Comparing Poems & Exam Skills
The Comparison Task
Your anthology comparison will give you one named poem from the cluster and ask you to compare it with another poem of your choice on a shared theme. The task rewards candidates who can hold two texts in mind at once and draw precise, insightful links between them. Plan your time so you finish with a few minutes spare for checking — planning, writing and proofreading are all part of a strong response. Check your exam board’s specimen paper for the exact wording and timing.
Strong comparative essays balance three skills in every paragraph: a personal, argued response anchored in precise quotations; close analysis of the poets’ methods (language, structure, form); and contextual understanding woven in rather than bolted on. Accurate written expression also matters — slips in spelling and grammar make analysis harder to follow.
Choosing Your Second Poem
Your choice of second poem is crucial. Choose a poem that allows you to make meaningful comparisons, not just surface-level connections. The best choices will share a theme but present it differently — through contrasting attitudes, forms, or contexts. For example, if given ‘Remains’ (guilt and PTSD), comparing with ‘War Photographer’ (witnessing trauma) allows you to compare two different relationships with conflict.
Power of nature: The Prelude + Exposure, Storm on the Island + Ozymandias
Effects of conflict: Remains + War Photographer, Bayonet Charge + Exposure, Poppies + Kamikaze
Power and control: My Last Duchess + Ozymandias, London + Checking Out Me History
Identity and place: The Emigrée + Kamikaze, Checking Out Me History + The Emigrée
Memory and loss: Poppies + Remains, The Prelude + Kamikaze, War Photographer + The Emigrée
Attitudes to war: Charge of the Light Brigade + Bayonet Charge, Exposure + Remains
Planning Your Response
Spend a few minutes planning before you write. Use the 3-point plan: identify three points of comparison, each with a quotation from both poems and a note on the method used. A strong plan might look like this:
Example plan (theme: effects of conflict):
1. How conflict is experienced — “probably armed, possibly not” (Remains, moral ambiguity) vs “spools of suffering” (War Photographer, witnessing)
2. Psychological aftermath — “his bloody life in my bloody hands” (Remains, guilt/PTSD) vs “half-formed ghost” (WP, haunting)
3. Form and structure — collapsing stanzas (Remains, breakdown) vs controlled six-line stanzas (WP, imposed order)
Writing a Comparative Paragraph
Each paragraph should follow the PEALC structure: Point (a comparative statement), Evidence (quotation from poem A), Analysis (method and effect), Link (quotation from poem B with comparison), Context (relevant background). Crucially, you must compare throughout the paragraph, not write about one poem and then the other.
Model: Both poets present speakers who are haunted by the violence they have witnessed, though they respond to it differently. In ‘Remains’, Armitage uses the present tense — “he bursts again through the doors of the bank” — to show the killing replaying involuntarily, a hallmark of PTSD that reflects the psychological toll on soldiers returning from Iraq. Similarly, Duffy’s photographer sees a “half-formed ghost” as the image develops — a metaphor that works both literally (the developing photograph) and figuratively (the dead man haunting him). However, while Armitage’s soldier is consumed by guilt (“his bloody life in my bloody hands”), Duffy’s photographer is consumed by the futility of documenting suffering that the public ignores: “eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.” This bitter irony reflects Duffy’s anger at a society that treats real human suffering as a momentary inconvenience.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Writing about one poem then the other: This is the most common mistake. You must compare within each paragraph, using connectives like “similarly,” “in contrast,” “whereas,” and “however.” Essays that treat the poems in separate halves rarely reach the top bands, however strong the individual analysis.
Feature-spotting without analysis: Naming a technique (e.g. “Shelley uses alliteration”) is not enough. You must explain the effect of that technique and link it to the poet’s purpose. Ask: Why did the poet choose this word/technique? What does it make the reader feel or think?
Bolting on context: Context should be woven into your analysis, not added as a separate sentence. Instead of “Blake wrote during the Industrial Revolution,” write: “Blake’s use of ‘charter’d’ reflects the commodification of public space during the Industrial Revolution, when even the Thames was controlled by commercial interests.”
For similarities: Similarly, Likewise, In the same way, Both poets, This is echoed in, [Poet B] also
For differences: In contrast, Whereas, However, Conversely, Unlike [Poet A], While [Poet A]… [Poet B]
For nuanced comparison: Although both poets… they differ in, While the theme is shared, the methods contrast, Where [Poet A] uses… [Poet B] instead employs