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KS3 · English Literature - Poetry Analysis

KS3.E5 Poetry Analysis

AQA KS3 (no formal spec code; styled on AQA GCSE English Literature 8702 poetry assessment objectives) · Calculators not allowed · about 100 minutes

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Read both original poems, 'High Tide at Fenmouth' and 'Nan's Kitchen', carefully before answering. Short-answer questions come first, followed by longer levels-marked analysis questions, a comparison of the two poems, and finally a short writing task. Support every point with a quotation or close reference to the text.

Poem 1: High Tide at Fenmouth

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). Fenmouth is an invented coastal village; all characters and events are fictitious.

The gulls unpick the morning with their cries

above the harbour wall where Grandad stood,

his boots two dark commas in the mud,

reading the tide the way some men read skies.

He said the sea keeps talking if you wait,

that every wave writes something on the sand

before another rubs it out by hand

and smooths the page for what the tide will state.

I did not understand him then. I stacked

my pockets full of shells like small coins saved,

and could not see the harbour as a grave

for afternoons the water would subtract.

Now I stand where his boots once printed clay,

the same grey gulls unpicking the same air,

and find his voice still folded in it there

like a boat the tide has carried back to stay.

Read 'High Tide at Fenmouth'. List four details the poem gives you about Grandad or the harbour at Fenmouth.

(4)

Give one quotation from 'High Tide at Fenmouth' that shows the sea being described as if it can write.

(1)

Look at the first line: 'The gulls unpick the morning with their cries.' What does the word 'unpick' suggest about the sound of the gulls?

(2)

Look at the description of Grandad: 'his boots two dark commas in the mud'. Explain the effect of this metaphor.

(3)

The poem uses an extended metaphor comparing the sea/tide to writing and reading (for example 'reading the tide', 'every wave writes something on the sand', 'smooths the page'). Explain how this extended metaphor develops across stanzas one and two.

(4)

Look at the rhyme in stanza one of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' (cries / stood / mud / skies).

(a)Identify the rhyme scheme of this stanza.(1)

(b)Explain one effect this rhyme scheme creates.(3)

Look at stanza two: 'He said the sea keeps talking if you wait, / that every wave writes something on the sand' and stanza three: 'I did not understand him then. I stacked'. Identify one example of enjambment and one example of caesura in these lines, and explain the effect of each.

(3)

Match each poetic term to its correct definition.
Terms: 1. Enjambment 2. Caesura 3. Extended metaphor 4. Sibilance
Definitions: A. A pause or break in the middle of a line, often marked by punctuation. B. A comparison developed and continued across several lines or a whole poem. C. A sentence or clause that runs on from one line to the next without a pause. D. The repetition of soft 's' or 'sh' sounds close together.

(4)

Read 'Nan's Kitchen'. Look at 'The kettle clears its throat twice before it boils.' Identify the language technique used and explain its effect.

(3)

Look at the opening line of 'Nan's Kitchen': 'Flour ghosts the worktop white each Sunday.' Explain the effect of the word 'ghosts' used as a verb here.

(3)

Look at stanza three of 'High Tide at Fenmouth': 'and could not see the harbour as a grave / for afternoons the water would subtract.' Explain the effect of the words 'grave' and 'subtract' here.

(4)

Explain how the structure of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' is cyclical (returns to similar ideas or images at the beginning and end).

(5)

Compare the form of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' with the form of 'Nan's Kitchen'. Explain one way the poets' choice of form suits the content of each poem.

(4)

Writing task. Write the opening stanza (between four and eight lines) of your own poem about a place that holds a memory for you (real or invented). Your stanza must include at least one metaphor or simile and at least one example of enjambment.

(8)

Proofread the following sentence, which contains four errors of spelling, capitalisation and punctuation. Find and correct all four errors.
'the poem creates a strong sence of nostalgia. The reader can almost feel the salt air blowing off the page, and grandad's voice seems to linger their long after he is gone.'

(4)

Compare how the theme of time is presented in 'High Tide at Fenmouth' and 'Nan's Kitchen'. You must refer to both poems in your answer.

(6)

Explore how the poet presents the theme of memory in 'High Tide at Fenmouth'. In your answer, refer to the writer's use of language, form and structure, and use relevant subject terminology.

(12)

Compare how the poets present the passing of time in 'High Tide at Fenmouth' and 'Nan's Kitchen'. You must refer to both poems in your answer, and consider each poet's use of language, form and structure.

(10)

A student said: 'Nan's Kitchen creates a stronger sense of nostalgia than High Tide at Fenmouth because it focuses on small, everyday details.' To what extent do you agree? Support your response with close reference to both poems.

(8)

Evaluate how effectively the final stanza of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' resolves the ideas introduced in stanza one. In your answer, analyse the poet's use of language and structure in close detail.

(10)

Mark scheme · KS3.E5 Poetry Analysis

Question 1

B1 one acceptable point, e.g. gulls cry above the harbour wall in the morning (oe)
B1 a second point, e.g. Grandad stood at the harbour and 'read' the tide (oe)
B1 a third point, e.g. the speaker collected shells as a child (oe)
B1 a fourth point, e.g. the speaker returns to the harbour as an adult, years later (oe)
Answer: Any four of: gulls cry above the harbour wall each morning; Grandad used to stand at the harbour reading the tide like a sky; the speaker collected shells as a child without understanding the scene; the speaker now returns as an adult; the same gulls and harbour are still there; Grandad's voice seems to remain in the air.

Question 2

B1 accept any exact quotation showing the sea/waves writing, e.g. 'that every wave writes something on the sand' or 'smooths the page for what the tide will state' (oe)
Answer: e.g. 'that every wave writes something on the sand'

Question 3

B1 identifies the literal meaning of 'unpick', e.g. to undo something stitched or fastened, carefully and gradually (oe)
B1 links this to the effect: the gulls' cries gradually break apart or disturb the stillness/quiet of the morning (oe)
Answer: 'Unpick' literally means to undo stitching bit by bit; here it suggests the gulls' cries slowly and carefully take apart the stillness of the morning, as if the quiet were something stitched together that the birds are unpicking piece by piece.

Question 4

Level 2 (3): Clear explanation: explains the visual comparison and links it clearly to the poem's wider reading/writing metaphor, using accurate terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment: identifies the comparison to commas with limited or no development of effect.
Indicative content:
- Visually, a comma is a small curved mark, matching the shape of a booted footprint pressed into mud.
- 'Comma' also connects Grandad to the poem's extended metaphor of the sea as a piece of writing that can be read and rewritten, suggesting he is himself part of that 'text'.
- A comma marks a brief pause rather than a full stop, which could suggest Grandad's presence is only a small, temporary pause in a much longer, ongoing process (the tide, time).
- The word 'dark' adds a slightly heavier, more permanent-sounding note against the otherwise fleeting image of a footprint that mud will eventually erase.

Question 5

Level 2 (3-4): Clear explanation of how the metaphor develops, tracking specific word choices across both stanzas with accurate terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple identification of the metaphor with limited or no tracking of its development.
Indicative content:
- Stanza one introduces the idea gently: Grandad is 'reading the tide the way some men read skies', framing the tide as a text that can be interpreted.
- Stanza two develops this literally: the sea 'keeps talking', waves 'write' on the sand, and other waves 'rub it out' and 'smooth the page', turning the beach into a constantly rewritten manuscript.
- This development moves the metaphor from a simple comparison (reading) to a fuller scene (writing, erasing, smoothing), suggesting the tide is not just something to observe but an ongoing, active process of creation and erasure.
- The progression mirrors the poem's theme of memory: like the tide's writing, memories are made and then partly erased, but never completely lost.

Question 6

(a) B1 ABBA (enclosed/'wraparound' rhyme) (cao)
(a) Answer: ABBA
(b) L2 (3): Clear explanation of a plausible effect, well linked to the poem's themes or imagery, using accurate terminology.
(b) L1 (1-2): Simple identification of an effect with limited development.
(b) Answer: The enclosed ABBA pattern rhymes outward then folds back inward, mirroring the motion of a wave advancing and retreating; this measured, returning rhythm suits the poem's reflective tone and reinforces the cyclical structure that links the opening and closing stanzas.

Question 7

Level 2 (3): Clearly identifies both enjambment and caesura with accurate terminology and explains a plausible effect for each.
Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or both devices with limited explanation of effect.
Indicative content:
- Enjambment: the sentence runs on from 'He said the sea keeps talking if you wait,' into the next line without a full stop, mirroring the sea's continuous 'talking' and the flow of one wave into the next.
- Caesura: 'I did not understand him then. I stacked' has a full stop mid-line, creating a sharp pause that separates the speaker's past confusion from the action that follows, marking a shift in the stanza.
- Together, the flowing enjambment (associated with Grandad/the sea) and the abrupt caesura (associated with the child's limited understanding) contrast the adult's wisdom with the child's incomprehension.

Question 8

B1 1-C (cao)
B1 2-A (cao)
B1 3-B (cao)
B1 4-D (cao)
Answer: 1-C, 2-A, 3-B, 4-D

Question 9

Level 2 (3): Correctly identifies personification and gives a clear, well-linked explanation of its effect, using accurate terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Identifies personification with limited or no explanation of effect, or gives a partial/simple effect without naming the technique.
Indicative content:
- The technique is personification: the kettle is given a human action ('clears its throat'), as if it were a person about to speak.
- This creates a warm, homely, almost comic atmosphere, making the kitchen feel alive and full of familiar, comforting presences rather than just objects.
- It also suits the poem's gentle, affectionate tone towards Nan and the domestic ritual being described.

Question 10

Level 2 (3): Clear explanation linking the literal visual effect of the flour to the connotations of 'ghosts' (memory, haunting, lightness), using accurate terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment on the visual whiteness of the flour or the word's unusualness, with limited development.
Indicative content:
- Using 'ghosts' as a verb is unusual and striking; it captures the way flour dust settles lightly and pale, like a faint, insubstantial covering.
- The word also carries connotations of memory and haunting, suggesting this kitchen ritual is bound up with the past, perhaps foreshadowing a time when this memory itself will be all that is left of Nan.
- It gives the ordinary domestic detail an unexpectedly eerie or poignant edge, hinting that the poem is about more than baking, it is about how memory lingers in a place.

Question 11

Level 2 (3-4): Clear, well-supported explanation of the connotations of both words and how they combine to suggest loss and mortality, using accurate terminology.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple comment on one word, or a general point about loss without close analysis of both words.
Indicative content:
- 'Grave' has connotations of death and burial, foreshadowing that the harbour will eventually become linked with loss, and perhaps hinting at Grandad's own death, which the poem never states directly.
- 'Subtract' is a cold, mathematical word, unusual in a poem otherwise full of natural, sensory imagery; it suggests time being taken away almost clinically, without emotion, as though afternoons are simply numbers being removed.
- Together, the words suggest that the child could not yet grasp that ordinary, happy afternoons were also being quietly lost, tying the stanza to the poem's wider theme that memory and mortality are bound up with the beauty of small, everyday moments.
- The contrast between the childish 'shells like small coins saved' earlier in the stanza and the cold 'subtract' highlights the gap between the child's innocent view and the adult speaker's later, wiser understanding.

Question 12

Level 3 (5): Detailed, well-evidenced explanation tracking at least two echoed images/ideas between stanzas one and four and their significance, using accurate terminology.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear explanation identifying one or two echoed images with some development of their significance.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple identification that the poem returns to earlier images, with limited or no development.
Indicative content:
- Stanza one and stanza four both feature 'gulls' 'unpicking' the morning/air, an almost identical image bookending the poem.
- Stanza one describes Grandad's 'boots' in the mud; stanza four describes the speaker standing 'where his boots once printed clay', directly echoing the footprint image but showing Grandad is now absent.
- This cyclical structure mirrors the tide itself, which goes out and returns, and suggests that memory works the same way, returning to the same places and images even as time passes.
- The repetition with variation (same gulls, same air, but now the speaker rather than Grandad) shows continuity alongside change, suggesting the speaker has, in some sense, taken Grandad's place.
- The final image, of Grandad's voice 'folded' in the air 'like a boat the tide has carried back', completes the cycle by bringing back (rather than erasing) what earlier stanzas suggested the tide takes away.

Question 13

Level 2 (3-4): Clear comparison identifying the key formal difference (regular rhymed quatrains versus unrhymed free verse) and linking it convincingly to each poem's content or tone.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple identification of a formal difference with limited or no link to content.
Indicative content:
- 'High Tide at Fenmouth' uses four regular, rhymed quatrains (ABBA), giving it a controlled, measured feel that suits its reflective, retrospective tone as the speaker looks back years later.
- 'Nan's Kitchen' is written in unrhymed free verse with no stanza breaks, giving it a more natural, conversational, ongoing feel that suits its present-tense, in-the-moment description of an everyday ritual.
- The tighter form of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' could reflect how memory is being carefully shaped and controlled by the adult speaker, while the looser form of 'Nan's Kitchen' suggests memory experienced as continuous and unresolved, still happening rather than looked back on.
- Both choices of form connect to how each poem treats time: fixed, patterned form for a memory framed as past and complete; open, flowing form for a ritual framed as ongoing and repeated.

Question 14

Content, craft and required devices (AO5, 8 marks)
- Level 4 (7-8): Vivid, original imagery with a confidently controlled metaphor or simile and clearly effective enjambment; a strong, consistent sense of place and feeling; ambitious, well-chosen vocabulary.
- Level 3 (5-6): Clear, effective imagery including a working metaphor or simile and enjambment used with some success; a clear sense of place and feeling; varied vocabulary.
- Level 2 (3-4): Some effective imagery; a metaphor or simile and/or enjambment attempted, though not always securely controlled; some sense of place or feeling.
- Level 1 (1-2): Simple imagery; little or no clear use of the required devices; limited sense of place or feeling.

Question 15

B1 capitalises the first word of the sentence: 'The poem...' (cao)
B1 corrects the spelling error 'sence' to 'sense' (cao)
B1 capitalises the proper noun 'grandad's' to 'Grandad's' (cao)
B1 corrects the homophone error 'their' to 'there' (cao)
Answer: 'The poem creates a strong sense of nostalgia. The reader can almost feel the salt air blowing off the page, and Grandad's voice seems to linger there long after he is gone.'

Question 16

Level 3 (5-6): Detailed, well-evidenced comparison that explores similarities and differences in how time is presented, using accurate terminology and well-chosen quotations from both poems.
Level 2 (3-4): Clear comparison identifying at least one similarity and one difference, supported with relevant reference to both poems.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple comparison, mostly describing rather than comparing, with limited textual support.
Indicative content:
- Similarity: both poems present time through a family figure (Grandad, Nan) linked to a specific place, suggesting time and memory are anchored to people and locations rather than abstract ideas.
- Difference: 'High Tide at Fenmouth' presents time as something taken away or lost, using words like 'subtract' and 'grave', creating a nostalgic, retrospective tone as the adult speaker looks back years later.
- Difference: 'Nan's Kitchen' presents time as continuous and cyclical (the ritual happens 'each Sunday') and uses present tense throughout, making time feel ongoing and alive rather than something already lost.
- 'Nan's Kitchen' uses the simile of dough rising, 'slow enough that you could swear it wasn't moving, / until suddenly, it is a different size', to suggest time/growth happens imperceptibly, which contrasts with the more sudden, marked losses implied by 'subtract' in the other poem.
- The difference in tense and tone (past/retrospective versus present/ongoing) is reinforced by form: rhymed, structured quatrains in 'High Tide at Fenmouth' versus flowing, unrhymed free verse in 'Nan's Kitchen'.
- A strong answer might conclude that both poems ultimately suggest time cannot be fully stopped or possessed, but that Fenmouth mourns this while Nan's Kitchen quietly celebrates it as part of an ongoing cycle.

Question 17

Level 4 (10-12): Detailed and perceptive exploration: analyses the effects of the writer's choices of language, form and structure with sophistication; selects a judicious range of well-integrated quotations; sustained, accurate use of subject terminology.
Level 3 (7-9): Clear, relevant exploration: explains clearly the effects of language, form and structure; selects a range of relevant quotations; clear and mostly accurate use of subject terminology.
Level 2 (4-6): Some understanding and comment: comments on the effect of some language, form or structural choices; selects some appropriate quotations; some use of subject terminology.
Level 1 (1-3): Simple, limited comment: simple references to language, form or structure; simple or no subject terminology.
Indicative content:
- The extended metaphor of the tide as writing ('reading the tide', 'every wave writes something on the sand', 'smooths the page') presents memory as something continually written and partly erased, but never completely lost, since the page is 'smoothed' for future writing rather than destroyed.
- The metaphor 'his boots two dark commas in the mud' presents Grandad as a small, temporary mark within this larger 'text' of time, foreshadowing his eventual absence.
- The shift from the child's innocent perspective ('shells like small coins saved') to the darker, adult understanding ('grave', 'subtract') in stanza three shows how memory is reinterpreted with maturity; what once seemed simply pleasant is later understood as touched by loss.
- The regular ABBA rhyme scheme and consistent quatrain form create a measured, controlled tone that suits a memory being carefully, deliberately revisited rather than randomly recalled.
- The poem's cyclical structure, opening and closing with gulls 'unpicking' the air and echoing the footprint image, mirrors how memory returns to the same images repeatedly, and mirrors the ebb and flow of the tide itself.
- The final image, Grandad's voice 'folded' in the air 'like a boat the tide has carried back to stay', reverses the earlier idea of the tide taking things away, suggesting memory can bring loved ones back rather than only erasing them.
- A perceptive response might note the shift in verb tense from past (stanzas one to three) to present (stanza four, 'Now I stand'), showing memory as something that can be re-entered and made present again, not simply looked back on from a fixed distance.
- Overall the poem presents memory as durable but changed by time: partly erased like a footprint in mud, yet capable of returning, like the tide itself.

Question 18

Level 4 (9-10): Detailed and perceptive comparison: analyses similarities and differences in how time is presented across both poems, integrating language, form and structure; judicious, well-integrated quotations from both texts; sustained, accurate terminology.
Level 3 (6-8): Clear, relevant comparison: explains clearly at least two points of comparison (similarity and/or difference), with relevant reference to both poems and mostly accurate terminology.
Level 2 (3-5): Some comparison: identifies some similarities or differences, with some relevant reference to both poems.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comparison: mostly separate description of each poem rather than genuine comparison; limited textual support.
Indicative content:
- Both poems root the theme of time in a domestic, family relationship (Grandad; Nan), suggesting time is best understood through people and small rituals rather than abstractly.
- 'High Tide at Fenmouth' frames time as loss: past tense narration, the extended tide/writing metaphor implies erasure, and words like 'grave' and 'subtract' give time a mournful, almost threatening quality.
- 'Nan's Kitchen' frames time as continuous growth: present tense narration and the weekly ritual ('each Sunday') suggest time as repeating and ongoing rather than finished, while the simile of dough rising 'slow enough that you could swear it wasn't moving, / until suddenly, it is a different size' presents time/growth as imperceptible until suddenly noticed.
- Form reinforces this contrast: the tight, rhymed ABBA quatrains of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' suggest a carefully controlled, completed memory, while the unrhymed, unbroken free verse of 'Nan's Kitchen' suggests an ongoing, unresolved present.
- Both poems end on a moment of quiet realisation: Fenmouth with the returned 'boat' image suggesting memory can bring the past back, and Nan's Kitchen with the sudden noticing that things have 'suddenly' changed size, suggesting growth is only visible in hindsight.
- A convincing comparison might argue that Fenmouth treats time as something painful to have lost but partly recoverable through memory, whereas Nan's Kitchen treats time as something gently, almost invisibly, always moving forward.

Question 19

Level 4 (7-8): Perceptive, critical evaluation of the statement, weighing evidence from both poems and reaching a convincing, well-supported judgement; sustained accurate terminology.
Level 3 (5-6): Clear evaluation with relevant support from both poems and a reasonably supported judgement; mostly accurate terminology.
Level 2 (3-4): Some evaluative comment, with some relevant reference to one or both poems; a simple judgement.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited response; largely descriptive rather than evaluative; a stated but unsupported opinion.
Indicative content:
- Agree: 'Nan's Kitchen' does focus on small, sensory, everyday details (flour, the kettle, counting raisins), which can feel especially nostalgic because they are so specific and recognisable, evoking a shared childhood experience of being 'given jobs that matter less'.
- Agree: the present-tense narration of 'Nan's Kitchen' makes the memory feel intensely alive and immediate, which some readers might find creates a sharper, more aching nostalgia than a poem narrated from a distant, adult viewpoint.
- Disagree: 'High Tide at Fenmouth' arguably builds a stronger nostalgic effect through its extended metaphor and the sense of irreversible loss ('grave', 'subtract'), and the final image of the returned 'boat' is a deliberately emotional, cathartic climax that 'Nan's Kitchen' does not attempt.
- Disagree: nostalgia often depends on distance and reflection; the retrospective structure of 'High Tide at Fenmouth' (looking back 'now' after Grandad is implicitly gone) may create a more classically nostalgic, bittersweet tone than the more immediate, ongoing present tense of 'Nan's Kitchen'.
- A balanced answer might conclude that 'Nan's Kitchen' creates intimacy and warmth through small detail, while 'High Tide at Fenmouth' creates a deeper ache through loss and distance, and that 'stronger' nostalgia depends on whether the reader values sensory immediacy or reflective loss more highly.

Question 20

Level 4 (9-10): Perceptive, critical evaluation of how fully the final stanza resolves stanza one's ideas, with sophisticated close analysis of specific language and structural choices; judicious, well-integrated quotations; sustained, precise terminology.
Level 3 (6-8): Clear evaluation of the resolution, with relevant close analysis of language and structure and a reasonably supported judgement.
Level 2 (3-5): Some evaluative comment on the relationship between the two stanzas, with some relevant textual reference.
Level 1 (1-2): Simple, limited comment; largely descriptive; little evaluation of how far the ideas are resolved.
Indicative content:
- Stanza one introduces gulls that 'unpick the morning' and Grandad's boots as 'two dark commas in the mud'; stanza four repeats 'the same grey gulls unpicking the same air', creating an almost exact structural echo that suggests strong resolution and continuity.
- However, the footprint image changes subtly: Grandad's boots are now something the speaker 'once printed' rather than a present action, marking his absence and showing the resolution is not a simple return but a bittersweet one, tinged with loss.
- The final couplet's image of Grandad's voice 'folded' in the air 'like a boat the tide has carried back to stay' directly reverses the erasure suggested in stanza two/three (the tide 'smoothing' and 'subtracting'), offering a strong, emotionally satisfying resolution: what the tide seemed to take is ultimately given back.
- A more critical evaluation might argue the resolution is only partial: Grandad himself does not return, only his 'voice', so the poem resolves the emotional need for connection without pretending the literal loss has been undone.
- The consistent ABBA rhyme and quatrain form across all four stanzas supports a sense of formal, structural closure, reinforcing the poem's overall shape as a completed cycle even as its emotional content remains bittersweet rather than simply happy.
- A high-level response should reach a clear judgement (e.g. the resolution is emotionally convincing but consciously incomplete, since presence is replaced by memory rather than fully restored) supported by precise, well-selected quotations from both the opening and closing stanzas.

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