Term One - Homework tasks on poetry and composition
1. “Memory is a ghost train too”
Write a feature article for a newspaper or magazine on the role played by memory and the past in our lives.
2. Write a personal response to the poems by TS Eliot on your course. Support your points with reference to the poetry on your course.
3. “Larkin’s poems often reveal moments of sensitivity which lessen the disappointment and cynicism found in much of his work”.
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Support your answer with suitable reference to the poetry of Philip Larkin on your course.
1. “Memory is a ghost train too”
Write a feature article for a newspaper or magazine on the role played by memory and the past in our lives.
2. Write a personal response to the poems by TS Eliot on your course. Support your points with reference to the poetry on your course.
3. “Larkin’s poems often reveal moments of sensitivity which lessen the disappointment and cynicism found in much of his work”.
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Support your answer with suitable reference to the poetry of Philip Larkin on your course.
4. “Writing about unhappiness is the source of my popularity” (Philip Larkin).
In light of Larkin’s own assessment of his popularity, write an essay outlining your reasons for liking/ not liking his poetry. Support your points with the aid of suitable reference to the poems you have studied.
5. “The world of TS Eliot often presents us with troubled characters in a disturbing world”.
Write a response to this statement with reference to both the style and the subject matter of Eliot’s poetry. Support your points with suitable reference to the poems on your course.
6. “Reading the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop”.
Write out the text of a talk that you would give to your class in response to the above title. Your talk should include the following:
- your reactions to her themes and subject matter
- what you personally find interesting in her style of writing.
Refer to the poems by Elizabeth Bishop that you have studied.
7. “Elizabeth Bishop poses interesting questions delivered by means of a unique style”.
Do you agree with this assessment of her poetry? Your answer should focus on both themes and stylistic features. Support your points with the aid of suitable reference to the poems you have studied.
8. “All the time in the world”
Write a light-hearted and entertaining article, intended for publication in a magazine aimed at young people, in response to the above phrase.
9. “It was a completely exotic item in that ordinary world”
Write a descriptive essay about what you find beautiful or exotic in everyday life”.
10. “The dust and seep of the city”
Write a descriptive essay about 24 hours in the life of a town or city.
11. “My favourite T-Shirt”
Write a personal essay about your clothes, what they mean to you and what they say about you.
12. “Let’s stop all this pretence! Let’s tell each other the unvarnished truth for a change!”
Write a personal essay in response to the above statement.
13. Write a short story about a reunion.
14. Write a short story in which a young character is eager to leave home.
15. “Appearances can be deceptive”.
Write the text of a talk you would deliver to your classmates on the topic
16. Write a persuasive speech in praise of science and technology.
