Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Literature · specification 4ET1 · Component 1 | Section B: Anthology Poetry · Free · no account needed
Poem at Thirty-Nine — Alice Walker (4ET1 specification)
A daughter at thirty-nine measures what she inherited from a father she both missed and outgrew.
Specification coverage
Component 1, Section B — Anthology Poetry (Part 3 of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology)
Assessment objectives: AO2, AO3. Suggested learning time: 60 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The poem's repeated structure of missing the father recurs and shifts in meaning
- The father's legacy is practical and domestic — writing cheques, cooking — not grand
- The final movement claims the daughter has become what the father might have been
Required skills
- Analyse how language, form and structure create meanings and effects (AO2)
- Compare this poem with another from Part 3, including language, structure and form (AO3)
- Use appropriate literary terminology accurately
- Select relevant, short examples from the poem — it is printed in the paper, so precision is expected
How it is examined
- One 30-mark comparative essay, from a choice of two, comparing this poem with one other from Part 3
Common mistakes
- Calling it simple because the language is plain. Plainness is a chosen method — say why it suits the subject.
- Reading it as purely sad. The ending is a claim of inheritance and strength.
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