Poetry Archive

I would like to illustrate a problem we face as teachers of English and of poetry in particular. It is time to ask a few questions about how British pupils study poetry and what they are expected to know about it at the end of compulsory education. I will argue that, rather than being asked to provide a personal response to a poem, supported by evidence from the text, pupils would benefit from notes and a critical commentary drawing on some of the most insightful interpretations by literary critics and providing all the contextual information necessary to understand the poem.

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