Associated Resources

• Compare the ways in which Duffy and Larkin use language to create a sense of isolation.doc
• Teacher version with comments - Larkin and Duffy - Isolation.doc
• Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work

Both Duffy and Larkin use language in their poetry to express how it feels to be isolated, or to be on the outside of society.  The poems I have chosen here present this theme in different ways, providing examples of different ways in which the poets work.  Larkin often offers us the persona of an outsider, but is not...

Associated Resources

• Compare the ways in which Larkin and Duffy use language to explore relationships.doc
• Teacher Notes on C grade essay.doc
• Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work

Both poets Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy write about relationships. Using different language techniques, they can show how they portray their feelings towards them.  The poems I have chosen to show this are “Valentine” and “Disgrace” by Duffy and “Self’s the Man” and “Talking in Bed” by Larkin.

Duffy’s poem titled “Valentine”...

Associated Resources

• Compare the ways in which Plath and Larkin use language to convey ideas of violence.doc
• Teacher version with comments - Plath and Larkin - Violence.doc
• Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work

Violence is an aspect which is clearly present in some of Plath and Larkin’s poetry, but each conveys this theme in different ways and forms.  Larkin tends to express his ideas about society by means of a persona different to himself, which he does in the two poems selected here, using violent imagery and connotations to...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout.  It could be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of British culture/society.

The poem reflects on advertising and the perfect lives depicted by advertisers t encourage sales.

Links to Duffy/Plath: British culture and society (Duffy)

Lang-Lit points: structure and form, clash of expectation and reality echoed lexically, syntactic complexity and listing of clauses.

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout.  It could be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of nature or imagery.

This poem comments on how surprised the winter-born lambs will be when the spring arrives.

Links to Duffy/Plath: nature (Plath)

Lang-Lit points: form and structure, negative semantic field, sense of surprise echoed lexically with “immeasurable” contrasting with the majority mono- and di-syllabic body of lexis.

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout.  It could be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of femininity or British culture/society.

The persona describes the clothing available in a large department store, suggesting how the clothes relate to people’s expectations.

References: The Marks and Spencer branch in Hull has been reported to have a plaque commemorating it as the inspiration for this poem.

Links to Duffy/Plath: femininity (Plath), British...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of isolation.

Comparing ‘home’ to ‘elsewhere’ shows that isolation is more keenly-felt at home, as people have an excuse for not being like everyone else if they are ‘elsewhere’.

Links to Duffy/Plath: isolation (Duffy/Plath)

Lang-Lit points: measured form and structure; lexical choices, description and imagery associated with different senses; register and lexis becoming increasingly formal echoing the feeling...

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for two different questions.  It could also be recommended to more able students for the theme of marriage (Although it doesn’t state that the couple are married, it was relatively unusual for people to live together outside of marriage when the poem was written, so it could be argued that Larkin had a married couple in mind).

The persona describes a situation where two people, who share a bed and are physically in close proximity, are nonetheless finding it...

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for two different questions.  It could also be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of marriage.

Young mothers taking their children to the park are described, and the speaker imagines aspects of their lives, noting that they have become less and less important in their own lives.

Links to Duffy/Plath: nature (Plath), family (Duffy/Plath)

Lang-Lit points: semantic field relating to time, symbol of “unripe acorns” (possibility or...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of nature, and it could be recommended to more able/interested students for the use of imagery.

A journey into Hull is described, contrasting the industrial and urban landscapes with the rural.

Links to Duffy/Plath: nature (Plath), imagery (Duffy/Plath)

Lang-Lit points: syntax (focus on clauses not sentence types), imagery: similes, metaphors and detailed description, phonology – alliteration and clustered sounds, and...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of death.  It could be suggested for more able students on the theme of British culture.

Small animals are shown to be neglected both in a pet shop setting and at home.

Links to Duffy/Plath: death (Plath), British culture and society (Duffy)

Lang-Lit points: form and syntax, lexis and register, phonology – rhyme and sibilance

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of death.

All human endeavour is just a precursor for death, and people are affected in different ways and to different degrees by this knowledge.

Links to Duffy/Plath: death (Plath)

Lang-Lit points: structure at sentence level as well as whole, form (unusual in lack of rhyme).

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of death.

Ambulances visit everywhere eventually, reminding us all of our mortality, and that it is a universal problem.

Links to Duffy/Plath: death (Plath)

Lang-Lit points: lexical choices relating to similarity and difference, form and structure, semantic field of colour, descriptive rather than figurative language

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of violence.  It could be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of femininity.

The speaker relates his ultimate disappointment in books, since, as an adult, he is no longer able to identify with the dashing hero or the exciting villain.

References: students often misread the insult “the chap/ Who’s yellow”, not realising it refers to cowardice.

Links to Duffy/Plath: femininity (Plath)

Lang-Lit...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of violence.  It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of British culture/society.

A poster advertising Prestatyn as a holiday destination is defaced and vandalised, echoing the gap between the promised paradise and the realities of life.

Links to Duffy/Plath: British culture and society (Duffy)

Lang-Lit points: lexis and register (especially its rapid degeneration as the poster is defaced), semantic...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of religion.

In this enigmatic poem, the persona imagines creating a new religion using water.

Links to Duffy/Plath: religion (Duffy/Plath)

Lang-Lit points: semantic fields related to water and religion, connotations e.g. “furious devout drench”.

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.  It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of marriage.

Travelling on a train at Whitsun, the persona observes several wedding parties leaving for their honeymoons and comments on the nature of these groups.

References:  Whitsun was a traditional time for weddings, especially among the working classes, as the long bank holiday weekend enabled a honeymoon, many people in the 1950s and 60s, again especially the...

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.  It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of marriage.

The persona compares himself to Arnold, who initially appears less selfish than the persona because he is married, but the speaker concludes that Arnold was looking out for himself too.

Links to Duffy/Plath: narrative voice (Duffy/Plath), family (Duffy/Plath), love and romance (Duffy), marriage (Plath)

Lang-Lit points: lexis and register, humour in...

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions. 

The poem cynically describes how a faith healer receives a series of women for healing, focusing on the women’s experience and what has brought them to this point.

Links to Duffy/Plath: individual people (Duffy/Plath); religion (Duffy/Plath); isolation (Duffy/Plath)

Lang-Lit points: concrete nouns and lists used as detailed description, non-standard lexis “blort”, natural imagery applied to women at the end, form and...

This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout.  It could be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of femininity or love and romance.

The persona recalls two girls, one of which he went out with, while he was more attracted to the other.

Reference: the poem is said to refer to a friend of his one-time fiancée Ruth Bowman, whom Larkin wrote fantasies about in his letters to Kingsley Amis.

Links to Duffy/Plath: femininity (Plath), love and romance (Duffy)

...

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions. 

Having visited his former college and learning that the son of a classmate was now a student, the speaker contrasts his choices with those of Dockery.

Links to Duffy/Plath: individual people (Duffy/Plath), death (Plath), family (Duffy/Plath)

Lang-Lit points: mode: direct speech and speech-like thoughts, imagery of breadth vs narrowness and possibilities, varying rhyme scheme, regular metre.

This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions. 

References: “the Bodies” refers to Bleaney’s job making car bodies in a local manufacturing plant (it was a commonly used term in the W Mids in the 50s and 60s); “the four aways” refers to the football pools, suggesting Bleaney was dreaming of a better life.

The persona wonders about Mr Bleaney’s life and thoughts, having taken over the room he occupied.

Links to Duffy/Plath: individual people (Duffy/Plath); voice...

Associated Resources

• A Guide to Teaching Plath’s Ariel for ELLA4
• A Guide to Teaching Duffy’s Mean Time for ELLA4
• Lang Lit A2 New Coursework Scheme 2011-12.doc
• Lang Lit A2 Possible Coursework Titles 2011-12.doc

This guide supports teachers using Larkin’s Whitsun Weddings together with Plath’s Ariel and Duffy’s Mean Time for ELLA4, following the teaching scheme and suggested coursework titles available in this topic on Edusites.

This unit, called “Comparative Analysis through Independent Study”, expects students to do some work...