Belonging Poetry (context for each of the poems)

Question 1

State the context for ‘To my sister’

Answer 1

1. Wordsworth directly addresses his sister Dorothy, who he lived with
2. Wordsworth was a romantic poet, and his poetry reflects the key themes like the power of nature
3. The French and Dutch fleet were threatening to incase Britain at the time, so the tranquil nature of the poem juxtaposes that

Question 2

State the context for ‘Sunday Dip’

Answer 2

1. Clare was a romantic poet - so his poem celebrates the beauty and power of nature and follows romantic ideals
2. Clare was the son of a farm labourer - so could be why he values nature
3. Clare grew up in a small, rural village which perhaps is why Clare’s poem focuses on the simplicity of living in the country

Question 3

State the context for ‘Mild the Mist upon the Hill’

Answer 3

1. Romantic poet - explores the themes of the power of nature and how it is linked to the feeling of humans
2. This poem is a lyrical ballad, which was a very popular Romantic form of writing
3. She lived a quiet and secluded life in Yorkshire countryside, so this poem could be autobiographical
4. Bronte had 5 siblings, and a lot of them died early

Question 4

State the context for ‘Captain Cook’

Answer 4

1. Captain Cook was a famous explorer who undertook voyages and wrote many journals about his travels
2. Landon and her brother, Whittington Henry, were very close when they were young. She paid for him to go to university.
3. He was cruel to Landon, later in life, and spread rumours about her marriage

Question 5

State the context for ‘Clear and Gentle Stream’

Answer 5

1. Bridges was appointed Poet Laurette of the United Kingdom, a hugely respected position, from 1913 to his death in 1930
2. His poems reflect a deep christian faith due to him being a religious man
3. This poem has been set to music and sung, reflecting the lyrical nature of his poetry

Question 6

State the context for ‘I remember, I remember’

Answer 6

1. Hood was writing at a time between the Romantic and the Victorian era. His poetry reflects Romantic ideals (nature and innocence of childhood) and more realistic ideals from Victorian poetry
2. Hood’s life was plagued with illness, and he became an invalid at 41, and died aged 45
3. His illness and bad health could explain why his poems include elements of dismay

Question 7

State the Context for ‘Island Man’

Answer 7

1.Title ‘Island Man’ hints at the man’s double identity, and how he is from two different islands (Caribbean and UK?)
2. Nichols poetry commonly focuses on themes of Caribbean culture, identity and separation
3. Nichols was born in Guyana, and moved to England in the 1960s

Question 8

State the context for ‘Peckham Rye Lane’

Answer 8

1. Blakemore lives and works in London (which is featured in her poem) and the poem draws on her experiences of living in the city
2. Towards the end of the poem, William Blake is mentioned, who also wrote a poem about London

Question 9

State the context for ‘We Refugees’

Answer 9

1. Title ‘We’ is inclusive and shows how we are all affected by the themes of the poem
2. Zephaniah is a strong advocate of human rights and equality around the world.
3. He has very strong views on racism, politics, and the persecution of refugees

Question 10

State the context for ‘Us’

Answer 10

1. Kunial’s poetry often refers to identity and cultural heritage
2. Reference to modern society in the poem - we need to become more together and united, and more tolerant of people from diverse backgrounds
3. Title ‘Us’ has two meanings, a reference to a personal relationship and the world as a whole

Question 11

State the context for ‘In Wales wanting to be Italian’

Answer 11

1. The references in the poem to Glasgow, Bombay and Wales suggest the poem is based on her own life, as she shares her time living in those places
2. The main themes of Dharker’s poetry include home, freedom, journeys and geographical and cultural displacement

Question 12

State the context for ‘Kumukanda’

Answer 12

1. Chingonyi was born in Zambia in 1987 and moved to the UK with his family in 1993
2. Most of his work focuses on heritage and race
3. ‘Kumukanda’ means ‘Initiation’, the initiation ceremony of the tribe
4. In a recent interview, he said that ‘To be British and Zambian is to be neither one or the other. It is a hybrid way of being that means I can’t be accepted by either ‘side’’.

Question 13

State the context for ‘Jamaican British’

Answer 13

1. Antrobus has a British mother and a Jamaican father, who in the 1960s emigrated to England to find work - this dual heritage is reflected in the poem
2. Poem has lots of references to Britain’s colonial past with Jamaica, as Jamaica was once a British colony

Question 14

State the context for ‘My Mother’s Kitchen’

Answer 14

1. The poem was written in 2004, just after the Iraq war.
2. Hardi’s parents decided to go home to Iraq after years of being away from their homeland
3. Poem reflects the lives of her immigrant parents and their constant moving around

Question 15

State the context for ‘The Emigree’

Answer 15

1. ‘The Emigree’ is the female spelling of the word Emigrant
2. Her poems focus on themes of persecution, personal stories, love, separation, death and displacement
3. She is talking about the experiences of many people around the world who are forced to leave the country of their birth and settle in someplace unfamiliar
4. She has also travelled widely in Russia and Eastern Europe so perhaps her travels were poetic inspirations