Unseen Poetry - Written response

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Instructions

In order to successfully express your ideas analytically you must be quite sure that you recognize the differences between 3 kinds of writing:

  • Descriptive
  • Commentary on meaning
  • Critical analysis and evaluation

Look at these three pieces of text and discuss their merits before clicking the Notes button.

The poem ‘Urban Pastoral’ begins with a seemingly derogatory comment regarding the urban landscape, which is ‘More domestic than elegant’. Deutsch avoids the romanticised idyll of the traditional pastoral and plays with the idea as she explores the urban landscape in a deliberately unromantic register and tone. Instead of ‘melodious birds’ there are pigeons, described haughtily, ‘strutting’ and obstructing true beauty, ‘Hedge the dazzle beyond’. The ‘dazzle’ seems out of bounds, out of reach and the repetition of the pigeons throughout the poem suggests that they are everywhere, spoiling any beauty that might be enjoyed. However, despite the deprecating tone of the opening, Deutsch also recognises that there is beauty even in this urban world as at the end there is a sense of energy in the verb ‘Throngs’ and romance in the ‘twinkling’ of the ‘salt sea’.

Notes

This response has a good sense of overview from the outset. There is also an awareness of the poetic tradition being used by the poet and the way this is played with in the opening lines and in the title. As a result, there is also a confident understanding of ideas which will be beneficial as they seek to explore how those ideas have been created as they proceed with the analysis and evaluation. There is a clear sense of the poet’s craft being at the centre of the poem rather than a passive description of a scene. The analysis may not be fully developed at this point but there’s also some close analysis of language and poetic techniques and the way they’ve been used to create meaning.