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A short class with Sarah and her students. The other ways are under More.
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A question says: Explain the irony in stanza 4. It carries three marks. What do you do first?
Underline the command word, which is explain, and the stanza number.
Good. And how many points should you make?
About three, one for each mark.
Right. Name the irony, give the evidence, and explain the effect.
So the irony is that the couple are alive but the consul treats them as non-existent, and the effect is to expose a system that values paper above people.
That is three clear marks.
Open your book at lines 10 to 12. Which stanza is that, and who is speaking?
Stanza 4. The speaker is the refugee, and he reports what the consul said.
What does the consul say, in your own words?
That a person without a passport has no legal existence.
And how does the closing line answer him?
It insists that they are still alive, and it repeats this around the address to his companion.
Excellent. You have answered without copying a line, and every part of the question is covered.
How do I start a long answer on irony and contrast?
Plan before you write. First, name the theme your answer will serve. Then choose stanzas.
Stanza 4 for irony, stanza 3 and stanzas 8 to 10 for contrast, and stanza 5 for polite refusal.
Good. Add one device from each paragraph, for instance symbolism or understatement, and finish with a judgment.
What judgment?
That irony and contrast let Auden accuse the world without raising his voice.
short answer, context question, explanation, theme or device question, and long answer or critical appreciation.
state, explain, describe, discuss, evaluate and compare each demand a different kind of answer.
make a claim, give the stanza and the image, and show how the evidence supports the claim.
stanza n covers lines 3n minus 2 to 3n, so stanza 4 is lines 10 to 12 and stanza 12 is lines 34 to 36.
name the stanza, explain the effect, separate tone from mood, avoid retelling, and keep the order of the stanzas correct.
Short answer (2 marks): Q. Who is speaking in the poem? A. An unnamed Jewish refugee speaks to a loved one, and he turns to this companion in the closing line of each stanza.
Context question (4 marks, lines 10 to 12): (a) Which stanza is this? Stanza 4. (b) What does the consul say? That a person without a passport has no legal existence. (c) What is ironic? The couple are alive, yet the ruling treats them as non-existent. (d) How does the closing line reply? It insists that they are alive and repeats the thought around an address to the companion.
Long-answer plan (10 marks): Theme: the poem protests against both persecution and indifference. Stanzas: 4 and 5 for officials, 6 for the crowd, 7 and 12 for the regime. Devices: irony, understatement and the repeated closing line. Judgment: restraint makes the accusation more powerful.
Read the word that tells you what, check the marks and plan a lot; point, evidence, explain, name the stanza once again; finish with a check, and do not forget the end.
A student sits in the examination hall and underlines the command word like a traveller marking the road. She plans a short route, makes one clear point for every mark, and names each stanza like a signpost. At the end she walks back over the road once to check that she has not missed a turning.
Questions Require Careful Planning, Evidence, Explaining - Question, Read the command word, Check the marks, Plan, Evidence, Explain.
P.E.E. - Point, Evidence, Explain, repeated for every paragraph.
Term
What should you do first when you read an exam question?
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Term
How are the stanzas numbered against the lines?
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What does PEE stand for?
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What is the difference between tone and mood?
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What are the four things to check at the end of an answer?
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The word in a question, such as state, explain, discuss or evaluate, that tells you what kind of answer is wanted.
A question that gives you a few lines of the text and asks several linked questions about them.
To restate an idea in your own words without changing its meaning.
A conclusion that you draw from the evidence in the text, though it is not stated directly.
Point, Evidence, Explain: a method for building a paragraph that supports a claim.
To examine more than one side of an issue before reaching a conclusion.
To judge strengths and limits and reach a reasoned verdict.
To show the similarities and differences between two things.
This practice lesson prepares you to answer examination questions on 'Refugee Blues'. It shows the main question types, gives model answers and marking tips, and offers a bank of questions on context, summary, stanzas, themes, devices and critical appreciation.
Questions on 'Refugee Blues' usually fall into a few types: short answers, context questions on a stanza, explanation of meaning, theme and device questions, and a long answer or critical appreciation. This lesson explains how to read the command word, how to build an answer with the Point, Evidence, Explain method, how to point to a stanza by number when the poem's text is not in front of you, and how to avoid common errors. It then gives twelve model answers that you can study before you attempt the practice set.
'Refugee Blues' is a poem by W. H. Auden, written in 1939, in twelve three-line stanzas rhymed AAB. An unnamed Jewish refugee speaks to a loved one about what they meet in a world that has no room for them: a vast city, a lost country, lapsed passports, a consul, a committee, a hostile rally, Hitler's threat, a pet, fish and birds that are freer than they are, a dream of closed doors and, at the end, soldiers searching a snowy plain. Keep this outline in your head as you practise.
Every stanza has three lines, so stanza 1 is lines 1 to 3, stanza 2 is lines 4 to 6, stanza 3 is lines 7 to 9, stanza 4 is lines 10 to 12, stanza 5 is lines 13 to 15, stanza 6 is lines 16 to 18, stanza 7 is lines 19 to 21, stanza 8 is lines 22 to 24, stanza 9 is lines 25 to 27, stanza 10 is lines 28 to 30, stanza 11 is lines 31 to 33 and stanza 12 is lines 34 to 36. Questions in this course point to lines by number, so open your textbook at the right place and read the lines before you answer.
The first word of a question tells you what to do. State or name asks for a short fact. Explain asks for reasons. Describe asks for what you see in the poem. Discuss asks for more than one side. Evaluate asks for a judgment with reasons. Compare asks for similarities and differences. Always check how many marks are offered and match the length of your answer to them: roughly one clear point per mark.
Make a Point, give Evidence by naming the stanza and describing or briefly quoting the image, and Explain how it supports your point. For a context question, answer each part in order and label it (a), (b), (c). For a long answer, plan first: write the theme, the three or four stanzas you will use and the devices you will mention, then write.
Do not retell the whole poem when a question asks about one stanza. Do not list devices without explaining their effect. Do not confuse tone (the speaker's attitude) with mood (the reader's feeling). Do not mix up the order of the stanzas. Do not leave out the stanza number. Do not write a long answer without a plan or a conclusion.