Edexcel IGCSE Poetry: Essay Planning + Example Paragraphs
Before writing your own essay, it can be helpful to go through a few different example answers that are around the specific level you’re aiming for. Here are a couple example paragraphs as well as essay planning based around Edexcel IGCSE Poetry.
If you’re looking for more support, click the ‘Learn More’ button below to view our complete Edexcel IGCSE Poetry teaching and revision pack:
PLENTY
Isobel Dixon
When I was young and there were five of us,
all running riot to my mother’s quiet despair,
our old enamel tub, age-stained and pocked upon
its griffin claws, was never full.
Such plenty was too dear in our expanse of drought
where dams leaked dry and windmills stalled.
Like Mommy’s smile. Her lips stretched back
and anchored down, in anger at some fault –
of mine, I thought—not knowing then
it was a clasp to keep us all from chaos.
She saw it always, snapping locks and straps,
the spilling: sums and worries, shopping lists
for aspirin, porridge, petrol, bread.
Even the toilet paper counted,
and each month was weeks too long.
Her mouth a lid clamped hard on this.
We thought her mean. Skipped chores,
swiped biscuits—best of all
when she was out of earshot
stole another precious inch
up to our chests, such lovely sin,
lolling luxuriant in secret warmth
disgorged from fat brass taps,
our old compliant co-conspirators.
Now bubbles lap my chin. I am a sybarite.
The shower’s a hot cascade
and water’s plentiful, to excess, almost, here.
I leave the heating on.
And miss my scattered sisters,
all those bathroom squabbles and, at last,
my mother’s smile, loosed from the bonds
of lean, dry times and our long childhood.
ESSAY QUESTION:
HOW DOES DIXON EXPLORE THE THEME OF CHILDHOOD IN ‘PLENTY’?
Step 1: read the poem and underline or write out any words + phrases that relate to childhood
- We thought her mean. Skipped chores, swiped biscuits—best of all when she was out of earshot stole another precious inch -
- And miss my scattered sisters, all those bathroom squabbles and, at last,
my mother’s smile, loosed from the bonds
of lean, dry times and our long childhood.
- When I was young and there were five of us,
all running riot to my mother’s quiet despair
- Her lips stretched back and anchored down, in anger at some fault –
of mine, I thought—not knowing then
it was a clasp to keep us all from chaos.
- up to our chests, such lovely sin,
lolling luxuriant in secret warmth
disgorged from fat brass taps,
our old compliant co-conspirators.
Step 2: Develop your analysis
“running riot” - alliteration, creates a strong image of the children being chaotic
“it was a clasp to keep us all from chaos” - talking about the mother’s smile—a metaphor, the tightness of the smile creates a sense of being restrained
old compliant co-conspirators - people who plot together against something- the children being together
bathroom squabbles - cacophony, evoking the tense memory of childhood in poverty
Step 3: Develop your ideas into a plan with clear topics and a thesis - spend around 5 mins planning in total.
INTRO (Thesis) - Childhood is important because the poem explores the speaker’s memories of struggling in childhood, in comparison to her more wealthy life now
P1 - Memories
P2 - Emotions
P3- Parenting
Step 4: Write your essay!
Step 5: Compare your introduction with the examples below. Which is the strongest? Are there any similarities or differences between how you structured your introduction and the examples given?
EXAMPLE INTRO 1
The poet presents the theme of childhood by incorporating the memories and emotions that she and her siblings had as children, but also the way the mother single-handedly parented the children to give them a childhood to remember.
EXAMPLE INTRO 2
The theme ‘childhood’ is one of the most significant themes as the poem is about a woman with five daughters. We learn that the mother had a difficult time to look after the daughters as she is poor and is without her husband. The poet presents the theme of childhood by incorporating the memories and emotions that she and her siblings had as children, but also the way the mother single-handedly parented the children to give them a childhood to remember.
Step 6: Compare your middle paragraphs with the examples below. Which is the strongest? Are there any similarities or differences between how you structured your paragraphs and the examples given?
EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH 1:
Dixon explores the theme of childhood by referring the reader to the memories that the mother had with her daughters and the memories that were created within the daughters. ‘Bathroom squabbles’ implies the little quarrels that happened in the bathroom. The noun ‘Squabbles’ suggests the little arguments that would happen between each other and that would be remembered. The alliteration “running riot” implies the children being chaotic and the mother had to deal with.
EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH 2:
Dixon’s reflective poem explores the difficulties of growing up in poverty as the poet describes her family’s ‘lean, dry times’ during her ‘long childhood’. However, at the same time she demonstrates positive experiences that can develop from difficult times, and we realise that overall she had a happy start to her life. Overall, though some children have less money than others, Dixon demonstrates that a strong family relationship is the most important factor to a happy childhood, and we get a sense that though she is richer now she also feels more lonely.
EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH 3:
Firstly, Dixon explores her own childhood by looking back on the state of poverty she and her siblings lived in as her single mother struggled to provide for them all. The title ‘Plenty’ directly juxtaposes the imagery of the play, as it connotes abundance but we are presented with images of difficulty and hardship: ‘my mother’s quiet despair’, ‘sums and worries’, ‘our expanse of drought’. This destabilises the reader’s sense of the poem, as we at first expect the topic to be about the poet’s wealth and her fortunate circumstances. In particular, the sibilance of the phrase ‘sums and worries’ creates a low buzzing atmosphere, implying that there was always a constant anxiety hanging over the mother when she tried hard to provide for her children. Furthermore, the metaphor ‘drought’ references the central connecting image of the poem - taking a bath - and suggests that the poet views having more than enough water as a sign of luxury. Water is symbolic of life, but it is also often considered a basic necessity by many - especially those in the developed world. This makes us compare our own childhood experiences to hers; we either find that we too struggled to have enough and similarly remember basic needs such as water and heat being scarce, or we realise that we have taken them for granted and should appreciate them more because not everyone is lucky enough to have them. The asyndetic listing ‘aspirin, porridge, petrol, bread’ further provides us with visual imagery that represents scarcity - we realise that the poet’s mother has to control her expenditure of even simple and essential items, and the lack of conjunctions in the list reinforces the idea that there was no room for anything extra. Overall, the sense of hardship is present throughout the poem through many smaller descriptions, which lead us to infer that Dixon’s childhood was one of very scant means.
EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH 4:
Though money is scarce, we do realise that ‘Plenty’ relates to the poem in other ways, such as the strong family bonds with her sisters that Dixon made in her childhood. Interestingly, we realise that they are especially close because of sharing the experience of hardship together, and poverty becomes almost like a game for them: they ‘Skipped chores / Swiped biscuits’ and ‘stole another precious inch’ of water for their baths. The children’s playful resistance against their mother’s strict rules brings them closer together, as reinforced by the verbs ‘Skipped’, ‘Swiped’ and ‘stole’ creating a sense of constant playful activity and enjoyment of disobedience. Dixon refers to her siblings using the first person collective pronoun ‘we’, which further creates the sense that they are all working together as one group. However, Dixon’s relationship with her mother is more complex - she asserts that the children ‘thought her mean’ and describes ‘Mommy’s smile’ as ‘a clasp to keep us all from chaos’. This creates a conflicting tone, as we realise that in childhood Dixon didn’t quite understand her mother’s reasons for strict parenting and so interpreted her actions as cruelty. When she describes her mother as she saw her in childhood, we are presented with a controlling and angry figure, but as an adult reflecting on her past Dixon characterises her mother instead with sympathy and respect. She states that she interpreted the mother’s expression as ‘anger at some fault//Of mine, I thought, the use of enjambment across the stanzas creates a reflective pause on the image of the mother’s angry smile (which in itself demonstrates conflicted emotions). It perhaps represents Dixon’s guilt.
Thanks for reading!
Try our complete Edexcel IGCSE Poetry study bundle!
This course gives you a full breakdown of all poems in the 2025 Edexcel IGCSE Poetry Anthology.
+ Complete poetry analysis
+ Example Essays
+ Essay Writing Support
+ Mark schemes, grade boundaries + assessment objectives
+ 20 official past paper questions
+ more!
