Overview (Cambridge International IGCSE English Literature)

For Paper 1, Section A of your exams in 2026 and 2027, you will study one of the clusters of 15 poems from the Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 anthology.

This page includes:

• A complete list of the poems in the cluster
• A brief overview of what is required in the exam
• A brief explanation of some of the key themes
• Top tips for the highest grade

Songs of Ourselves Volume 1: Poems

Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 poems

The following 15 poems from the Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 anthology will be assessed in 2026 and 2027:

Songs of Ourselves Volume 1: Overview

Overview

In Paper 1, Section A, you will have a choice of two questions on your studied cluster; you only answer one of these questions. Each question will be based on one of the 15 poems in the anthology you have studied and you will have a copy of the full poem printed on the exam paper.

Remember that there are questions on clusters other than the one you have studied, so be sure to pick the right one.

Exam Hint CIE Literature in English examiners say that the best responses to the Paper 1 poetry question show a “sustained personal and evaluative engagement”. A sustained answer would include a thorough analysis: aim to write a brief introduction, at least three paragraphs and a concise conclusion.

However, there’s more to it than the quantity of your writing. A “personal and evaluative engagement” means that you’ll need to spend time thinking about the poem overall, rather than analysing line by line. Evaluative answers begin by engaging with the key words of the question.

Songs of Ourselves Volume 1: Key themes

Key themes

Love and relationships

Ideas on love and relationships, including family love, unrequited love, and marriage, are explored in some of these poems, often presenting alternative perspectives on universal ideas. This key theme includes:

• Family love, such as in Seamus Heaney’s ‘Follower’:

  • Rites of passage are portrayed through the description of a typical experience of a grown child moving out of the family home

• Unrequited love, such as in Aphra Behn’s ‘Song: Love Armed’:

  • Love is exposed for its cruel, destructive nature as it is portrayed as a weapon

• Romantic relationships are examined in Katherine Philips’ ironic poem 'A Married State'

• In Sonnet 18, Shakespeare describes a perfect love, one that goes beyond temporary and superficial motives

Humans and nature

The examination of the relationship between humans and nature is found in these poems:

• Judith Wright's poem 'Hunting Snake' considers how the beauty and power of a snake evokes wonder as well as fear in humans

• Environmental destruction is explored in Gillian Clarke's poem 'Lament':

  • The poem offers a different perspective on war, describing the ecological crisis caused by the Gulf War in 1991

• Paying tribute to Romantic concerns about the Industrial Revolution, Boey Kim Cheng's poem 'Report to Wordsworth' offers readers a dramatic warning

• Harmony between humans and nature is described in Charles Mungoshi’s poem 'Before the Sun', in which a young boy feels a connection with his environment

Individual and cultural identity

Some of the poems criticise exploitation by showing powerless individuals in their environments, while other poems reflect on how individuals rise above their circumstances and find comfort in cultural traditions.

• The influence of tradition, language and history in shaping one’s cultural identity is described in Sujata Bhatt's poem 'A Different History':

  • Bhatt explores the effects of colonialism in India on individual and communal identity

• Romantic poet William Blake criticises the imbalance of power in Victorian England in 'The Chimney-Sweeper' from his collection Songs of Experience:

  • The poem depicts the experiences of a young chimney-sweep, suggesting his society destroys innocence through its exploitative and faithless nature

• Similarly, Carol Rumens' poem ‘Carpet-weavers’ explores child labour by depicting a cultural tradition: carpet-weaving in Morocco

• Kevin Halligan's 'The Cockroach' explores the human experience using an insect to represent the chaos of human life

• Alexander Pope's ‘Essay on Man’ extract reflects on similar ideas: the human struggle for meaning and order in a chaotic world

• Elizabeth Brewster's poem, 'Where I Come From', reflects on how our environments shape us as individuals by contrasting rural and urban settings

• The power of oral tradition is depicted in the poem 'Storyteller' by Liz Lochhead

Exam Hint Examiners say some candidates are clearly spending too much time on their first response (the poetry question). This could affect a student’s marks across the whole paper, as it may mean they spend less time than necessary on Section B, the prose question.

As each question is worth an equal 25 marks, it’s a good idea to divide your time equally. Aim to spend about 45 minutes on each question.

Remember, examiners don’t want you to simply unload all the information you know about the poem, instead focus on answering the question.

Songs of Ourselves Volume 1: Top tips for the highest grade

Top tips for the highest grade

• Quoting lines from the poem and explaining their meaning is not considered analysis:

  • Instead, explore how the poet makes decisions about language
  • Use linguistic terms to explain the effect on the reader
  • Closely relate your analysis to the question

• Write about how the poet uses patterns of language, tone of voice through rhythm and rhyme, and how endings present ideas

• Including historical facts or biographical information about the poet does not add value to your answers:

  • ‘Context’ is rewarded whenever you explore ideas about theme
  • Points about societal values should be linked to the writer’s purpose

• To engage with the question and respond with a personal interpretation, start by focusing on key words in the question:

  • If the question uses words such as “moving”, “disturbing” or “memorable” this indicates a particular focus
  • High achieving responses specifically examine techniques that create such effects
  • For example: “Sensory imagery, like ‘Smothered by the smog’ and ‘sky slowing like a dying clock’, creates a disturbing setting”

• Using the poet’s name keeps you thinking the text as a conscious construct, which means you focus on how the poet made choices when creating the poem:

  • Use connectives to link your ideas to present a coherent argument

Sources

Songs of Ourselves: Volume 1: Cambridge Assessment International Education Anthology of Poetry in English. Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2018.