Summary
Summary edexcel igcse english literature poems: last minute revision notes
- Module
- English
- Institution
- The Open University (OU)
I got grade 9 on the 2020 English literature exam using these notes, hope it helps:)
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Title: BlessingTheme:
• Background: arid atmosphere and mood, lack of resource
• Title “Blessing”: religious connotation + contrast with expectations of the setting
• Poverty, luck, encourage readers’ reflection.
Tone:
Language:
- “cracks”: harsh consonants reflects the scorching sun. Immediate contrast with title.
• “Never”, impossibility to be satisfied, relentless suffering.
• Sounds of quietness onomatopoeia: “drip”, “splash” focus on this imagination.
• “Small splash echo”: monosyllables emphases dehydration. Elongated by the sibilance.
• “Voice of kindly god”: water defined in divine sense, accentuates scarcity.
• Sounds of loudness onomatopoeia: “burst”, “crash”, “roar”. Crescendo of amplified sound as
water irrigates and nourishes the people
• Water described as “fortune”, “silver”: encourages privileged readers to reflect.
• Line 11 “roar of tongues: suggest hysteria
• Listings: “man woman child” and “brass copper aluminium” highlights the chaos in obtaining
gift of god.
• “congregation”: sanctifies this moment more than an accident, allows reflection on privileged
readers.
• “Screaming”: ambiguous of happiness or agony
• “Sing”: a sound image of corporation.
• “Sun” and “light”: the beauty of water, its excellence.
• Ending: “over their small bones” reminds us that poverty still remains. Little hope for them to
escape poverty and famine despite temporary blessing.
Structure:
• First stanza: shortness connotes the lacking of need.
• Line 4: enjambment after “echo” recreates this effect (trailing off).
• Enjambment after “every man woman child”: emphasises their frenzy for water trying to
obtain much as possible, also chaos.
• Uncapitalised final stanza: connection of community, significance of water among daily need
and ritual practice (baptism of children).
,Title: Do not go gentle into that good night
Theme
• death as a main theme
• Urges father to resist death with all his remaining strength
• Features: whole line repetition, contrasting verbs of violent energy
• Terror of father’s death, euphemism shows difficulty to accept.
Tone
Language
• Title “good night” implies end of suffering
• Line 2 assonance & plosive “burn and rave”: elongates and empowers the emotion.
• Repetition “rage, rage”: violent imagery.
• Line 7 ambiguity “last wave”: metaphor for end of their life?
• “Might have….green bay”: regretful on the fertile opportunities they should have gotten.
• Line 13 “Blinding sight”: oxymoron for alternative insight? Direct reference to his father.
• Line 14: juxtaposing “blind” and “blaze” indicates the possibility of any matters, yet they still
fight for their lives.. Even old eyes can be energised.
• Simile “blaze like meteor and be gay” shows burning passion.
• Line 17: oxymoron of “curse” and “bless” indicate complexed turmoil at the approaching
death, probably son’s mental disintegration and confusion.
• Assonance and sibilance “fierce tears”: pleading to hold on to father’s energy.
• At the end: spiritual language e.g.. “sad height”, “pray” pleads for heaven and God’s
compassion.
• All types of men: “wise men” “good men” “wild men” “grave men” fight against death.
Parallel strengthens his message and strong feelings.
Structure
- Villanelle, iambic pentametre. Strict structure, desire to control. Formal, set structure. Lead to
obsessive, relentless treatment of bits subject.
• Final stanza with an extra line: the son’s plea for father’s longer extending lifetime.
• The intertwining phrases ending with “night” and “light” visually replicates the crucial
conflict happening inside the father between life and death.
Universality of death: everyone will encounter despite which type of “men”.
, Title: Half past two
Theme
- Young pupil feel liberated by not understanding time.
• In comparison of the innocent youth, adulthood is harsh
• Criticise responsibility of teacher
Tone
- Solace (consolation) from adult perspective, envy from adult?
-Nostalgic, narrative
• Freeverse
• The tone feels timeless
• Child that is scared of authority: “too scared at being wicked”
Language
- Fairytale evocation of “once upon a” juxtaposed with the harsh “schooltime”
- “Something Very Wrong”: repetition and capitalisation ironically suggest it may be a
very minor mistake (even the narrator can’t recall); authority of teacher. Humour for
the forgotten quality.
• The teacher addressed in “She” renders her supreme authority, God-like image.
• “wicked” suggests boy’s drastic fear of the teacher.
• Neologism/ compound words: “gettinguptime”, “timeyouwereofftime”, etc indicates
innocence and limited understanding. All relates to a secure routine. The new time
introduced is intimidating to him.
• Listing: contrasts what he knows and what he is meant to know. Security contrasts
insecurity.
• Personification of clock: “Little eyes, two long legs”, alienate (isolate) this clock
concept only within childhood, emphasises young age.
• “Click its language”: Onomatopoeia shows strangeness for him to understand the
ticking of the clock.
• Line 21 “knew he’d escaped for ever”: triumphant tone as he escapes the confinement
of punishment.
• Line 22 - 24 Anaphora “into the” mimics the ticking of clock, amplifies his
imagination; timeless void (empty space).
• Oxymoron “silent noise”: represents the confusion of this experience
• Line 26: action “scuttling in” is animal-like/
• “Run along or you’ll be late” has a dismissive tone as he returns to conventional time.
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