Study Guide for AQA GCSE English Worlds and Lives Poetry Anthology (PDF)

Optimised for the 8702 AQA English Literature specification’s Worlds and Lives poetry cluster (for first teaching from 2023), this guide takes a high-level approach to poetry analysis: as well as conducting an in-depth analysis of the thematic and stylistic features of each poem, we take a look at a range of critical voices, including Edward Said, Michel Foucault, and Terry Eagleton, taking students beyond hermetically-closed analysis to a broader appreciation of literary culture. We also take a close look at how students can contextualise the large proportion of contemporary poems in the collection, outlining key trends such as postmodernism, postcolonialism, and confessional poetry, empowering students to more confidently draw comparisons between them.

This guide features:

• High-level thematic and stylistic analysis of each poem
• Thorough contextual overview of each poem
• Model grade-9 comparative poetry analysis
• Sample exam questions
• Essay-writing support and tips on how to master the assessment objectives

This guide does not contain reprints of the anthology’s poems.