iGCSE Edexcel Poetry Anthology A Revision Notes

Poetry Anthology A – Complete Revision Notes Booklet

This resource is a comprehensive revision booklet designed specifically for Edexcel International GCSE English Literature – Poetry Anthology A. It provides clear, detailed, exam-focused notes for every poem in the anthology, structured to support close analysis, comparison, and exam preparation.

The booklet is ideal for teachers, tutors, and students, and can be used both in lessons and for independent revision.

What this resource includes:

• All poems from Poetry Anthology A, each presented on its own section
• A consistent, table-based layout for clarity and accessibility
• Detailed notes organised under:
  Language (with embedded quotations)
  Structure
  Form
  Context
• Explicit comparison guidance for every poem, showing students:
  which poem it pairs best with
  why the comparison works thematically and structurally
• Analytical points written in clear bullet points, ready to be:
  highlighted
  revised from
  lifted directly into exam responses

The language is ambitious but accessible, making it suitable for the full IGCSE ability range while still supporting top-band responses.

Poems included in this booklet

This resource covers all poems in Edexcel IGCSE Poetry Anthology A:
If— – Rudyard Kipling
Prayer Before Birth – Louis MacNeice
Piano – D. H. Lawrence
Hide and Seek – Vernon Scannell
La Belle Dame sans Merci – John Keats
Poem at Thirty-Nine – Alice Walker
War Photographer – Carol Ann Duffy
The Tyger – William Blake
My Last Duchess – Robert Browning
Sonnet 116 – William Shakespeare