Advice

In the exam you'll be asked to write about four poems, two pre-1914 and two post-1914, 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 should be able to notice things about the way the poems convey their meanings which you might not have noticed before...

Now's your chance to get in some practice comparing poems. The table on the next page shows some pre- and post-1914 poems you may have studied which would be suitable for comparing with Yeats' Song of the Old Mother. We have suggested some points of comparison [comparison: A description of the similarities and differences between two things (in this case, two texts). ] or contrast [contrast: A description of all the differences between two things (in this case, two texts). ] which you could include in your answer - but feel free to think of some others!

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 this module: subject matter, structure, language, attitude and tone etc ...