pairings
, IGCSE Edexcel Poetry – Pairing Guide
1) Search for My Tongue
Pairs well with:
● Half-Caste → Identity, culture, challenging stereotypes
● Prayer Before Birth → Fear of identity shaped by society
2) Half-Caste
Pairs well with:
● Search for My Tongue → Cultural identity and language
● My Last Duchess → Judgement and misuse of power
3) Piano
Pairs well with:
● Half-Past Two → Childhood, time, innocence
● Hide and Seek → Loss of innocence
● Poem at Thirty-Nine → Memory and parental relationships
● Remember → Loss and memory
4) Half-Past Two
Pairs well with:
● Piano → Childhood and time
● Hide and Seek → Childhood misunderstanding and innocence
1
, 5) Hide and Seek
Pairs well with:
● Piano → Loss of innocence
● La Belle Dame sans Merci → Emotional abandonment
● Blessing → Children in vulnerable situations
6) Remember
Pairs well with:
● Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night → Attitudes to death
● Piano → Memory and loss
● War Photographer → Remembering suffering
7) War Photographer
Pairs well with:
● My Last Duchess → Power, control, emotional detachment
● Remember → Memory after death
● Blessing → Human suffering
● The Tyger → Destruction and moral responsibility
8) My Last Duchess
Pairs well with:
● War Photographer → Detachment and power
● La Belle Dame sans Merci → Control and emotional harm
● Half-Caste → Judgement and prejudice
● Remember → Control vs freedom of memory
9) Blessing
Pairs well with:
● Prayer Before Birth → Human vulnerability
● War Photographer → Suffering and hardship
● Hide and Seek → Innocence in harsh conditions
2
, 10) Prayer Before Birth
Pairs well with:
● The Tyger → Creation and moral questions
● Blessing → Fragility of life
● If— → What kind of person the world creates
11)The Tyger
Pairs well with:
● Prayer Before Birth → Creation and fear
● War Photographer → Destruction and violence
● My Last Duchess → Dangerous power
12) If—
Pairs well with:
● Poem at Thirty-Nine → Moral guidance and values
● Prayer Before Birth → Forming identity
13) Poem at Thirty-Nine
Pairs well with:
● If— → Parental influence
● Piano → Memory and family
● Blessing → Family and survival
14) Sonnet 116
Pairs well with:
● La Belle Dame sans Merci → True vs false love
● Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night → Time and endurance
3
, IGCSE Edexcel Poetry – Pairing Guide
1) Search for My Tongue
Pairs well with:
● Half-Caste → Identity, culture, challenging stereotypes
● Prayer Before Birth → Fear of identity shaped by society
2) Half-Caste
Pairs well with:
● Search for My Tongue → Cultural identity and language
● My Last Duchess → Judgement and misuse of power
3) Piano
Pairs well with:
● Half-Past Two → Childhood, time, innocence
● Hide and Seek → Loss of innocence
● Poem at Thirty-Nine → Memory and parental relationships
● Remember → Loss and memory
4) Half-Past Two
Pairs well with:
● Piano → Childhood and time
● Hide and Seek → Childhood misunderstanding and innocence
1
, 5) Hide and Seek
Pairs well with:
● Piano → Loss of innocence
● La Belle Dame sans Merci → Emotional abandonment
● Blessing → Children in vulnerable situations
6) Remember
Pairs well with:
● Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night → Attitudes to death
● Piano → Memory and loss
● War Photographer → Remembering suffering
7) War Photographer
Pairs well with:
● My Last Duchess → Power, control, emotional detachment
● Remember → Memory after death
● Blessing → Human suffering
● The Tyger → Destruction and moral responsibility
8) My Last Duchess
Pairs well with:
● War Photographer → Detachment and power
● La Belle Dame sans Merci → Control and emotional harm
● Half-Caste → Judgement and prejudice
● Remember → Control vs freedom of memory
9) Blessing
Pairs well with:
● Prayer Before Birth → Human vulnerability
● War Photographer → Suffering and hardship
● Hide and Seek → Innocence in harsh conditions
2
, 10) Prayer Before Birth
Pairs well with:
● The Tyger → Creation and moral questions
● Blessing → Fragility of life
● If— → What kind of person the world creates
11)The Tyger
Pairs well with:
● Prayer Before Birth → Creation and fear
● War Photographer → Destruction and violence
● My Last Duchess → Dangerous power
12) If—
Pairs well with:
● Poem at Thirty-Nine → Moral guidance and values
● Prayer Before Birth → Forming identity
13) Poem at Thirty-Nine
Pairs well with:
● If— → Parental influence
● Piano → Memory and family
● Blessing → Family and survival
14) Sonnet 116
Pairs well with:
● La Belle Dame sans Merci → True vs false love
● Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night → Time and endurance
3
