Section B - Edexcel Poetry Anthology Revision - Blessing

The title 'Blessing' indicates that the people receive...

• A wonderful present from a priest

• A divine gift from God

• An unexpected visit from a holy man

• A delightful poem from Imtiaz Dharker

What could we say about 'Blessing', 'the voice of a kindly god', 'a congregation'?

• Semantic field of religion

• Similes of benevolence

• Onomatopoeic pain

• Personified extravagance

Which of these feature in a semantic field of wealth or fortune?

• 'A sudden rush/of fortune'

• 'A congregation'

• 'Silver crashes to the ground'

• 'A roar of tongues'

Which of these relates to a semantic field of poverty?

• 'Their highlights polished to perfection'

• 'There never is enough water'

• 'Imagine the drip of it/the small splash, echo/in a tin mug'

• 'pots/brass, copper, aluminium/plastic buckets/frantic hands'

'The voice of a kindly god' is...

• Personifying a bucket

• A metaphor implying that water is as important as a benevolent deity

• Sacrilege

'The flow has found/a roar of tongues' is an example of...

• Plosive alliteration

• Fricative alliteration

• Enjambment

• Onomatopoeia

The poet uses onomatopoeia, enjambment and lists to show...

• Everyone's getting involved

• It's exciting when the pipe bursts

• She is illiterate and doesn't know how to write accurately

• A sense of urgency as any vessel will do, as long as it can hold water

'Imagine the drip of it/the small splash, echo/in a tin mug'. This is...

• An imperative

• A declarative

• Intended to encourage the reader to have a big drink of water

• Intended to encourage the reader to try to perceive what just a tiny amount of water could mean to these people

The shorter stanzas (1 and 2) indicate...

• The poet's lack of inspiration

• The poet's dehydration

• What it's like to be without water

• What it's like to have free-flowing water

The longer stanzas (3 and 4) indicate...

• The poet has suddenly been inspired

• That God is benevolent

• The excitement and urgency of suddenly having water

• The fear and aggression when they suddenly have water