OCR Literature 2011 Selection: WB Yeats Poetry
Comprehensive Guide for A Level

Written by the author of the OCR endorsed, bestselling Robert Frost Teacher Notes


Intelligent close readings of all 15 OCR set poems, linked to the well thought-out glossary.
  • Suggestions for thematic groupings of the poems
  • Engaging discussion questions and tasks
  • Exploration of poem features, including language, form and structure
  • Notes on Yeats’ use of style, setting, themes and ideology
  • Glossary to improve students vocabulary

We are lucky to have such a great resource available to us

N Bowen, HoD & Peer Reviewer

Essential preparatory assessment materials: essay writing advice, exam tips and a bank of practice questions!


Usefully includes:
  • Intelligent notes on Yeats’ themes and ideas
  • An overview of critical issues
  • A brief biographical timeline

It was erudite, eloquent and reflected the author's passion for Yeats' poetry, whilst at the same time acknowledging the difficulties this poetry can present to the student

S Kearns, Teacher & Peer Reviewer
This resource has been written to comprehensively support the A Level OCR Literature specification, Unit F661.

What do teachers say about this resource? (4400)

It's a very strong historically-based overview of the relevant poems, with insightful and profound comment on their relevance today as well as in context. The literary quality of the commentaries lend genuine insight and are a very useful guide for a teacher seeking an overview rooted in the poems. It's very nice to see Yeats' esoteric interests dealt with as we move through each poem, rather than in a single section elsewhere, because this lends a sense of their integration into his thinking. This resource is excellent in terms of close-reading and analysis of form and structure. It is simply and beautifully constructed.

B Coulthard, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

I thought this was a fantastic resource, extremely useful for anyone who is going to teach Yeats. I intend to add it to the recommended reading to my own Yeats resource for ZigZag. The analysis of each poem was thoughtful, interesting and often illuminating. I liked the focus on attentive close reading. The sections on thematic concerns and exam questions are useful, as was the material on Yeats as a Romantic. It would be extremely useful for teachers, and potentially provide a model of intelligent close reading that relies predominantly on the words on the page - an approach especially well suited to the OCR exam requirements. [Matches the specification] extremely well. The focus is in the analysis of the text, enlightened by references to wider contexts, first and foremost the other set poems and Yeats' work. This must have taken a lot of work. The scholarship is also impressive, and I liked the tone. We are lucky to have such a great resource available to us.

N Bowen, HoD & Peer Reviewer

The resource is a very useful tool as an aid to confirming or deepening understanding of the specific poems. It was erudite, eloquent and reflected the author's passion for Yeats' poetry, whilst at the same time acknowledging the difficulties this poetry can present to the student. I liked the detailed analyses of the poems and the author's emphasis on the importance of the student's engagement with the poems. Discussion of structure and form were particularly useful - an area the students find difficult.

S Kearns, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

The Yeats's scheme of work - I found this really useful particularly the detailed notes on each poem and the different interpretations. The questions at the end of each poem were a useful tool for helping the students with their independent learning and for aiding them in making connections between the poems. I would certainly recommend it to anyone teaching Yeats.

J Beaumont, HoD & Peer Reviewer

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