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11+ · English - Reading (Poetry)

EP.E3 Comprehension: Poetry

GL ASSESSMENT / CSSE 11+ Entrance English (GL Assessment / CSSE style) · Calculators not allowed · about 80 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

Windfall

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). Original poem created for 11+ comprehension practice.

The orchard keeps its secrets in the grass,

where fallen apples bruise and slowly turn,

brown-freckled, sweet with sugar turning sharp,

too soft for baskets, too far gone to churn.

My grandfather would stoop for every one,

his old back curved like branches in the wind,

and drop them, softly, in a rusted pail,

as though each bruise were something he had sinned.

"Nothing here is waste," he'd always say,

"the wasps will have their share, the birds the rest;

and what the frost don't take, the earth will keep;

there's compost in the coldest, hardest test."

I did not understand him then. I thought

an apple bruised was just an apple spoiled,

a thing to bin, not bury, not to bless,

not worth the kneeling, worth the fingers soiled.

Now every autumn when the light turns thin,

and windfalls freckle grass with green and gold,

I kneel the way he knelt, and understand

the patience of a hand that's always cold.

The orchard does not mind the bruised, the late,

the ones that fall before the picking's done.

It only asks that someone kneel to gather

what the wind has taken from the sun.

Are the following statements about the poem True or False? Write True or False for each.

(a)The poem is written in six stanzas of four lines each.(1)

True
False

(b)The grandfather throws the bruised apples in the bin.(1)

True
False

(c)The speaker understood his grandfather's attitude to the apples straight away.(1)

True
False

(d)According to the grandfather, wasps and birds make use of the fallen apples.(1)

True
False

(e)The final stanza suggests the orchard has no patience for bruised or late-falling apples.(1)

True
False

(Total for Question 1 is 5 marks)

Look at stanzas 2 and 3 of the poem. List four separate details the poem gives about the grandfather's actions or words.

(Total for Question 2 is 4 marks)

Choose the option closest in meaning to the word as it is used in the poem.

(a)'brown-freckled' (stanza 1, describing the apples) is closest in meaning to:(1)

A) completely rotten through
B) marked with small brown spots or blemishes
C) shiny and highly polished
D) frozen solid

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

Look at stanza 3 of the poem. State two different things the grandfather says will make use of the apples that are left uncollected.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

Look at stanza 5, line 2: 'and windfalls freckle grass with green and gold'. Explain what is meant by 'windfalls' here, including both its literal meaning and what it suggests about the poem's ideas.

(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)

Look at the rhymes at the end of each line across the poem's six stanzas.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Look at stanza 2, line 2: 'his old back curved like branches in the wind'. Explain the effect of this simile.

(Total for Question 7 is 4 marks)

Look at 'brown-freckled' (stanza 1) and 'each bruise' (stanza 2), both used to describe the fallen apples. Explain the effect of describing the apples using words that could also describe human skin.

(Total for Question 8 is 4 marks)

The word 'kneel' or one of its forms ('kneeling', 'knelt') appears three times across the poem: in stanza 4 ('not worth the kneeling'), stanza 5 ('I kneel the way he knelt') and stanza 6 ('someone kneel to gather'). Explain the effect of this repetition.

(Total for Question 9 is 4 marks)

Explain how the poem's regular form (six four-line stanzas with a consistent ABCB rhyme scheme) contributes to its calm, reflective tone.

(Total for Question 10 is 4 marks)

Stanza 4 begins 'I did not understand him then. I thought...'. Explain how this moment marks a turning point in the poem, and how the shift in tense between stanzas 2 to 4 and stanzas 5 to 6 supports this.

(Total for Question 11 is 6 marks)

Compare how the orchard is presented in stanza 1 with how it is presented in stanza 6. Use evidence from both stanzas to support your ideas.

(Total for Question 12 is 6 marks)

In your own words, summarise the lesson the speaker learns from his grandfather over the course of the poem. Write no more than 40 words.

(Total for Question 13 is 4 marks)

Look at the final stanza, in particular the line 'It only asks that someone kneel to gather / what the wind has taken from the sun.' Explain what this final image suggests about the poem's message.

(Total for Question 14 is 6 marks)

Explain how the poet presents the speaker's changing point of view across the whole poem, from childhood to adulthood.

(Total for Question 15 is 8 marks)

The orchard is used as an extended metaphor throughout the poem. Explore how the poet develops this metaphor from stanza 1 to stanza 6, and what it comes to represent by the end of the poem.

(Total for Question 16 is 8 marks)

Discuss how the poet presents the relationship between the speaker and his grandfather in 'Windfall'. Support your response with detailed reference to language, structure and form across the whole poem.

(Total for Question 17 is 10 marks)

A reader said, 'This poem is really about far more than an orchard; it is a poem about forgiving imperfection wherever we find it.' To what extent do you agree? Support your response with detailed reference to the poem's language, structure and ideas.

(Total for Question 18 is 10 marks)

Mark scheme · EP.E3 Comprehension: Poetry

Question 1

(a) B1 True
(a) Answer: True
(b) B1 False
(b) Answer: False
(c) B1 False
(c) Answer: False
(d) B1 True
(d) Answer: True
(e) B1 False
(e) Answer: False

Question 2

B1 he stoops or bends down to pick up every apple
B1 he places the apples softly / gently into a rusted pail
B1 he says 'Nothing here is waste'
B1 he explains that wasps, birds, frost and the earth will all make use of the fallen fruit
Answer: Any four of: he stoops for every apple; he places them softly in a rusted pail; he says 'Nothing here is waste'; he explains that wasps, birds, frost and the earth all make use of the apples.

Question 3

(a) B1 B
(a) Answer: B) marked with small brown spots or blemishes

Question 4

B1 the wasps will have their share (of the apples)
B1 the birds will have the rest / whatever the frost does not take becomes compost that feeds the earth
Answer: Any two of: the wasps will have their share; the birds will have the rest; whatever the frost leaves will become compost for the earth.

Question 5

B1 literal meaning: apples that have fallen from the tree (often because of wind)
B1 wider connection: the word also suggests something found or gained without effort, which links to the poem's message about valuing what simply falls or is overlooked
Answer: A 'windfall' is literally fruit that has fallen from the tree, often blown down by the wind; the word also carries a wider sense of an unexpected find or gift, connecting to the poem's idea that what falls and is overlooked still has value.

Question 6

Level 1 (1): Identifies that the poem rhymes but does not name the pattern accurately or give a supporting example.
Level 2 (2): Correctly identifies the ABCB rhyme scheme (the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme) and supports this with an accurate quotation.
Indicative content:
- The poem is written in rhyming quatrains with an ABCB rhyme scheme: in each stanza the second and fourth lines rhyme, while the first and third do not
- Examples include 'turn' / 'churn' in stanza 1, 'rest' / 'test' in stanza 3, 'gold' / 'cold' in stanza 5 or 'done' / 'sun' in stanza 6
- This regular pattern is used consistently across all six stanzas

Question 7

Level 1 (1-2): Simple identification that the grandfather is old or bent, with limited or no explanation of the simile's effect.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear, detailed explanation of how the simile links the grandfather to the natural world he tends, with precise reference to the language used.
Indicative content:
- The simile compares the grandfather's bent back directly to the shape of branches, suggesting years of physical labour and old age
- It links him closely to the trees and the orchard itself, as though he has grown to belong to the natural world he cares for
- The image of 'wind' bending branches suggests he has been shaped and weathered by time, much as the orchard is shaped by the seasons
- This connection between man and tree prepares the reader for the poem's wider theme of continuity between people and nature

Question 8

Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment that the apples are described like skin, with limited explanation of effect.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear, detailed explanation of how the human associations of 'freckled' and 'bruise' create empathy for the apples and connect to the poem's ideas about imperfection.
Indicative content:
- 'Freckled' and 'bruise' are words usually used to describe human skin, so applying them to apples subtly personifies the fruit
- This makes the reader see the apples almost as small, vulnerable bodies rather than simply produce, creating sympathy for them
- It blurs the line between natural decay in fruit and imperfection in people, hinting at the poem's wider idea that flaws should be treated gently rather than discarded
- The choice prepares the reader for the grandfather's later, almost tender treatment of the 'bruised' fruit

Question 9

Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment that the word is repeated, with limited explanation of effect.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear, detailed explanation of how the repetition of 'kneel' tracks the speaker's changing attitude and links the physical act of gathering to respect or humility.
Indicative content:
- In stanza 4 the young speaker thought bruised apples were 'not worth the kneeling', showing dismissal and impatience
- In stanza 5 the adult speaker 'kneels the way he knelt', directly echoing and repeating the grandfather's earlier action, showing that he has come to imitate and understand him
- In stanza 6 kneeling becomes a general requirement ('someone kneel to gather'), suggesting it stands for humility or care that anyone can offer
- The repeated word physically links the generations together and traces the speaker's journey from dismissing the act to performing and valuing it himself

Question 10

Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment that the poem has a regular form, with limited explanation of its effect.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear, detailed explanation of how the steady rhythm and rhyme scheme reflect the poem's patient, reflective mood.
Indicative content:
- The consistent quatrain form and steady ABCB rhyme create a controlled, measured rhythm rather than an urgent or chaotic one
- This regularity mirrors the patient, repetitive nature of the seasonal task being described, gathering fallen apples each autumn
- Containing each idea or memory within a single stanza suggests careful, considered reflection rather than rushed emotion
- The steady form suits the poem's quiet, thoughtful tone as the speaker looks back on his grandfather with understanding rather than sudden realisation

Question 11

Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment that the speaker's view changes, with limited or no reference to tense or structure.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear explanation of the shift in understanding, with some reference to the change in tense across the poem.
Level 3 (5-6): A detailed, well-supported explanation of how the turning point in stanza 4 and the shift from past to present tense together mark the speaker's growth and change of understanding.
Indicative content:
- Stanzas 2 and 3 describe the grandfather in the past tense, recalling his actions and words as childhood memories
- Stanza 4 marks a clear turning point, with the speaker admitting directly, 'I did not understand him then', showing distance between his childhood self and his present self
- The shift to present tense in stanza 5 ('Now every autumn... I kneel... and understand') shows that understanding has been reached in the present, after years have passed
- This structural movement from past memory, to admitted misunderstanding, to present-day understanding, mirrors the process of maturing and coming to appreciate a lesson only after time has passed
- The final stanza returns to a more general, timeless present, suggesting the lesson now belongs to the orchard itself rather than only to the speaker's memory

Question 12

Level 1 (1-2): A simple comparison identifying that the orchard is presented differently, with limited or no supporting reference.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear comparison supported by relevant evidence from both stanza 1 and stanza 6.
Level 3 (5-6): A perceptive, well-developed comparison that selects precise evidence from both stanzas and explores the shift in presentation in a nuanced way.
Indicative content:
- In stanza 1 the orchard is presented as private and withholding, 'keeping its secrets', and the apples are described almost clinically as 'too far gone to churn', suggesting waste or loss
- In stanza 6 the orchard is personified as accepting and undemanding, stated directly to 'not mind the bruised, the late'
- Stanza 6 resolves the uncertainty of stanza 1 by showing that nothing is truly wasted, only in need of someone willing to 'kneel to gather' it
- The shift is from an orchard that seems to hide or lose things, to one that is shown to be forgiving and purposeful, mirroring the speaker's own change in understanding
- The strongest answers will select precise, well-chosen quotations from both stanzas and explore how this shift reflects the poem's central message about value and imperfection

Question 13

Level 1 (1-2): A simple summary, largely lifted from the poem, with limited sense of the overall lesson learned.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear summary in the student's own words, capturing both the grandfather's original attitude and the speaker's eventual understanding of it.
Indicative content:
- The grandfather believed that nothing in the orchard was truly wasted, since wasps, birds, frost and the earth would all make use of fallen apples
- As a child the speaker dismissed bruised apples as worthless and not worth collecting
- As an adult the speaker now understands and repeats his grandfather's patient, careful attitude towards imperfect fruit
- The wider lesson is that things which seem flawed, bruised or overlooked still have value and deserve care
- Good answers will be expressed in the student's own words rather than copied directly from the poem, and will stay within the word limit

Question 14

Level 1 (1-2): A simple comment on the final image, with limited or no reference to the wider poem.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear explanation of the final image's meaning, with some reference to the poem's wider ideas about care and imperfection.
Level 3 (5-6): A detailed, perceptive explanation of how the final image draws together the poem's ideas about humility, patience and acceptance of imperfection, supported by precise textual reference.
Indicative content:
- The final image presents gathering fallen fruit as a small, simple act ('only asks'), suggesting that caring for what is imperfect requires little more than willingness and humility
- 'What the wind has taken from the sun' suggests the apples are a kind of gift from nature, temporarily lost to chance (the wind) but still worth reclaiming
- The image brings together the poem's recurring ideas of kneeling, gathering and acceptance established in earlier stanzas
- It suggests a wider message beyond the orchard: that anyone willing to show patience and humility can find value in what others might overlook or discard
- The calm, resolved tone of the final image contrasts with the uncertainty of the opening stanza, bringing the poem's argument full circle

Question 15

Level 1 (1-2): A simple comment that the speaker's view changes, with limited or no reference to the text.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear explanation of the speaker's changing viewpoint, supported by relevant reference to at least two stanzas.
Level 3 (5-6): A detailed explanation exploring the speaker's viewpoint at several points across the poem, supported by well-chosen quotation.
Level 4 (7-8): A perceptive, well-structured explanation that traces the speaker's viewpoint across the whole poem in a nuanced way, with precise and effectively integrated textual support.
Indicative content:
- The poem opens with an impersonal, almost distant description of the orchard (stanza 1), before introducing the speaker's memory of his grandfather (stanzas 2 to 3)
- As a child, the speaker's viewpoint is dismissive and impatient, seeing bruised apples as 'spoiled' and 'not worth the kneeling' (stanza 4)
- The direct admission 'I did not understand him then' marks a clear, honest shift in perspective, distancing the adult narrator from his younger self
- In stanza 5 the speaker's present-day viewpoint has changed completely: he now repeats his grandfather's actions and explicitly claims to 'understand'
- By stanza 6 the speaker's personal viewpoint has broadened into a more universal statement about the orchard and, by extension, about how anyone should treat what is imperfect
- The overall structure moves the reader through three viewpoints in sequence: childhood dismissal, honest adult admission of past misunderstanding, and mature acceptance, giving the poem a clear emotional and structural journey

Question 16

Level 1 (1-2): A simple identification that the orchard represents something beyond itself, with limited or no supporting reference.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear explanation of the orchard as a metaphor, supported by relevant reference to more than one stanza.
Level 3 (5-6): A detailed exploration of how the metaphor develops across the poem, supported by well-chosen quotation from several stanzas.
Level 4 (7-8): A perceptive, well-structured exploration that traces the metaphor's development across the whole poem and considers precisely what it comes to represent, with skilfully integrated textual support.
Indicative content:
- In stanza 1 the orchard 'keeps its secrets', introduced as something private and slightly mysterious, holding apples that seem wasted
- In stanzas 2 and 3 the grandfather's care for the fallen fruit begins to suggest that the orchard represents a set of values, patience, respect for nature and a refusal to see anything as truly wasted
- In stanza 4 the young speaker's dismissal of the fruit as 'spoiled' shows he has not yet grasped what the orchard represents
- By stanza 5 the orchard's lesson is directly connected to the speaker's own understanding of patience, shown through his physical repetition of his grandfather's kneeling
- In stanza 6 the orchard becomes a metaphor for forgiveness or acceptance of imperfection more broadly, applicable beyond the setting of an orchard to how people might treat flaws, lateness or failure in themselves and others
- The strongest responses will trace this development precisely stanza by stanza and offer a clear, well-supported view of what the orchard ultimately represents

Question 17

Level 1 (1-2): A simple, general comment on the relationship, with little or no textual support.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear response identifying aspects of the relationship, with some relevant reference to language or structure.
Level 3 (5-6): A detailed, well-supported discussion exploring more than one aspect of the relationship (for example the grandfather's words, the speaker's changing attitude), with well-chosen quotation.
Level 4 (7-8): A perceptive discussion considering how language, structure and form together shape the presentation of the relationship, with precise, well-integrated textual support.
Level 5 (9-10): A sophisticated, convincing discussion that explores the relationship in a nuanced way across the whole poem, evaluating how the poet's choices of language, structure and form work together, with skilfully selected and embedded evidence throughout.
Indicative content:
- The grandfather is presented through patient actions and direct, quoted speech (stanza 3), giving him an authoritative but gentle voice within the poem
- The simile 'his old back curved like branches in the wind' (stanza 2) closely links the grandfather to the natural world he tends, suggesting a lifetime of quiet, physical devotion
- The relationship is presented as one of inherited wisdom passed down across time: the child does not initially understand or value his grandfather's care (stanza 4), but comes to repeat his exact actions as an adult (stanza 5)
- The physical repetition of 'kneel' across stanzas 4, 5 and 6 structurally embodies the passing on of values from grandfather to grandson
- The regular quatrain form and steady rhyme scheme give the whole poem a controlled, reflective tone appropriate to a considered adult looking back with respect and gratitude
- The absence of the grandfather's physical presence in stanzas 5 and 6 (he is not directly mentioned, only 'the way he knelt' and 'a hand that's always cold') suggests he may no longer be alive, deepening the sense of a legacy carried forward after loss
- Strong responses will consider the relationship as one of quiet, inherited respect that deepens with time and distance rather than one that is straightforwardly close throughout

Question 18

Level 1 (1-2): A simple statement of agreement or disagreement, with little or no textual support.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear response with some relevant reference to language or ideas, showing basic understanding of the poem's wider meaning.
Level 3 (5-6): A detailed, well-supported evaluation exploring more than one aspect of the poem's wider meaning, with well-chosen quotation.
Level 4 (7-8): A perceptive evaluation that considers different aspects of the poem's ideas in a balanced way, with precise textual support and a considered personal judgement.
Level 5 (9-10): A sophisticated, convincing evaluation that engages closely with the reader's statement, weighing evidence for and against it across the whole poem, and reaches a well-supported, nuanced personal judgement.
Indicative content:
- Consideration of evidence supporting the statement: the personification of the apples using human vocabulary ('freckled', 'bruise'), the grandfather's insistence that 'nothing here is waste', and the final stanza's generalised claim that the orchard 'does not mind the bruised, the late' all point beyond a literal orchard towards ideas about forgiving imperfection
- Consideration of the poem's structural journey, from childhood dismissal to adult understanding, as itself modelling the process of learning to forgive or accept flaws over time
- A more balanced or challenging response might argue the poem stays rooted in specific, concrete, personal memory (a particular grandfather, a particular pail, a particular orchard) and that its wider meaning is suggested rather than stated outright, so readers should be cautious about treating it purely as an abstract lesson
- Discussion of the ambiguous ending, where 'someone' rather than a named person is asked to kneel and gather, which does support a reading of the poem as reaching beyond this one family towards a universal audience
- Reward well-supported personal judgements in either direction, or nuanced positions that partly agree, provided they are backed by precise, relevant textual evidence from across the whole poem

Comprehension: Poetry - Worksheets, Questions and Revision