These questions are all based on the Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Literature questions that you can find in specimen papers and past papers Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2, Part 4. 

I have adapted the wording to suit a range of themes and focal points. I’d recommend planning as many of them as you can so that you get a lot of practise organising your thoughts. Aim to write at least 2-3 full essays before your exams, not including mock exams that are set in schools. If possible, get feedback on your essays too so that you know where you’re doing well and areas that can be improved. 

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CAIE IGCSE Poetry, Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2, Part 4

CAIE IGCSE Poetry, Songs of Ourselves, Volume 1, Part 4

Cambridge IGCSE Poetry Questions 2023-2025, Part 1

Essay Questions:

  1. Discuss the speaker’s presentation of love in the poem ‘A Leave-Taking’ by Algernon Charles Swinburne. 
  2. In what ways does the speaker use a sad tone to convey his thoughts about separation in the poem ‘A Leave-Taking’ by Algernon Charles Swinburne? 
  3. How does Swinburne explore the theme of nature in the poem ‘A Leave-Taking’? 
  4. Discuss the poem’s exploration of the connection between grief and time in the poem ‘After’ by Philip Bourke Marston. 
  5. In what ways does Marston present the theme of love in the poem ‘After’? 
  6. Discuss Alexander Pope’s approach to creativity in the poem From ‘An Essay on Criticism’. 
  7. In what ways does Alexander Pope show the importance of education in the poem From ‘An Essay on Criticism’? 
  8. Examine the ways in which Pope uses nature to explore the creative process in the poem From ‘An Essay on Criticism. 
  9. How does the speaker express his attitude to love in the poem ‘I Find no Peace’? 
  10. In what ways do the conflicts between love and society cause difficulty in the poem ‘I Find no Peace’? 
  11. Examine the way in which the complex nature of relationships is presented in the poem ‘I Find no Peace’. 
  12. In what ways does the poem explore the connection between love and war in the poem ‘I hear an Army’? 
  13. How does Joyce use imagism to explore the relationship between dreams and emotions in the poem ‘I hear an Army’? 
  14. Discuss the poem’s treatment of death and grief in the poem ‘Verses Written on Her Death-bed at Bath to Her Husband in London’. 
  15. In what ways does the poem explore the difference between romantic love and spiritual love in the poem ‘Verses Written on Her Death-bed at Bath to Her Husband in London’? 
  16. Examine how the speaker in the poem ‘Verses Written on Her Death-bed at Bath to Her Husband in London’. 
  17. Discuss Browning’s treatment of love in the poem ‘Love in a Life’. 
  18. In what ways does Browning’s poem ‘Love in a Life’ explore the theme of obsession? 
  19. To what extent do you think ‘Love in a Life’ embraces the existence of the supernatural? 
  20. Discuss the speaker’s attitude to life and the passage of time in the poem ‘Now Let No Charitable Hope’. 
  21. In what ways does the speaker explore intense emotions in the poem ‘Now Let No Charitable Hope’? 
  22. How does the poet highlight the plight of women in the poem ‘Now Let No Charitable Hope’? 
  23. How does the poem ‘Rhyme of the Dead Self’ explore the destructiveness of unrequited love? 
  24. To what extent do you agree with the poem’s belief that maturity requires a person to fully let go of their former self in the poem ‘Rhyme of the Dead Self’? 
  25. How does Charlotte Mew present attitudes to death and loss in the poem ‘Rooms’? 
  26. Discuss the ways in which the setting is used to explore memory in the poem ‘Rooms’? 
  27. Examine Mew’s attitude to the passage of time in the poem ‘Rooms’. 
  28. In what ways does Shelley’s poem ‘Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples’ explore the power of Nature? 
  29. ‘Depression is only negative.’ Consider this view in light of the poem ‘Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples’. 
  30. Explore the ways in which Shelley presents the connections between time and memory in the poem ‘Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples’. 
  31. In what ways does the speaker express his attitude toward living a happy life in the poem ‘The Character of a Happy Life’? 
  32. How does the poet explore the idea of mental oppression in the poem ‘The Character of a Happy Life’? 
  33. In what ways does Thomas present attitudes to faithfulness in relationships in the poem ‘The Forsaken Wife’? 
  34. How does Thomas explore male and female roles in society within the poem ‘The Forsaken Wife’?