Full translations, line by line analysis and questions and answers to all the likely IEB questions. Contains full analysis of internal and external structure. 8 sets of flashcard decks for each poem accompany the content.
, INTRODUCTION
The seen poetry section takes up 20% of Paper 1 and consists of 3 seen poems. For 2023,
there are 8 seen poems and any can be in the final examination(only 8 because Elikabani
Iphutha? and Ngikhathele Ngidiniwe have been taken out). It is fairly easy to predict
questions based on seen poetry and if you know the content well enough, you can’t be
taken off guard. Seen poetry is therefore a vital part of your preparation as effective
studying can earn you 30 marks before you even enter the exam hall.
I urge you not to use this study guide merely as more notes to read over before the exam.
Passive learning hinders your ability to remember information. To retain knowledge of the
poems in your long-term memory, part of the learning period must be devoted to retrieving
information from memory. In line with this, I have made Anki flashcard decks to help as you
work through the notes. They are available using this link. It is time consuming and difficult
to memorise answers, try instead to learn the idea behind the notes.
When studying poetry, divide a poem into isakhiwo sangaphandle(external structure) and
isakhiwo sangaphakathi(internal structure). You don’t even need to understand the poem to
answer questions on isakhiwo sangaphandle as the answers can be seen when looking at
the poem for the first time. These questions could ask how many lines(imigqa) are in the
poem, or you could be tested on ukuxhumana(linking), imvumelwano(rhyme),
ifanamsindo(alliteration) and so on. However, these are mainly asked in the unseen poetry
section.
Comparatively, seen poetry focuses primarily on isakhiwo sangaphakathi, which is the
deeper meaning behind the poem. There are generic questions on concepts like
umoya(mood), indikimba(theme) and umlayezo(message) that can be tested. For these
questions, I advise learning a descriptive word(eg. umoya wothando) and then a quote from
the poem to support. This way, you don’t need to memorise a longer answer or struggle to
express yourself in the exam because the answer is right in front of you. The most common
questions, however, ask about specific lines in the poem and require you to explain what
the author was saying. For that reason, the bulk of this study guide is based on line by line
analysis to understand the poems in their entirety.
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