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Year 11
Edexcel

Analysing the poem 'Us' by Zaffar Kunial

I can explain how Kunial uses language, form and structure to express his viewpoint.

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Year 11
Edexcel

Analysing the poem 'Us' by Zaffar Kunial

I can explain how Kunial uses language, form and structure to express his viewpoint.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The speaker of the poem begins fairly sure of his views on divisions/togetherness but becomes more uncertain later on.
  2. Kunial uses aspirational language to show the speaker's uncertainty towards the end of the poem.
  3. Kunial playfully explores sounds and words which link to "us" and emphasise this as the central idea of the poem.
  4. There are many examples of partial rhymes, alliteration and assonance throughout the poem.
  5. Punctuation and line breaks are used creatively to draw attention to particular phrases or ideas.

Keywords

  • Foreground - emphasise or draw attention to something, making it prominent or central in focus

  • Ideals - beliefs or principles that guide behaviour and reflect our desired outcomes

  • Abstract - existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence

  • Aspirational language - language which describes goals or ambitions that one strives to achieve

  • Assonance - repetition of similar vowel sounds in words to create musicality or emphasis in writing

Common misconception

This poem has a clear message about togetherness and division.

This poem is an abstract exploration of the different ways divisions and togetherness affect our relationships with each other (both personal relationships and our relationships in society).


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: Analysing the poem 'Us' by Zaffar Kunial, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

For the second learning cycle, consider giving groups of students a stanza printed out onto A3 paper and encourage them to analyse the stanza at word level, exploring how sounds and meanings are used for effect.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of 'Us' by Zaffar Kunial (located in the Edexcel GCSE Poetry Anthology - 'Belonging' cluster).

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is uncertainty?
Correct answer: being unsure or having doubts about something
a method of problem-solving involving trial and error
a situation which is dangerous
a situation which is familiar and sure to succeed
Q2.
Which of the following are examples of structural features in poetry?
how a writer uses similes and metaphors
the type of poem used (e.g. a sonnet or haiku)
Correct answer: the progression/order of ideas
Correct answer: how a writer uses punctuation and/or line breaks
a poet's use of imagery
Q3.
What is context?
the place where a story or poem is set
Correct answer: the circumstances that surround and give meaning to a text
the people in a story or poem
the big ideas or emotions in a poem
Q4.
What is alliteration?
Correct answer: repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighbouring words
a type of rhyme scheme in poetry
a figure of speech comparing two unlike things using "like" or "as"
the main idea or message of a poem or story
Q5.
What are line breaks?
the end of a paragraph in a poem
Correct answer: when a poet includes a pause by continuing an idea on a new line
a poem which is written as one block of text with no gaps
punctuation found in the middle of a line of poetry causing a pause
Q6.
What does it mean to emphasise something?
Correct answer: to highlight or give importance to it
to translate it into another language
to summarise its main points
to expand on its more ambiguous meanings

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following sentence contains aspirational language?
She danced gracefully across the stage.
He struggled through the challenges slowly.
Correct answer: They aimed to reach the stars and beyond.
The sun set peacefully over the horizon.
Q2.
Which of these is a synonym of 'foreground'?
obscure
Correct answer: emphasise
mystify
ignore
describe
Q3.
Which of these is an example of assonance?
Correct answer: The cat sat on the mat.
The dog ate dinner.
She talked to her mother.
The bird tweeted.
Q4.
How can poets use structure to affect our interpretation of the poem?
Correct answer: they can draw the reader's attention to certain words or phrases
they can encourage us to like/dislike certain words in a poem
they can create vivid images in the reader's mind
Correct answer: they can slow down or speed up the pace in which we read the poem
Q5.
Which of the following structural features does Kunial use to emphasise the separation between the speaker and "you" towards the end of the poem?
a lack of punctuation groups both figures together
Correct answer: commas create short clauses between "I" and "you"
the structure mirrors the opening of the poem showing progression
there are no line breaks to make the end of the poem seem chaotic and frantic
Q6.
When using a single paragraph outline to plan an analytical paragraph, your topic sentence should directly relate to...
the wider context of the poem.
Correct answer: the focus of the question.
at least one method used by the poet.
a key quotation from the text.

Additional material

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