ENGLISH POETRY TEST | November 2022

Question 1

Factual Lexis

Answer 1

The poem’s opening line - ‘My son aged three fell in the nettlebed’ - features unemotional and factual lexis, a great contrast from the rage the father will feel later in the poem.

Question 2

Martial imagery
Imagery related to warfare & weapons

Answer 2

Scannell uses martial images such as a ‘green spears’, ‘regiment’ and ‘fierce parade’ to describe the nettles, characterising them as an enemy army who are intent on doing harm to his son.

Question 3

Personification
Giving a non-human entity human characteristics

Answer 3

The words ‘regiment’ and ‘parade’ also personify the nettles as soldiers, imbuing them with a human consciousness which makes them sound even more threatening.

Question 4

Monosyllabic lexis
Words which are each only one syllable

Answer 4

The use of monosyllabic lexis in the phrase ‘It was no place for rest’ emphasises the sinister nature of the nettle bed, whilst also suggesting the father’s (and possibly the son’s) underestimation of what the nettle ‘bed’ is capable of.

Question 5

Metaphor
A figurative image used to describe something else directly

Answer 5

Scannell describes the white blisters as ‘bead[ing]’ on his son’s skin, an unusual metaphor which suggests the blisters almost look decorative. This is in stark contrast to the extreme emotions the son feels.

Question 6

Tautology
A phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words

Answer 6

The use of tautology in the phrase ‘with sobs and tears’ emphasises the huge trauma the son feels.

Question 7

Sibilance
Alliteration using letter ‘s’

Answer 7

The poet uses sibilance in the description of the ‘spite behind the shed’, a sonic feature which emphasises the shadowy, sinister quality of what lies in store for the boy.

Question 8

Symbolism
When a symbol/object represents ideas or qualities

Answer 8

The fact that the boy’s blisters are ‘white’ could potentially symbolise his innocence and naivety.

Question 9

Violent verbs

Answer 9

The violent verbs ‘slashed’ and ‘honed’ emphasise the father’s rage and - almost onomatopoeically - suggest the furious, vengeful actions he undertakes on the nettles.

Question 10

Polysyndeton
The repeated use of ‘and’ between items in a list

Answer 10

Scannell employs polysyndeton, listing the father’s revenge campaign against the nettles: “And then I took my billboard … and went outside … and then I list.” The polysyndeton suggests a certain mindlessness to his actions, as if he is driven by passion rather than rationality.

Question 11

Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence/phrase onto the next line of the poem

Answer 11

Scannell uses lots of enjambment in his description of the father’s raging actions (for instance “honed the blade/And went outside”) which communicates the unquestioning fluency of his actions, as if he is barely pausing to think.

Question 12

Caesura
A hard stop (either full stop, colon or semi-colon - but NOT a comma) in the middle of the line of poetry

Answer 12

The use of a caesura in the line “It was no place for rest. With sobs and tears” creates a separation between the father’s factual, detached opening description of the nettle bed, and the son’s hyper-emotional reaction.

Question 13

Cross-rhyming stanzas
When the rhyme alternates every other line

Answer 13

The cross-rhyming rhyming structure of this poem creates a sense of orderly control. Though this does contrast the strength of chaotic feeling felt by both the father and the son, the orderliness of the rhyme perhaps suggests the father’s efforts to impose some kind of meaning on the traumatic memory.