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OCR · GCSE · English Literature · Higher

An adult's thoughts about a young person

Q03.1 20 marks

Poetry across Time. 3 Youth and Age. Read the two poems below and then answer both part a) and part b). You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on part a) and 30 minutes on part b). Source poems: "Midnight on the Great Western" by Thomas Hardy and "Childhood" by Edna Jacques. Footnote: mignonette = a garden herb.

Compare how these poems present an adult's thoughts about a young person.

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Marking points

  1. 1 Compares both poems in response to an adult's thoughts about a young person.
  2. 2 Analyses language, form and structure using precise references.
  3. 3 Develops an informed personal response to the contrast between concern and innocence.

Why this answer loses marks

Both poems simply show that children are miserable and unsafe.

This flattens Jacques's more confident ending and weakens the comparison of adult attitudes.