Larkin and Duffy

Book excerpt: The Guide has been written primarily for students of A Level English Literature as specified by WJEC Eduqas in the post-2015 syllabus. It addresses Component 1 - Poetry, Section B: Poetry post-1900. Specifically, the poems of Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy. The Guide covers all the poems in the prescribed texts: "The Whitsun Weddings" (Faber) by Philip Larkin and "Mean Time" (Picador) by Carol Ann Duffy. The Guide aims to address all the Assessment Objectives for the examination of this component. The poems are explored individually, but links and connections between them are drawn as appropriate. The format of each exploration is similar: -An overview of relevant contextual factors, such as biographical, social-economic, political and literary -An explanation of any key features of the poem that require additional explanation or illustration -A brief summary of the metric form and rhyme scheme -A "walk-through" (or explication) of the poem, ensuring that what is happening in the poem is understood, how the rhythm and rhyme contribute to meaning, an explanation of the meaning of words which may be unfamiliar, an exploration of imagery and language and a comment on main themes. Included is a brief guide to poetic form and structure, including an explanation of poetic metre.