Flashcards · YET01 · A Level Topic 3

Unit 3: Poetry and Prose (A Level) flashcards

8 cards on A Level Topic 3, subtopics 3.3 to 3.4. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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How is YET01 Unit 3 (WET03) set out?: 2 hours, 50 marks: a 20-mark poetry section on a compulsory unseen post-1900 poem and a 30-mark prose section on two texts from a chosen theme. Roughly 48 and 72 minutes.
What is a five-step method for reading any poem?: Establish the situation (who speaks, to whom); note the form; look at language (imagery, diction, sound, tone); find the turn; explain the effect of each choice.
Why write about "the speaker" rather than "the poet"?: The voice of a poem is often a persona, not the poet, so treating them as identical can mislead the reading unless there is a reason to connect them.
Why should Unit 3 not be paced like the other units?: Its sections are unequal (20 and 30 marks). Splitting the time evenly gives the poetry section time it does not need and takes it from the prose section.

What does YET01 Unit 3's prose section require?: An essay on two prose texts studied from a chosen theme, so the comparison of the two texts is central. The theme lists include pre-1900 as well as later novels.
What should you analyse in a novel's narrative viewpoint?: Whether it is first or third person, omniscient or limited, and how trustworthy the narrator is, since this controls what the reader knows and how they judge.
How should a whole-novel essay select evidence?: Choose moments from the beginning, middle and end, so the answer shows how an idea develops rather than treating the text as a single block.
How should two prose texts be compared?: Build paragraphs around an idea (such as how each writer presents loss) and move between the texts within each paragraph, rather than writing about one then the other.