English Poems for your English LIT GCSE

This poem is about…

A woman who is suspicious that her husband is cheating on her. She is very angry and vows to take her revenge on him.

Character..

The narrator is a female. She is transforming into the Greek Gorgon – a monster, as she gets angrier.

Voice…

Her voice is created through anger and insecurity. She accuses and questions her husband.

Compare with …

Horse Whisperer- the theme of revenge and power

LGS- marriage and the role / power of women.

This poem is about…

This poem is about a homeless person who sleeps in doorways. He offers to entertain for money. Armitage is commenting on society and homelessness.

Character..

The homeless man is begging for money. He seems desperate yet proud.

Voice…

The homeless man is quite sarcastic and bitter towards people who do not help.  Yet he also begs and says he will do anything for money.

Compare with …

The Hunchback in the Park- both feature outcasts who are homeless and shunned by society.

This poem is about…

A horse whisperer who was once celebrated in his village before being outcast because people began to accuse him/her of witchcraft. He/she takes revenge on those villagers.

Character..

The horse whisperer who is driven from their village. The villagers also feature as an enemies.

Voice…

We never learn the gender of the horse whisperer. This suggests the horse whisperer speaks for all. The voice is created through the violent and vengeful imagery.

Compare with …

On a portrait of a deaf man- both deal with the idea of loosing faith.

This poem is about…

The narrator is driving through the wrong side of town with his children in the car when they see a punk covered in tattoos. The children are scared by the appearance of the punk.

Character..

The narrator compares the punk to a clown. The children are very afraid of the punk as they are not used to seeing anyone look like him.

The punk is said to look like a clown. He is an outcast.

Voice…

The punk does not have a voice because he is an outcast. The narrator has sympathy for the punk and says we, as society, shouldn’t laugh at him.

Compare with …

Give- both are undesirable characters, mocked by society.

Checkin out my history- both are about identity.

This poem is about…

A newly married man who has stopped putting effort into running his father’s shop because he would rather spend time with his new bride.

Character..

Singh and his new bride.

Voice…

We hear from the voices of Singh, his bride and customers in a light hearted, conversational tone. The voice mixes between standards English and phonetic Indian.

Compare with …

Checking out me history- deals with the idea of creating your own identity.

LGS and  Medusa- all deal with the idea of marriage and relationships.

This poem is about…

An old river god who likes women to swim in him. He is possessive and cruel and will drown them if they leave.

Character...

The River

God is an ancient power who was once loved and worshipped. He is perverted and likes women to swim in him.

Voice…

The voice  is arrogant and cruel but also joyous and happy. This shows how he doesn’t take death seriously. 

Personification is used to create the voice of the God.

Compare with …

Ozymandias- both have arrogant, powerful male voices who represent old civilisations and religions.

On a portrait of a deaf man- the river god doesn’t value human life, in OPDM, the narrator mourns his father.

This poem is about…

The narrator is talking about his identity and how he hasn’t been taught about his black history and heritage. He decides to create his own identity.

Character..

The narrator is a black man living in a white world. He has only been taught white British history rather than diversity. He is angry and feels an injustice because of this.

The characters are based on real people.

Voice…

The voice is created through comparisons between what he has been taught at school and what he hasn’t.

Compare with …

Singh Song!- compare with the idea of identity and cultural diversity.

Case history- compare with the importance of diversity and connecting with your identity and heritage.

This poem is about…

A young women looking at a photograph of herself. She has suffered a head injury and therefore cannot remember her former life. She has to be reminded everyday that he father has died.

Character..

Alison- before and after her accident. We feel sorry for Alison because of the grief she suffers.

Voice…

Although they are the same person, we get a sense that there are two different people because of the use of pronouns “I” and “she”.  This mix of first and 3rd

person narrative shows how confused she is.

Compare with …

On a portrait of a deaf man- characters have lost their fathers and find it hard to come to terms with their grief. Also, both feature imagery of physical decay.

This poem is about…

This poem is about a once great king looking over his decaying kingdom. The statue is all that remains of his reign. The poet is commenting on how leaders seem powerful when they are alive but over time, like their kingdoms, their power diminishes.

Character..

Ozymandias was an ancient king who died a long time ago. His ruined statue is all that is left.

He meets a traveller in the desert.

Voice…

The narrator is a statue of the old king (personification) . He is proud and arrogant. 

Compare with …

My Last Duchess- the portrait and statue are about preserving a person who has died. They also both have arrogant male voices.

The River God- they both have strong male voices and were once both god/king like.