A Grade Criteria• To get an A/A* you must:• Respond enthusiastically and critically to texts

showing imagination and originality in developing alternative approaches and interpretations

• Confidently explore and evaluate how language, structure and form contribute to the poet’s ideas and themes.

• Learning Objective: To develop alternative interpretations of word choices in an unseen poem

Word grouping

In your pairs, scan your eyes across this word cloud. Could you group any words together as a set? Look out for common themes or patterns

Word grouping

What word groupings did we find?

Word associations

• Words and phrases in poems often have more than one meaning

• There will be a literal meaning• But then a metaphorical meaning• To get into the A and A* grade bands you will

need to consider different possible meanings at word level and consider the effects of these alternative meanings on the reader

Word associations

• Do any of these words have double meanings?• Let’s look at “wounded” – what different ways

could we take this word?

WoundedWartime

Painful injury

Difficult to patch up Scars

Emotionally wounded

Wounded pride

Defeated

Word Associations

In your pairs try and do a word association mindmap like I did with one of the words – absolutely anything that springs to mind!

Silver

Chance

Trigger

Tone

Hint: If nothing

grabs you straight

away, use one of the 5 words I’ve put here to give you a headstart

Concealed

Quickdraw by Carol Ann DuffyI wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones,like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m allalone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pelletin my ear, and hear me groan.

You wounded me.Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone,then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark.You choose your spot, then blast me

through the heart.And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquorin the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobileto the sheriff; in my boot, another one’s

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel.Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone,read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this …and this … and this … and this … and this …

By Carol Ann Duffy

Playing detective: As

we listen to the recording, read along with the poem – what

do you think is going on here?

Pick a line that features one of the words you thought

about before – could any of your multiple

interpretations make sense?

QuickdrawI wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones,like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m allalone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pelletin my ear, and hear me groan.

You wounded me.Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone,then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark.You choose your spot, then blast me

through the heart.And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquorin the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobileto the sheriff; in my boot, another one’s

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel.Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone,read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this …and this … and this … and this … and this …

Carol Ann Duffy

Remember what we said about metaphorical

meaning!If it works, try to think about what the poet

might have been trying to achieve.

Writing about multiple possible interpretations

• A to A* - Key is to make a number of imaginative comments about a carefully selected piece of evidence

• EXAMPLE: “Wounded” could be interpreted in ‘Quickdraw’ in several ways. The statement “You’ve wounded me” follows on from the lover firing a “pellet” into the speaker’s ear so this could represent emotional trauma and devastation from this attack.

Learning Objective: To develop alternative interpretations of word choices in an unseen poem

Writing about multiple possible interpretations

• A to A* - Key is to make a number of imaginative comments about a carefully selected piece of evidence

• However, the word “wounded” could also link to physical injury, a bit more serious than a cut, that usually requires medical attention – often involving stitches and scars, so they last a long time. By using this exaggerated imagery, we get the impression that the speaker’s pain is this extreme and long-lasting. Like a physical wound, we believe that she will be ‘scarred’ by the lover’s verbal attack. “Wounded” also appears in the common phrase ‘wounded pride’ which could also suggest an element of this too – that she feels defeated and deflated by this attack.

Learning Objective: To develop alternative interpretations of word choices in an unseen poem

Writing about multiple possible interpretations

• Have a go at writing your own response on the lined half of your poetry sheets

• Aim to be as concise as possible, using your multiple interpretations you have considered previously

• GET ME STARTED• Eg. The use of the

word “silver” could be interpreted in a number of ways.

• ….

Learning Objective: To develop alternative interpretations of word choices in an unseen poem

Have we met A grade criteria?Have a look at our original objective…

• Respond enthusiastically and critically to texts showing imagination and originality in developing alternative approaches and interpretations

• Confidently explore and evaluate how language, structure and form contribute to the poet’s ideas and themes.

• Learning Objective: To develop alternative interpretations of word choices in an unseen poem

Swap sheets with your partner – have they

given multiple interpretations of a word in the poem?