- Write simple topic sentences rather than complex and abstract topic sentences. These tend to be general, vague and are often confusing
- Identify quotations that enable you to comment on literary / language features
- Always comment on the effect of these features on a reader - do we feel sympathetic to one character rather than another? Do we feel anger or pity or another emotion?
- Make sure you put your quotations into the context of the poem / collection
- Read carefully what the poem you are writing about is actually saying - don't rush towards symbolism or representation immediately. Think carefully about the literal meaning of the poem or quotation first. There may be symbolism in the poem but there may not be.
- You must quote from the poem using the same layout in the poem. However if you are quoting from two lines then the quotation is probably too long. Here is an example of a two line quotation that is quite long but acceptable.
Black edges to everything, frightened you.'
Here are some comments to make about this quotation
- the noun 'edges' is premodified by 'African' and 'Black' - African connotations include mysterious, unknown, exotic, wild, uncivilized and primitive.
- the noun 'black' has similar connotations to 'African' but one could add, evil, death, burnt, fear
- 'edges' and 'everything' are alliterative - this maybe used to create emphasis
- this quotation forms part of a declarative sentence addressed to Plath herself.
Hughes presents Plath as fearful of Spain. In the poem You Hated Spain Plath is terrified by the strangeness and 'otherness' of the country. The culture and way of life is so different from her native country America. He writes that Plath was scared of
'...the African
Black edges to everything, frightened you.'
In the 1950's Africa was seen as a dangerous and wild mysterious continent. It was exotic, still perceived as uncivilized and primitive. The noun 'Black' had many negative associations also. Death and evil were often connected to the colour black.
Here are some quotations from the poem you could use in your paragraph about the presentation of the 59th bear.
'Bears waited
welcoming committees - at every parking
Lifting their teddy bear ears...'
'Everywhere people were entertaining
Bears and bears were entertaining people.'
'Each evening
Bears raided the campgrounds. Camera stars
They performed at the sunken trash-bins.'
'We lay
Decoding every variety of sound
as he battered and squelched, crushed and scraped...'
'He was actually there
Hiding beside our tent! His breathing,
Heavy after the night's gourmandizing.'
