Unseen Poetry

Question 1

Five steps to analysing unseen poems

Answer 1

Question 2

What the examiner is looking for

Answer 2

Question 3

Planning unseen poetry

Answer 3

Question 4

Worked unseen poetry essay:

Answer 4

The poem ‘Ninetieth Birthday tackles the issue of old age and the generation gap through a description of a journey to meet an old lady. It raises issues that make you think about old age and how old people are viewed by younger generations.
The poem shows how lonely and isolated old age can be. The journey is up a “long track”: the old lady is isolated from the real world. She isn’t named, which may show that the poem is a general comment on old age, or may reflect her anonymity and lack of importance for most people. The village is described as the “lost village” because she has no contact with people and real life any more. It is “a place that exists / In her memory only”, meaning that it has changed so much that the place she knew no longer exists, so her history is lost.