Remember
OCR
GCSE
This Petrarchan sonnet explores the tension between the desire to be remembered after death and the selfless wish for a loved one's peace. It examines how love transcends memory, offering practical application in analysing poetic structure and developing empathetic interpretations of loss in literary contexts.
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Objectives
5
Exam Tips
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Pitfalls
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Key Terms
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Mark Points
Subtopics in this area
Remember (Christina Rossetti)
Learning Objectives
What you need to know and understand
- Analyse how Rossetti uses the sonnet form to convey conflicting emotions about remembrance.
- Evaluate the effect of the volta on the poem's message about love and loss.
- Explore the significance of key language features such as the imperative 'Remember' and the metaphor of 'silent land'.
- Examine the contextual influences of Victorian mourning rituals and Rossetti's religious beliefs on the poem.
- Compare the treatment of love and memory in 'Remember' with another poem from the anthology.
- Develop a personal, informed response to the poem's thematic conflicts, supported by textual evidence.
- Apply relevant literary terminology (e.g., Petrarchan sonnet, iambic pentameter, euphemism) to discuss the poem's structure and meaning.
Marking Points
Key points examiners look for in your answers
- Award credit for demonstrating a clear understanding of the poem’s narrative and emotional shifts.
- Award credit for detailed analysis of language choices, such as the repetition of 'remember' creating an insistent tone.
- Award credit for thoughtful consideration of the sonnet form, including the octave-sestet structure and volta.
- Award credit for connecting the poem to its Victorian context, such as attitudes towards death and the idealisation of feminine self-denial.
- Award credit for using subject terminology accurately to discuss poetic devices.
- Award credit for a balanced argument that evaluates the speaker’s changing perspective across the poem.
Examiner Tips
Expert advice for maximising your marks
- 💡Always structure your essay around the assessment objectives: show understanding (AO1), analyse methods (AO2), and link to context where relevant (AO3).
- 💡Use short, integrated quotations embedded in your sentences to support points rather than long block quotes.
- 💡Plan your response to ensure you address the whole poem, including the octave, volta, and sestet.
- 💡When comparing, choose a poem with a clear thematic link (e.g., 'Walking Away' for parental love) and focus on differences as well as similarities.
- 💡Remember to discuss the effect on the reader – how does Rossetti’s language make you feel?
Common Mistakes
Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers
- Misinterpreting the final shift as merely a rejection of remembrance, rather than a selfless act of love.
- Overlooking the significance of the Petrarchan form and how it reinforces the thematic conflict.
- Assuming the speaker is Rossetti herself without considering the persona and its dramatic function.
- Neglecting to analyse the semantic field of death and silence, leading to superficial readings.
- Failing to link contextual knowledge directly to the poem’s content, instead bolting on irrelevant facts.
Study Guide Available
Comprehensive revision notes & examples
Key Terminology
Essential terms to know
- Mortality and remembrance
- Selfless love and sacrifice
- Tension between memory and forgetting
- Victorian attitudes to death
- The sonnet form and its constraints
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