Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · English Literature
Course version: 9ET0 · Version from Sept 2015
Poetry – Section A: Post-2000 Poetry – Poems of the Decade: An Anthology…
Full specification wording
Component 3: Poetry – Section A: Post-2000 Poetry – Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2002–2011: Look We Have Coming to Dover! Daljit Nagra
Daljit Nagra's 'Look We Have Coming to Dover!' is a dramatic monologue spoken by an undocumented immigrant and follows a collective from a dangerous sea arrival through clandestine work, insecure…
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9ET0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 17 of 20
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Daljit Nagra's 'Look We Have Coming to Dover!' is a dramatic monologue spoken by an undocumented immigrant and follows a collective from a dangerous sea arrival through clandestine work, insecure housing and hopes for a future in Britain. Its epigraph directly quotes Matthew Arnold's 'Dover Beach' and reverses Arnold's viewpoint: these speakers look towards England from the sea. The title also plays on W. H. Auden's 'Look, Stranger!' and D. H. Lawrence's 'Look! We Have Come Through!', claiming and reshaping a British literary inheritance. Nagra's inventive hybrid English, including Punjabi-inflected syntax, British slang and newly made compounds, challenges the idea of one fixed English language.
What earns the marks
- Analyse how inventive hybrid English, compressed compounds and non-standard syntax assert a creative migrant voice and remake ideas of Britishness.
- Compare the Matthew Arnold epigraph's shoreward viewpoint with the immigrants' reversed approach towards Dover from the sea.
- Explore the title's play on Auden and D. H. Lawrence as part of Nagra's appropriation of the British literary canon.
- Evaluate how hostile weather, clandestine labour and an optimistic imagined future create tension between danger, resilience, hope and irony.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Treating non-standard grammar as incompetence.
Put it right: Analyse its deliberate patterning, wordplay and challenge to a supposedly pure standard English.
Calling the ending an uncomplicated story of successful integration.
Put it right: Test its future-facing optimism against the poem's irony, insecurity and continuing threat.
Mentioning Dover only as a port.
Put it right: Connect its border history and Arnold's 'Dover Beach' to the poem's reversed perspective on who looks towards England.
Exam tips
- Name the allusions accurately: the epigraph is from Matthew Arnold's 'Dover Beach', while the title also plays on Auden and D. H. Lawrence.
- Analyse a coined or compressed expression closely to show how the speaker actively remakes English rather than merely departing from a standard.
- Trace the short-to-long, wave-like stanza shapes alongside imagery of arrival and repeated 'waves' of migration.
Try the lesson
The start of the Component 3: Poetry – Section A: Post-2000 Poetry – Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2002–2011: Look We Have Coming to Dover! Daljit Nagra lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
What is the primary subject matter of Daljit Nagra's poem "Look We Have Coming to Dover!"?
Listen
Daljit Nagra's 'Look We Have Coming to Dover!' is a dramatic monologue spoken by an undocumented immigrant and follows a collective from a dangerous sea arrival through clandestine work, insecure housing and hopes for a future in Britain. Its epigraph directly quotes Matthew Arnold's 'Dover Beach' and reverses Arnold's viewpoint: these speakers look towards England from the sea. The title also plays on W. H. Auden's 'Look, Stranger!' and D. H. Lawrence's 'Look! We Have Come Through!', claiming and reshaping a British literary inheritance. Nagra's inventive hybrid English, including Punjabi-inflected syntax, British slang and newly made compounds, challenges the idea of one fixed English language. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Analyse how inventive hybrid English, compressed compounds and non-standard syntax assert a creative migrant voice and remake ideas of Britishness. Compare the Matthew Arnold epigraph's shoreward viewpoint with the immigrants' reversed approach towards Dover from the sea. Explore the title's play on Auden and D. H. Lawrence as part of Nagra's appropriation of the British literary canon. Evaluate how hostile weather, clandestine labour and an optimistic imagined future create tension between danger, resilience, hope and irony. A common slip: Treating non-standard grammar as incompetence. Instead, analyse its deliberate patterning, wordplay and challenge to a supposedly pure standard English. Exam tip: Name the allusions accurately: the epigraph is from Matthew Arnold's 'Dover Beach', while the title also plays on Auden and D. H. Lawrence.
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Immigration
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Identity
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Language and Culture
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Hostility vs Hope
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- Immigration
- The movement of people into Britain, shown here through a dangerous sea arrival, clandestine work and insecure housing.
- Identity
- A sense of self and belonging that the poem explores through a creative migrant voice and ideas of Britishness.
- Language and Culture
- The poem's inventive hybrid English, including Punjabi-inflected syntax, British slang and newly made compounds, challenges the idea of one fixed English language.
- Hostility vs Hope
- The tension between hostile weather, clandestine labour and the threat of deportation on one side and an optimistic imagined future on the other.
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