A2 LL Assessment Objectives AO 3

Below is a list second list of marking criteria. You may find it helpful briefly looking at this as you write and edit your essay. Remember that this was written for teachers so the lexis can be exclusive and the register formal. It uses jargon.

The word "assimilates" means to bring together and the word "contextualise" can refer to other parts of the poem, other poems by the poet and the general social and cultural background to the poem and the writer.


It maybe helpful to note that upper band 2 is generally considered to be a pass.

MARK BAND DESCRIPTORS (AO3)

Upper band 4 (26–30)

• assimilates and contextualises references with originality

• overview that offers observations on wider contexts

• significant similarities and differences are analysed and in an original, personal, or conceptual, manner

• texts effortlessly integrated

• consistent and flexible focus on texts and theme

Lower band 4 (23–25)

• skilful and secure analysis and commentary

• clear sense of context/variation/contextual influences underpins reading

• sustained focus on texts and theme

• coherently compares and contrasts writer’s choices of form, structure, mode, language

• confident comparison

Upper band 3 (20–22)

• expresses clearly comparisons and contrasts between two texts

• clear interplay between text and context/sense of contextual variation

• comments clearly on a variety of points/areas

• analysis may be imbalanced; possible imbalance in text coverage but comparative framework clear

• clearly developed focus on texts and theme

Lower band 3 (16–19)

• context commented on

• points are made but not always clearly developed

• comparative analysis may be implicit

• some comments on language use in texts

• possible imbalance in coverage

• mainly consistent in focus on texts and theme

Upper band 2 (12–15)

• comparative framework(s) used but may be partial/simplistic

• develops a line of argument underpinned by comment on overall context

• probably list-like in construction

• imbalance in coverage of texts

• lacks evidence in places

• occasional loss of focus on texts and theme

Lower band 2 (9–11)

• makes use of comparative framework(s) but unable to apply them effectively

• general awareness of writer’s techniques and impact on meaning

• responds to obvious or broad links or comparisons

• may lack detail and evidence

• focus on texts and theme unsustained

Upper band 1 (5–8)

• insecure or superficial idea of context

• some points made but with limited understanding

• insecure focus on texts and themes

• lacks detail and probably little evidence used

Lower band 1 (1–4)

• rudimentary awareness of context

• ideas very limited or undeveloped

• contextual features identified but misread

• weak focus on texts and themes

Zero marks (0)

• response failing to fulfil any of the lower band 1 requirements

A2 LL - Assessment Objectives AO1

 Below is a list of marking criteria you may want to have a look at briefly at some point to help give you an indication of the quality of the work you are doing. However it is written mainly for teachers marking essays so the language can seem a bit odd.

The word "framework" refers to the different analytical approaches you can use when writing the essay. For example, lexis, grammar, syntax, imagery, form, phonology. Remember markers want to see a variety of analytical approaches being used.

In the word "overview" the marker wants to know that a student has an overall knowledge and understanding of the poems being studied

The phrase "engages closely" means the markers want to see detailed comments about the language of the poems. You will do this when you comment on the quotations you use in your paragraphs.

It maybe helpful to note that upper band 2 is generally considered to be a pass.

Assessment Criteria for Coursework

MARK BAND DESCRIPTORS (AO1)

Upper Band 4 (26–30)

• use of framework(s) illuminates textual interpretation

• shows an overview of the text

• engages closely with the meaning of the texts and analyses patterns

• conceptualised and often sophisticated analysis

• fluent, cohesive writing

Lower band 4 (23–25)

• coherent use of framework(s)

• some analytical probing of features and patterns

• thoughtful engagement with texts

• interpretation evident through approach taken

• fluent writing

Upper band 3 (20–22)

• uses framework(s) to highlight reading

• describes significant features/patterns

• shows awareness of stylistic and linguistic features

• engages with texts through explanation of features; possibly under-developed in places

• competent writing

Lower band 3 (16–19)

• uses a suitable framework(s) purposefully

• refers to a range of relevant points

• sense of patterns emerges in places; but comments under-developed

• distinguishes between different features fairly accurately but little comment on effect of features

• clear, straightforward expression

Upper band 2 (12–15)

• applies framework(s) to show awareness of some of writer’s choices

• largely accurate comments on texts but tending towards a feature-spotting approach, or a limited use of appropriate terminology

• broad comments on effects of features

• approach may be superficial

• expression communicates ideas but lacks flexibility

Lower band 2 (9–11)

• attempts to use framework(s) but with limited effectiveness

• identifies some points but understanding is not clear

• limited analysis occurs; much paraphrase

• some awareness of the focus of a text

• superficial sense of how language works

• writing communicates some ideas but lacks precision and accuracy

Upper band 1 (5–8)

• little coherence in selection of ideas

• little application of framework(s)

• lacks textual engagement offering instead implicit views of language use

• superficial ideas

• inaccurate expression and little sense of appropriate style

Lower band 1 (1–4)

• rudimentary awareness of narrative

• little awareness of frameworks

• minimal coherence/relevance of response

• markedly brief response

• frequent technical errors and weaknesses in expression

Zero marks (0)

• response failing to fulfil any of the lower band 1 requirements

AS LL Streetcar Production Task - Dialogue

ELLA 1 Integrated Analysis and Text Production
EXTRACT OF A STREETCAR PRODUCTION TASK

Imagine a brief dialogue between Eunice and Blanche at the end of Scene Three where Blanche returns to Eunice’s after her conversation with Mitch. Stella has returned to the apartment with Stanley.


Give careful consideration to the language choices, form and style in order to convey a sense of a spontaneous dialogue between Eunice and Blanche. Also give a sense of the voices attitudes and assumptions of Blanche and Eunice.


What is the context of this dialogue?





Consider stage directions:






Relevant representations of spontaneous speech:






The character of Blanche – characteristics – attitudes






Impressions of Eunice:






Due in Thursday 5 January

AS Lit - An Example 1000 Word Essay

With close reference to up to 40 lines of verse, analyse how Hughes presents animal life.

David Loffman

The presentation of the otter in the poem ‘An Otter’ by Hughes is a complex one. The otter is neither a creature of the land or the sea. He is an amphibian animal and therefore connected to both elements and contains physical features of both. The otter is presented as an alien and other worldly creature, elusive and unknowable. And this sense of exile is emphasised as Hughes’s describes the Otter by what it is not as much as by what it is. The final image of a dead otter seems to emphasise the creature’s otherness and strangeness.
This otherness of the otter is one of the key features of Hughes presentation. This is established in a variety of ways throughout the poem. In the first stanza the otter is described as ‘neither fish nor beast’. If it is neither then we are prompted to ask, what is it? The use of assonance helps create emphasis here.

The Otter is presented as lost and an exile, yearning for home. The simile ‘like a king in hiding’ expresses this strongly. There are biblical connotations in this image. The connotations of ‘king’ bring up many thoughts of the otter as heroic and powerful. But these are undermined by the verb ‘hiding’ that links the king to ideas of weakness, cowardliness and fear.

One way of presenting the otter is to identify it with other creatures that live in water. The opening phrase of the poem immediately links it to water creatures where Hughes writes of the otter’s ‘Underwater eyes,…’ . This phrase is used to show the reader that the dominant element for the otter is water. The phrase emphasises the otter’s oneness and connectedness to this element. It seems perfectly at home here. This is similar to the presentation of the pike in Hughes poem Pike. Both creatures belong to this landscape. The pond Hughes fishes in is as ‘deep as England’ and Hughes sees the otter as a ‘legend of himself’. There is something elemental and eternal in these creatures.
The second phrase develops this connection with water by comparing the otter to ‘an eel’s
oil of water body’. Here Hughes focuses on the texture and the colour of the otter. The noun ‘oil’ is a dense fluid and may appear part solid in its gluppiness. The otter is presented as elusive and hard to identify. This is also emphasised with the use of the colour black and also the reference to the otter’s metaphorically ‘melting’ back into the water in the second stanza. But the comparison to an eel makes the otter strange. Like otters, eels are mysterious creatures. For example they look like snakes but live in the sea.



Perhaps the line that most identifies the otter as linked to water comes in the first stanza where it is described with ‘webbed feet and long ruddering tail’. The premodifying adjectives ‘webbed’ and ‘ruddering’ clearly link the otter to a water environment. Webbed feet are useful on land and in water. ‘Ruddering’ is a strong and powerful word that Hughes has made up himself. He has turned a noun into a verb and this makes the word stand out and interesting to readers. The strong and repeated consonants ‘r’ and ‘d’ help create this strength. The word is also associated with boats and steering. Hughes is using adjectives to really give detail to the portrait he is creating.

The otter is also presented is as a victim in relation to the world of humans. In the second stanza Hughes presents the otter surviving ‘hounds and vermin-poles’. This is probably a reference to game keeping. A game keeper is usually a man that manages areas of land for breeding deer or fowl for hunting. Dogs are used to hunt unwanted animals described here as ‘vermin’. The word ‘vermin’ is often associated with pests who are animals that carry disease. By using the word ‘vermin’, readers can associate the otter to the way society generally perceives them – as pests to be destroyed.

The otter also appears out of place in the human world. Although it can ‘gallop’ over fields which presents the otter as well adapted to living on land. It’s described as ‘Walloping up roads’, the verb ‘walloping’ suggests clumsiness and awkwardness on the flat tarmac of a road. The word also reminds us of the word ‘gallops’ used earlier in the poem. It rhymes with the latter word but this is juxtaposed here. The word is now a rather old fashioned word that means hit or strike. It has connotations of violence and therefore perhaps reflects the power and strength of the otter.

Physical strength is another way Hughes presents the otter. At the end of the poem Hughes describes the otter having a ‘Big trout muscle’ and a heart ‘beat thick’ the trout is a British fresh water fish able to withstand the problems of surviving an English winter. The penultimate image of the otter is of an animal that can
‘take stolen hold
On a bitch otter in a field full
Of nervous horses,’
The image here is of a ruthless, instinct driven creature. It’s an unattractive and aggressive picture full of life and strength and fertility. And it takes risks. What helps create this strong picture is the assonance of ‘stolen hold’, ‘otter’ and ‘horse’. This phonetic technique creates a strong harmony and this helps reinforce the image. Secondly the use of alliteration in ‘field full’ also helps generate a powerful picture of the otter.
However these vivid images of life are strongly contrasted with the final two line image of ‘reverts to nothing at all,/ To this long pelt over the back of a chair.’ This image presents the otter as dead and transformed into a thing used by humans. The word ‘pelt’ means the fur of the otter. The context has also changed from the wild outdoor setting to a domestic one. In this final image the otter is identified and reduced to its human value. This reminds us of the poem View of a Pig by Hughes. As in this poem Hughes contrasts the living pig full of movement and sound, reducing it to its constituent parts tallow and lard.
But even in this final image of death the otter remains hidden, strange and unknown.

1000 words excluding quotations and title.

AS Lit - A Paragraph for the 1000 Word essay

Here is an example analytical paragraph based on a Hughes poem written in the 1950's. Click here for a link to the poem.

1 Make a point
Write one simple and straightforward point relevant to your overall topic
Hughes describes nature as a powerful force.

2 Expand on point
Write a more complex sentence that engages with the specific poem / extract in relation to the essay title. 

3 Introduce quote /
Introduce the quotation you are just about to use. One way to do this is by referring to the immediate context of the quote.

An example of this power can be seen in the poem The Horses where he describe the sun rising.

3 Evidence
Quote no more than a word or phrase. Be very selective. Choose quotations that you can write a lot about.

‘Then the sun
Orange, red, red erupted’

4 General point
Show how the quotation addresses the point made at the opening of the paragraph

The dawn is presented as an act of apocalyptic violence that appears to affect the whole earth.

5 Literary points
Comment on a literary feature or features expressed through the quotation.

Hughes uses colours associated with the element of fire. Connotations of the colour ‘red’ include blood, danger and destruction. The noun is repeated to help give emphasis. The verb ‘erupted’ is associated with volcanoes, one of the most violent and destructive forces of nature on the planet.

6 Effect on reader
Comment on the effect the poetic techniques used in the quotation have on you / us as readers of the poem.

We are drawn to the bright colours, they are dynamic and interesting. And this contrasts strongly with the ‘black’ and ‘grey’ earlier in the poem.

 7 Further literary points
It’s clear from the quotation that Hughes is describing a dramatic event and he is awed by this experience. His description of the sunrise supports these feelings.

The syntax in the quotation is also fragmented and broken that suggests something explosive

The Paragraph

Hughes describes nature as a powerful force. An example of this power can be seen In the poem The Horses where he describe the sun rising.
‘Then the sun
Orange, red, red erupted’
The dawn is presented as an act of apocalyptic violence that appears to affect the whole earth. Hughes uses colours associated with the element of fire. Connotations of the colour ‘red’ include blood, danger and destruction. The noun is repeated to help give emphasis. The verb ‘erupted’ is associated with volcanoes, one of the most violent and destructive forces of nature on the planet. We are drawn to the bright colours, they are dynamic and interesting. And this contrasts strongly with the ‘black’ and ‘grey’ earlier in the poem. It’s clear from the quotation that Hughes is describing a dramatic event and he is awed by this experience. His description of the sunrise supports these feelings. The syntax in the quotation is also fragmented and broken that suggests something explosive.

AS Lit - Poems on the Internet

You can find most of the Ted Hughes poems on the internet. Click here to go to Conjured Sunlight. And click here to go to Poem Hunter.

AS Literature 1000 Word Coursework Questions

1. With close reference to up to 40 lines of verse, analyse how Hughes presents animal life.



2. With reference to a maximum of 40 lines of verse, examine how Hughes presents the natural elements in his poetry.



3. Using a maximum of 40 lines of verse, discuss the idea that Hughes is interested in exploring issues of danger and power.



4. “Nature is brutal and violent.” In what ways is this true of the poetry of Ted Hughes?



5. By focusing closely on a maximum of 40 lines of verse, examine how landscape is presented in Ted Hughes’ poetry.



6. Hughes’ poetic language is always vividly dramatic. Discuss this statement with close reference to 40 lines of Hughes’ verse.



7. With reference to a maximum of 40 lines of verse, examine the poetic voice of Hughes poetry.

AS Lit - 1000 WORD ESSAY – GENERAL FEEDBACK POINTS

1 Use a simple straightforward argument to structure your essay around. State this clearly as part of your introduction.

2 Each paragraph should contribute to the argument in your introduction. For example if you are writing about the poem Wind. Break down the argument that Hughes presents nature as violent and dangerous by writing about a) the landscape – powerful, b) wildlife - destructive, c) people – threatening. You will create structure, coherence and flow by doing this.

3 Try and create development and structure in your essay by linking paragraphs together by bridge or connecting words such as, ‘However,’ or phrases such as, ‘Another way Hughes…..’

4 Make your first sentence of a paragraph a topic sentence. A topic sentence picks up on a feature of the overall argument presented in your introduction.

5 Making references to literary terms and there effects. These should be embedded within a paragraph rather than forming a topic sentence.

6 You are reminded that you must write on up to 40 lines of a Hughes poem. You do not need to write about the whole poem. Write a lot about a little quotation.

7 Select quotations really carefully and write everything relevant to the essay that is in the quotation. For example write about key words – meanings, symbols and connotations, word classes phrases – phonology or imagery, rhythm, rhyme.

8 Make sure you make references to at least two other poems we have studied in this anthology. You should show how they are similar and or different.

9 Use the appropriate academic lexis and formal register.

10 Make sure you write no more than 1000 word excluding quotations.

A2 LL -General feedback from work marked - last week of term

These were generally sound and good responses to the tasks set. I was disappointed not to receive homework from the whole class. Those that handed work in showed a good understanding of the poems. I was impressed by the perceptive observations made, the sensitivity especially to Heaney's language and a sound grasp of the genre of poetry. Students identified core themes, generally selected appropriate quotations and wrote two or three relevant comments on the quotes.

Students had a good grasp of the paragraph structure. They understood how it worked and mostly wrote fluently and coherently.

Where comparisons with a second text were required I thought students did remarkably well. Bridge sentences and phrases were used with confidence.

Students generally used terminology accurately and with confidence. A range of terms were used and I was especially pleased to read comments that referred to syntax, lexis and grammar as well as the literary analytical frameworks such as phonetc techniques and some references to the form of the poems analysed.

Anyway here are ten comments I picked up from indvidual work that I thought it was worth sharing with you

1 Always use topic sentences that link to the theme of the essay.
2 Write about language / literary terms embedded within a paragraph.
3 Be highly selective in choosing the right quotation.
4 Choose a quotation you can write a lot about and can link to a second text.
5 Avoid repeating ideas. Say things once and then move on to the next point.
6 Make your sentences clear, simple, concise.
7 Always refer to the effect on a generalised reader of a language feature.
8 Use the widest range - a variety - of of langauge and literary terms.
9 Always use formal lexis and an academic register in your writing.
10 Avoid descriptive or purely narrative statements about poems.

A2 LL - Poems on the Internet

You can find copies of most of the poems we have studied on the internet at Conjured Sunlight
You may also find them at www.poemhunter.com

A2 LL - SUGGESTED ESSAY TITLES

Below are a few essay titles you could use for your 2000 - 2500 word essay. You can use these essay titles as they are or you could adapt them to meet your own interests. You can of course write an essay completely of your own devising – but these do need to be checked with me first.

Once you have selected an essay title you should begin to plan the essay. One way to start this could be to write down everything that comes to your mind that is relevant to the essay topic. Consider the key word in relation to two or three poems from one of the poets. And then consider the same key word in relation to one other text – two poems or a short story. Try and identify links – similarities and or differences between the different writers you have chosen. As you continue to do this make a note of relevant quotations that you might use in the essay. Another starting point might be to define the key word in the title and jot down ideas associated to that concept. You could re-write the title using your own words.

REMEMBER THE ESSAY MUST COMPARE TWO TEXTS* ON A COMMON THEME. ONE WRITER MUST BE A POET!

1. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce explore the theme of play in their work.

2. Compare the different ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce present childhood experience in their work.

3. Compare the different ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce examine the world of work in their texts.

4. Compare the ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce present isolated characters in their literature.

5. Compare the variety of ways Heaney and or Frost and Joyce explore ideas of community in their works.

6. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and Joyce examine the theme of loss in their texts.

7. Compare the variety of ways Heaney and or Frost and Joyce explore the use of settings in their literature.

8. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce present the world of adults in their work.

9. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce present personal relationships in their texts.

10. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce use the first person narrator in their literary works.

11. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and Frost examine the theme of nature in their poetry.

12. Compare the variety of ways in which Heaney and or Frost and Joyce explore the theme of self discovery in the works.



*You should aim to refer to two or three poems in detail from a poet and one short story in detail from Joyce.

A2 LL - SUGGESTED POEMS AND SHORT STORIES LINKED TO ESSAY TITLES

Below is a list of poems that could be used in you essays. Remember that there are poems from Frost and Heaney in the anthologies that we have not studied in class but you could use those for the essay as well.

1. Follower, Death of a Naturalist, Blackberry Picking, Personal Helicon, Birches, An Encounter, Araby

2. Death of a Naturalist, Blackberry Picking, Personal Helicon, Mid Term Break, Birches, An Encounter, Araby

3. Digging, Follower, Mending Wall, After Apple Picking, Eveline

4. Digging, Death of a Naturalist, Personal Helicon, Mid Term Break, After Apple Picking, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Leaf Treader, The Road Not Taken, Araby, Eveline

5. Digging, Follower, Blackberry Picking, Mid Term Break, Mending Wall, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, An Encounter, Araby, Eveline

6. Death of a Naturalist, Mid Term Break, Blackberry Picking, An Encounter, Araby, Eveline

7. Digging, Death of a Naturalist, Personal Helicon, Mid Term Break, Birches, Mending Wall, After Apple Picking, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Leaf Treader, The Road Not Taken, Araby, Eveline

8. Digging, Follower, Mid Term Break, Mending Wall, After Apple Picking, Eveline, An Encounter

9. Digging, Follower, Mid Term Break, Mending Wall, An Encounter, Eveline, Araby

10. All the texts we’ve studied except Eveline.

11. All the poems of Heaney and Frost except Mid Term Break.

12. Digging, Follower, Blackberry Picking, Personal Helicon, Birches, Mending Wall, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Road Less Travelled, Araby, Eveline

A2 LL - Reading Poetry - Some Key Questions

Below are some key questions and prompt statements to help you reflect and analyse each poem we study.

• Comment on the poetic voice of the poem.
There maybe more than one voice – different voices may offer different perspectives on the themes raised. For example the voice maybe male, female, young, old, subjective, objective, detached, engaged. Is the voice angry, sad, joyful etc

• What is the main subject of the poem?
The title of the poem may give you a clue to the poem’s subject. Make a note of the subject and consider how the subject is being presented. Be prepared for the presentation of the subject to change and develop through the poem. The subject maybe a character, an object, a location, etc

• What happens in the poem?
Sometimes poems tell stories, they are narrative poems. And sometimes there are developments and time shifts that occur. Often poets include autobiography in their poetry and write about the past – sometimes using the present tense. Action, movement and stasis are important to consider.

• What are the main themes or issues raised in the poem?
Although the subject of a poem maybe physical and material a poem will also engage with broader and more abstract set of concepts. Themes may occur explicitly or implicitly. Issues are usually clearly defined where the poet presents a conscious position on a subject.

• Comment on the setting and context[s] of the poem.
An important element in poetry can be the poem’s setting. The immediate setting is the physical landscape that frames the subject of the poem. Poets use setting to develop the themes, subject and meaning of a poem. Contexts are broader and more abstract and may link to political, cultural, social and historical concerns. Contexts often involve the poet and the personal and societal.

• Comment on the structure and form of the poem.
Poems are usually highly organized texts. A poet will have worked and reworked their material to suit their purposes and to engage the reader. The physical shape of the poem and the way it is presented on the page will help convey the poem’s meaning. This is called the Form of the poem. The shape of a poem on the page can be used to contribute to its meaning. For example the four line stanzas may indicate traditional poetry or song.

• Response to the poem.
To consider all the above questions carefully and reflectively will help you develop an informed, sensitive, thoughtful, imaginative, analytical response to these poems. In turn this will help you enormously to write a good 1000 word essay.


What key language and literary features can you identify and what effect do these features have on a reader?
• What genre does the poem draw from? Consider whether the poem is largely descriptive, narrative, monologue, dialogue, abstract, physical, etc

• Generally poets use two different techniques to communicate to their readers. One is imagery – where poets appeal to the imaginations of their readers. For example; metaphor, simile, symbolism and personification. The other technique is phonology – where a poet uses sound to appeal to their readers. For example; alliteration, assonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia and repetition etc.

• You should consider such features as – grammar – the structures that exist within a sentence. For example identifying verbs, nouns and adjectives. Lexis – or vocabulary. Consider such things as simple or complex, emotive or neutral words. Also the denotations and connotations of words. Syntax – sentence structure. Consider such things as simple, compound or complex sentences. As well as declarative, interrogative, instructional and exclamatory sentences. Rhetorical devices – are techniques designed to persuade a reader to a specific point of view. These techniques include repetition, comparative and contrasting pairs, lists and lists of three and direct address, etc. Register – is the relationship the poetic voice adopts towards the reader. This is established through using either formal or informal lexis.


• Identifying features in a poem will not enable you to get good grades in your assessments. It is vital that you link the features of a poem to the effects on you and a generalised reader.

One 2500 word essay comparing two poets on a comparative theme


Date Deadline
w/c 5 December Finalise titles
w/c 3 January First draft essays submitted
21 February Final Deadline

A2 LL - comparative paragraph example

Below is a comparative analytical paragraph. The paragraph uses literary analytical frameworks and lingustic framesworks. However there are no references to the form of the poems here - just the language. As you read it try and identify the different parts of the paragraph structure. It is slightly different from the structure I've given in an earlier post.

One word of warning with this example. It is quite a long paragraph - about 250 words. I think you should aim to write 160 - 180 words per comparative paragraph.



Both Betjeman and Plath present horses in their poetry. In Pot Pourri Betjeman is horse riding. This is a symbol of upper class life style. In his poem we can imagine him riding to the home of the woman he loves 'over your boundary now, I wash my face in a bird bath' . Although on horseback he's not really interested in the horse at all. He's interested in where the horse can take him. The poem is a love poem. The two declarative statements above are addressed to his lover. This is done using the second person personal pronoun 'your'. The noun 'boundary' is interesting. He has not used a more practical lexis like fence or wall. Instead he uses a noun that suggests a large expansive property. It may even have sexual connotations. This is very different for Plath. For her, horses are powerful and elemental creatures that embody the power of nature. In the poem Ariel Plath too is riding a horse. She writes about the horese as 'God's lioness,/ How one we grow'. Here she relates the horse to 'God' this powerful emotive pronoun creates a shocking and vivid image in the mind of the reader. The noun 'lioness' conjures ideas of empowered female, wildness, uncontrollable power and energy. And in the line 'How one we grow', the horse embodies power and energy from the natural world that she herself seeks to draw from.

Click here to read Ariel by Plath

Click here to read Pot Pourri from a Surrey Garden by John Betjeman