The Read the following poem and answer EITHER QUESTION 5 (Essay Question)
OR QUESTION 6 (Contextual Question).
QUESTION 5:
UNSEEN POEM
Uphill
(Christina Rossetti)
Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you waiting at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.*
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.
5
10
15
*This is the end of all your labour
QUESTION 5: UNSEEN POEM ESSAY QUESTION
Rossetti
“Uphill” by Christina
Discuss the poet’s view of life and death as portrayed in the poem “Uphill”. Write an
essay of 250 to 300 words and refer to some or all of the following in your answer:
 The symbolic meaning of the road and the inn
 The questions and answers of the different voices
 The overall tone and pace of the poem.
[10]
QUESTION 6: UNSEEN POEM CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
6.1
The road in the poem is a symbol. What does it symbolise?
(2)
6.2
Why, do you think, does the road “wind uphill all the way” (line 1)?
(2)
6.3
In keeping with the symbol of the road, to what do “morn” and “night” refer?
(2)
6.4
What is being suggested about the inn in the last stanza?
(2)
6.5
Comment briefly on the voices found in the poem.
(2)
[10]
UNSEEN POETRY- MEMORANDUM
QUESTION 5:
ESSAY QUESTION – “Uphill” by Christina Rossetti
Discuss the poet’s view of life and death as portrayed in the poem “Uphill”. Write an
essay of 250 to 300 words and refer to some or all of the following in your answer:
 The symbolic meaning of the road and the inn
 The questions and answers of the different voices
 The overall tone and pace of the poem.
[10]
The poet views life as a journey up a hill that will take a long time. The fact that
the journey is uphill could suggest that life is full of difficulties and hardships. A
day lasts from ‘morn’ to ‘night’ just as life starts at birth and ends in death. Death
is symbolised by the inn or resting place at the end of the journey. The speaker in
the poem voices questions about this journey and receives answers and
reassurances. The questions rhyme and the answers rhyme. In stanza 2 the
speaker is fearful of the ‘darkness’ of death, but the voice reassures her that it is
inevitable. The inn (death) will also be welcoming and comfortable – and end to
all hard work. The overall tone of the poem is reassuring and matter-of-fact which
ties in with the idea that death is not something to fear. The pace is slow and
measured – there is no hurry, but one has to travel the road to the very end.
QUESTION 6:
Uphill
UNSEEN POEM
(Christina Rossetti)
6.1
The road in the poem is a symbol. What does it symbolise?
The road symbolises the journey of life.
(2)
6.2
Why, do you think, does the road “wind uphill all the way” (line 1)?
(2)
The journey of life is often difficult, tiring and demanding. OR It could also
refer to a journey towards heaven.
In keeping with the symbol of the road, to what do “morn” and “night” refer?
(2)
Birth or the beginning of life and death or the end of life.
6.3
6.4
What is being suggested about the inn in the last stanza?
It is a place of comfort and rest, where everyone is welcome.
(2)
6.5
Comment briefly on the voices found in the poem.
There is a voice asking questions and a voice which answers them.
(2)
[10]
Read the following poem and answer EITHER QUESTION 5 (Contextual Question)
OR QUESTION 6 (Essay Question).
QUESTION 5:
UNSEEN POEM
Read ‘Macho Man’ and answer the questions which follow:
Macho Man
Macho man
Can’t cook
Macho man
Can’t sew
Mach man
Eats plenty Red Meat,
At home him is King,
From front garden to back garden
From de lift to de balcony
Him a supreme Master,
Controller.
Food mus ready
On time,
Cloth mus ready
On time
Woman mus ready
On time,
How Macho can yu go?
1
5
10
15
Cum
Talk to me bout sexuality,
20
Cum meditate,
Cum save de Whale,
Dose bulging muscles need Tai Chi
Yu drunken eyes need herb tea,
Cum, Relax.
25
Macho man
Can’t cook, sew or wash him pants,
But Macho man is in full control
Benjamin Zephaniah
CONTEXTUAL
5.2 How do punctuation and the poetic form in which ‘Macho Man’ is written enhance
the meaning of the poem?
(4)
5.2 The poet makes deliberate language errors. Refer to at least one specific example
of a language error in ‘Macho Man’, suggest a reason why the poet makes these errors.
(3)
5.3 Identify the tone in the last stanza.
(1)
5.4 Discuss the poet’s use of irony in either lines 7-9, or in the final stanza of the
poem.
(2)
[10]
QUESTION 6:
UNSEEN POEM
ESSAY
Discuss the poet’s view of a macho man as portrayed in the poem “Macho Man”. Write
an essay of 250 to 300 words and refer to some or all of the following in your answer:
 The influence of the language and lingo as used by the poet Benjamin
Zephaniah.
 Discuss to what extent the poem supports the Oxford dictionary definition of
virile, proud, arrogant and showily manly
 The overall tone of the poem as depicted in the four stanzas.
[10]
MEMORANDUM
Question 5
5.1 The answers must engage with poetic format (free verse; short lines; stanzas) and
punctuation (especially capital letters).
Short lines and free verse speed up the rhythm of the poem. It seems like a list of macho
man’s expectations. King, Master, Controller, Macho is written in capital letters to
highlight their importance. The first two stanzas describe the way he is; the third stanza
suggests how he could change; the fourth ironically shows how inept this man really is.
(4)
5.2
Language errors give the poem a Jamaican lilt. It’s unsophisticated, Informal,
Conversational. The macho man seems uneducated and primitive. Include an example
(3)
5.3
(1)
tongue- in- cheek ; cajoling; coaxing; faintly mocking; satirical.
5.4 Irony: lines 7-9. To be King implies more than being in charge of just your own
home or flat. In the final stanza he wants to be in control, but he can’t do even the
simplest things like cooking and washing.
(2)
[10]
Question 6
The poet is Jamaican therefore the poem has that lilt or lingo, and this is seen in the shortening of the
words as well as the incomplete sentences and phrases. The poet addresses the issues he has with
this type of man who has to show or prove his masculinity. It shows that this type of man despite him
wanting to treated as a king, master, controller there is so much he is not able to do, therefore
dependent on others or women. The poet emphasise that he is so dependent for his very being,
however , the only things he is independent about is his sheer arrogance about his virility. In the final
stanza the poet reiterates that the only thing he is able to do is be in control.
The tone of the poem throughout is one of irony and satire.
[10]
The Read the following poem and answer EITHER QUESTION 5 (Essay Question)
OR QUESTION 6 (Contextual Question).
QUESTION 5:
The dalliance of the eagles by Walt Whitman
Refer to the poem and answer the following question.
5.1 At what time of the day does the poet take his usual walk.
Quote to support your answer.
[2]
5.2
What made the poet notice the eagles?
[1]
5.3
“… a living, fierce, gyrating wheel,” (line 4)
5.3.1
Why is the “wheel” described as living?
(2)
5.4
What is meant by “the twain yet one” line 7
[2]
5.5
5.6
“… the parting, talons loosing,”
Why did the eagles part?
Did the eagles join up again? Explain.
[1]
[2]
[10]