Unseen Poetry Assessment 2021 PDF

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Yr 11 Unseen Poetry Assessment: Tuesday 9th Feb

55 min

Answer both questions.

In 'On Aging', how does the poet present the speaker's attitudes to growing old? [24 marks] AO4 [4 marks]

Yr 11 Unseen Poetry Assessment: Tuesday 9th Feb

55 min

In the poem ‘On Ageing’ the speaker confronts the reader with an aging belief about what it means to grow old and how she wants to be treated, she challenged the sympathy we have towards the elderly and instead argues the independence of older people, despite deteriorating their physical health. In the first lines of ‘On Aging’ the speaker begins by telling the reader that there is no need for them to come up and talk to her when she is sitting quietly. Just because she is quiet, does not mean she needs company. She directs her words at whoever needs to hear them, telling the reader and anyone else, that if she’s seen “sitting quietly” there’s no need to talk. The speaker isn’t in need of constant company just because she’s quiet. The speaker states, “listening to myself” suggesting that she doesn’t want anyone near her and wishes to be lef alone. In the second line, she makes use of a simile to compare herself to “a sack lef on the shelf”. Angelou uses the simile 'like a sack upon a shelf' to highlight the perception of elderly people as motionless, and lifeless. The speaker tells the reader, very forcefully, that she doesn’t need pity or sympathy. Just because she’s old doesn’t mean she’s unhappy or suffering. Later in the poem we see that she is ‘understanding’ and if a friend or family member is willing to speak to her, she will accept that. Otherwise, she can ‘do without it!’. Moreover, she uses non-English statements when she says, ‘don’t bring me no rocking chair’, she could be talking directly to youth who use this type of language on a daily basis. There are a few physical changes she’s willing to accept. These include her head having “little less hair” and her face, “less chin”. At the same time, she notes that her lungs take in “less” air. As well as not having the capacity to exert herself as she used to. She has “less wind”. We see the contrast occur in lines eighteen and nineteen with the use of “A little less” and “A lot less” at the beginning of both lines. Despite poor physical health and being treated as a burden, elderly people are still thankful for life. Perhaps this is a message to the reader to feel grateful and content, no matter your age.

Yr 11 Unseen Poetry Assessment: Tuesday 9th Feb

55 min

In both 'Jessie Emily Schofield' and 'On Aging' the speakers describe their attitudes to the effects of growing old. What are the similarities and differences between the ways the poet presents these attitudes? [8 marks]

Yr 11 Unseen Poetry Assessment: Tuesday 9th Feb

55 min

There is a contrast in the use of tone in the two poems, the first poem is more of a humorous tone whereas the second poem is more in a melancholy perspective. In the first poem the speaker states ‘don’t study and get it wrong, ‘cause tired don’t mean lazy’, she is speaking in a calm and dialect tone whereas in the second poem the speaker states ‘and wonder what it could be like’. The first poem is more about an elderly person who wants to be lef alone whereas the second poem is about a girl who misses her dead grandmother. Both poems are written in one stanza which could show that they both don’t have a lot of time to write, showing that they want to use their time in a better way with family and friends instead of writing poems....