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Digging: Test
In the exam you'll be asked to write about four poems, two pre-1914 and two post-1914 (Heaney and Clarke or Duffy and Armitage), comparing and contrasting them with each other. The poems will usually have something in common - such as their subject matter, or an aspect of their language, or the ideas expressed - but also important differences. In comparing them, you may be able to notice things about the way the poems convey their meanings which you might not have noticed before.
When you are asked to compare poems, it's a good idea to run through in your mind each of the headings under which we have looked at the poems in the revision bite: subject matter, structure, language and imagery, sound, ideas, and attitudes and tone.
Now look at this question:
- Question
Compare Digging with two other post-1914 poems and one pre-1914 poem of your choice that present the relationship between a parent and child. How do the poets show the nature of the relationships?
Three poems suitable for this comparison would be Gillian Clark's Catrin, Seamus Heaney's Follower, and William Blake's Little Boy Lost/Little Boy Found.
What would you want to include in your comparison? On a piece of paper, note down some points to make in comparing Digging with each of these three poems.
Then hit Next to compare your points with ours...
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