, it is important to prioritise identifying the central purpose. As noted above, this will form a key part of any essay’s argument. To establish the purpose, carefully consider, once again, the phrasing of the question or prompt, examining its language for hints. Additionally, look at the poem’s title. Often, the purpose, or some approximation of the purpose, can be understood from reading this. Lastly, don’t be afraid to go with a literal reading of the work. In some cases, this might prove correct. 

For example, here are some guiding questions to consider upon reading the poem, ‘Purple Shoes’, by Irene Rawnsley:

• What does the last line of the poem communicate? How does this add to or change the overall meaning of the poem?

• What is the main thematic concern of the poem, in other words, what are the most important ideas in the poem? 

• Does the speaker feel happy or sad? Are the words used positive or negative?

Example of a Strong Purpose Statement for IGCSE Literature

Continuing with the above example of Rawnsley’s poem, imagine an exam question asking candidates to ‘Explore how Rawnsley presents strong feelings in the poem’. A purpose statement responding to this prompt could be as follows: 

‘In “Purple Shoes,” Irene Rawnsley explores the strong feelings of anger, frustration, and defiance that the speaker experiences in her relationship with her mother.’

Here, specific mention is made not only to the strong feelings present within the poem, i.e. anger, frustration, and defiance, but where those feelings come from. Thus, the statement communicates to the examiner that there is more than one purpose within the essay itself while illustrating that the candidate seeks to analyse the poem rather than offer a literal summary of it. 

Example of Weak vs. Strong Analysis

Let’s return to the Margaret Atwood poem, ‘The Moment’, as a means to juxtapose a weak and strong analysis. The prompt remains, ‘How does the poet vividly convey to you ideas about the relationship between humans and nature?’

A passable IGCSE paragraph might take the following shape:  

In ‘The Moment’, the poet uses different language techniques to convey their thoughts about owning land. For example, in the third line, the poet writes that ‘you stand in the centre of your room’, which uses pronouns to show that they own it. This makes the reader feel proud to own a home, which contrasts to later in the poem when it’s revealed that humans can’t claim to truly own nature. This shows that the poet is making a complex point about owning land, and it changes throughout the poem. 

While this basically follows the PEEL paragraph structure typically expected at IGCSE level, there are clear flaws with this paragraph. Although the candidates note the author’s use of pronouns, there is no follow up analysis. The explanation of the evidence is insufficient and it does not fully support the point being made. What’s more, the respondent veers off on a tangent towards the end of the paragraph when they should remain focused. 

Here’s an improved version of the same paragraph:

In ‘The Moment’, the poet uses possessive pronouns and symbolism to convey their thoughts about owning land. For example, in the third line, the poet writes that ‘you stand in the centre of your room’. Here, the possessive pronoun ‘your’ emphasises the idea of ownership. Furthermore, the poet’s placement of ‘room’ at the end of the line draws the reader’s attention to the idea of a home, and therefore a building that intrudes on the natural world. This helps to reveal the poet’s purpose of conveying the mistaken assumption that humanity has a real claim of ownership over the land, when in fact we are present in the world for a mere ‘moment’.

The difference between the first and second response is quite stark. The improved version, while also adhering to the PEEL paragraph structure, seeks to examine the impact of the quotation and its language on the reader, all the while maintaining a close relationship to the original prompt. 

IGCSE English Poetic Techniques

To excel in any unseen poetry task, regardless of the exam board, it is vital that candidates have a clear understanding of poetic devices. Below is a table that, while not exhaustive, lays out some of the more commonly encountered poetic techniques and their definitions in simple terms. 

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Poetic Devices

Device	Definition
Metaphor	Comparing two things, without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Simile	Comparing two things, using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Enjambment	When a thought or idea carries over from one line to another without pause.
Caesura	A stop or pause in the middle of a line of poetry.
Anaphora	Repeating a particular phrase at the start of successive lines or stanzas.
Pathetic fallacy	Applying human emotions or feelings to naturally occurring phenomena, typically the weather.
Personification	Applying any human attributes, i.e. actions or feelings, to inanimate objects.
Alliteration	The repetition of consonant sounds in two or more neighbouring words.
Symbolism	When one thing is used to represent something else.

Contact BartyED IGCSE Tutors for Guidance with Unseen Poetry

At BartyED, our team of expertly trained tutors have worked with countless learners to prepare them for their IGCSE examinations. Our IGCSE English Literature tutors understand the requirements of both the CIE and Edexcel exams, among others, and can guide learners to achieve their potential. Moreover, each lesson is individualised to meet the unique needs of the student, and delivered at a pace that matches with their learning style. 

So, if you think that you or your child would benefit from the support of a BartyED English Literature tutor, contact us today by phone, email, WhatsApp, or via the form below. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is unseen poetry English lit or lang?

  Unseen poetry falls under the category of English literature.

• What exactly is an unseen poem?

  An unseen poem is any poetic work that students have not studied in a classroom environment.

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