Edwin Morgan

8 Mark Question

A comparing/contrast questionAsk you to discuss another poem(s) by the

same poet.

The question will select what it wants you to look at, it might be a common theme, an opening, an effective ending etc.

This can be:

Common themes Similar or contrasting beginnings/endingsALWAYS READ THE QUESTION

THOROUGHLY.

Look for:

Quickly establish a ‘real life’ setting Are instamatic – brief moments captured in

time as they unfoldUse present tense to give a sense of

immediacy/ instantaneous. Involve a journey. Have characters that are observed by strangers

and who have a lasting impact on the narrator. Create a sensory experience for the reader. Both contain religious analogies. Both contain allusions to Greek mythology.

Similarities – ‘Snack Bar’ and ‘Trio’

‘Trio’ - The three wise men following the star on journey to Bethlehem with gifts for baby Jesus.

‘In the Snack Bar’ - Stranger and persecuted/ disabled man’s journey to toilet reminds us of the starnger who helped Jesus bear his cross on the road to Calvary – although this is more like a descent to hell than Heaven (however toilets are sparkling white)

Religious Allusions

‘Trio’ – “Orphean sprig!” – In Greek mythology Orphean was a poet and musician who had the power to move inanimate objects. He rescued his lover from hell in Greek legend.

‘In the Snack Bar’ - The reverse journey reminds us of the myth of Sisyphus: a sinner condemned in Tartarus (a Hell-like place in Greek mythology) to an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill then watching it roll back down again. Simple things for us are, to the old man like huge, heroic actions.

Greek Mythology

ADVICE on how to answer

TWO TYPES OF QUESTION

Example questions:

With close textual reference, show how the ideas and/or language used when presenting the theme of love in this poem are similar and/or different to the way love is explored in another poem or poems by Duffy.

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay.

With close textual reference, discuss in what ways this poem is similar to another poem or poems by Morgan you have studied. You may refer to ideas and/or language in your answer.

Comparison

Choose another poem by Carol Ann Duffy which explores the theme of love. Show how the poet explores the theme in your chosen poem.

Visiting Hour is a deeply personal and emotional poem. Choose a similar poem by MacCaig and explain how he conveys strong emotions in that poem.

In this poem, Morgan takes an everyday, ordinary situation and transforms it into something special and thought-provoking. Choose another poem by him in which he does the same thing and explain how he adds significance to an ordinary event.

Another Poem(s) Questions

How to AnswerComparison Question Option 1

Identify what both poems have in common (2)

Quote from first comparative poem and explain how it links to question then explain use of techniques (2)

Quote from second poem and explain how it links to question then explain use of techniques (2)

Choose from third comparative poem and explain how it links to question then explain use of techniques (2)

OR

(or if you can’t think of third identify another feature, idea, technique that both have in common and quote and explain from each. (2)

Comparison Question Option 2

Identify an area of similarity and explain briefly how it is conveyed in each poem.

Support this point with evidence from first poem (from exam) and explain the technique and its effectiveness.

Support this point with evidence from the other poem of your choice and explain the technique and its effectiveness.

Repeat this process for another area of similarity.

Another Poem(s) Question (PEE X 4)

Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2)

Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2)

Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2)

Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2)

Another Poem Question (PEE x 4)

Comparison Questions

Candidates may choose to answer in bullet points in this final question, or write a number of linked statements. There is no requirement to write a “mini essay”.

Up to 2 marks can be achieved for identifying elements of commonality as identified in the question.

A further 2 marks can be achieved for reference to the extract given.

4 additional marks can be awarded for similar references to at least one other text/part of the text by the writer.

How to answer (from SQA Marking guidelines)

In practice this means:

Identification of commonality (2)

(eg: theme, central relationship, importance of setting, use of imagery, development in characterisation, use of personal experience, use of narrative style, or any other key element...)

From the extract1 x relevant reference to technique (1)1 x appropriate comment (1)

OR1 x relevant reference to idea (1)1 x appropriate comment (1)

OR 1 x relevant reference to feature (1)1 x appropriate comment (1)

OR 1 x relevant reference to text (1)1 x appropriate comment (1)

(maximum of 2 marks only for discussion of extract)

from at least one other text/part of the text:

as above (x 2) for up to 4 marks

‘In the Snack Bar’ explores important social issues. With close textual reference, discuss in what ways this poem is similar to another poem or poems by Morgan you have studied. You may refer to ideas and/or language in your answer.

Worked Comparison Question – Option 1

Step 1Mention the specific area of commonality and

include what poem(s) you will be discussing. (2 marks)

‘In the Snack Bar’ and ‘Good Friday’ by Edwin Morgan are both poems which explore the lack of concern society has for those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged.

‘In the Snack Bar’ follows a severely disabled man in his attempt to navigate a Glaswegian snack bar, ignored by most around him.

‘Good Friday’ shows the lack of assurance even the narrator can give a man as he drunkenly asks about the nature of religion during Easter.

Snack Bar and Good Friday

Step 2Make a specific reference to the poem in front of you

(quote) and link to the question – mention techniques and effect. (2 marks)

In ‘In the Snack Bar’ Morgan portrays the infirm man who is mostly ignored by those around him. Only “a few heads turn” when the man knocks over a cup in his efforts to stand up.

Here, Morgan’s use of the contrast of the word “few” in the “crowded” snack bar emphasise the lack of notice or care the patrons have for the man, even in his “long blind, hunchback born, half-paralysed” state, as Morgan draws our attention to with his list of the man’s ailments later in the poem, clearly indicating how vulnerable and weak this man is.

Step 3Make a reference to another poem and link to the

question – again, mention techniques and their effect. (2 marks)

In ‘Good Friday’, the man who “flops” down beside our narrator is also vulnerable, in the sense that he is drunk during the day (“3pm”) and is self-conscious over his lack of education (“he’s jist bliddy ignorant”).

The repetition used in some of his questions, such as “ye understand – ye understand?” emphasise his need for understanding and acceptance from this stranger on a bus.

Morgan also uses parenthesis here to break up this line, indicating the man’s broken language due to his drunken state, as well as inferring that the narrator, and others he may address, have not given him the reassurance that he needs.

Step 4Make a reference to another poem and link to

the question – again, mention techniques and their effect. (2 marks)

Despite repeated questions from the man, such as “I’m no boring you, eh?”and “see what I mean?”, the narrator never appears to reply to him – unlike the narrator who actively helps the old man in ‘In the Snack Bar’.

The constant questions highlight the man’s need for reassurance, but in providing no response, Morgan highlights how society is willing to ignore the desire

Potential introduction (but not required) ‘In the Snack Bar’ and ‘Trio’ are both poems that establish

use techniques effectively to create setting, capture a moments in the present tense and involve a journey of the poem.

‘In the Snack Bar’ takes place in a crowded café, as an old, disabled man attempts to make his way to the downstairs toilet, amidst the ignorance of those around him. Moran uses this incident to make a comment on the apathy of society in relation to the vulnerable.

‘Trio’ observes the journey of three friends travelling through Buchannan Street at Christmas time under the Christmas lights, as they are observed by an unknown narrator who takes joy from the event.

Now You Try - Snack Bar and TrioOption 2

Both ‘In the Snack Bar’ and ‘Trio’ have a sense of immediacy through use of the present tense.

In the Snack Bar: “A cup capsizes along the formica” this makes the falling cup seem more urgent and allows the reader to feel involved in the action. The use of alliteration here helps us to picture the cup rolling and we can almost hear the hard ‘c’ sound, which grabs the readers attention. “Capsizes” make the action seem quite dramatic, although ironically nobody seems to care. This represents the lack of care that society has for what is happening around them, which is the point Morgan is making.

Similarly, in Trio: “Coming up Buchanan St” makes the reader seem involved as you feel as though you are there witnessing the bustling city centre crowds. We can relate to the setting as it is a well known, commercial street. The inverted word order places emphasis on ‘coming up’ depicting the action first and giving the sense that the trio are moving up through the street and are excited to be in this setting, as reinforced by the adverb ‘quickly.

Another technique that is used in the opening on In the Snack Bar and Trio is effective word choice to describe the setting. In In the Snack Bar…

Step 2 – Now you try…

Both poems also contain journey for each of the main characters. ‘In the Snack Bar’ depicts…

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