1st Date She And 1st Date He edexcel 4-The-Poetry-Anthology

1st Date – She & 1st Date – He

Each GCSE poetry anthology contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem – printed in full – and asked to compare this printed poem to another. The exam is closed-book which means you will not have access to the second poem. This does not mean you need to remember every line from memory, but you do need to understand and remember key aspects of the poem. Understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

• The meaning of the poem

• The ideas and messages of the poet 

• How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods

• How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to Wendy Cope’s poem ‘1st Date – She & 1st Date – He’, from the Relationships anthology. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods

• Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes

• What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Wendy Cope’s intention and message

‘1st Date – She & 1st Date – He’ in a nutshell

‘1st Date – She & 1st Date – He’, written by the British poet Wendy Cope, offers parallel perspectives on a romantic relationship, specifically the beginning of one. By showing both a male and female perspective simultaneously, the poem offers a humorous and ironic take on romance. 

‘1st Date – She & 1st Date – He’ breakdown

Lines 1–5

“1st Date – She

I said I liked classical music.

It wasn’t exactly a lie.

I hoped he would get the impression

That my brow was acceptably high.”

Translation

• The poem begins from a female’s first-person perspective

• The speaker describes a date during which she hoped to impress the man 

• The speaker said she liked classical music so she would seem sophisticated (high-brow)

Cope’s intention

• The poem begins with a monologue from a female speaker to show her intimate thoughts and unspoken words 

• The poem’s theme, miscommunication in relationships, is introduced:

  • The speaker justifies her need to appear better than she is so she appeals to the man (who she believes is more sophisticated than her)

Lines 6–9

“I said I liked classical music.

I mentioned Vivaldi and Bach.

And he asked me along to this concert.

Here we are, sitting in the half-dark.”

Translation

• The speaker says that she mentioned famous classical composers 

• This led to a date at a concert, but it is “half-dark”, implying they cannot see each other

Cope’s intention

• The speaker suggests that this common bond led to a date, at a concert

• The speaker hints that she has overstated her love for classical music and now they cannot really get to know each other

• This makes an ironic and humorous observation about facades in new relationships

Lines 10–13

“I was thrilled to be asked to this concert.

I couldn’t care less what they play

But I’m trying my hardest to listen

So I’ll have something clever to say.”

Translation

• The speaker says they are happy to be on a date 

• However, what is of higher priority is keeping up the illusion that she has a sophisticated knowledge of classical music 

Cope’s intention

• The light-hearted tone of the speaker’s monologue makes the depiction of the date comedic and sweet

• However, the poet begins to suggest that the date is not a genuine interaction 

Line 14–17

“When I glance at his face it’s a picture

Of rapt concentration. I see

He is totally into this music

And quite undistracted by me.” 

Translation

• The speaker says that the man is more interested in the concert than her

• She says she is now on a date with a man who genuinely does love classical music 

Cope’s intention

• The speaker’s monologue ends with an uneasy tone

• The speaker is frustrated by the lack of intimacy the concert affords them and realises the cost of her dishonesty

Lines 18–22

“1st Date – He

She said she liked classical music.

I implied I was keen on it too.

Though I don’t often go to a concert,

It wasn’t entirely untrue.”

Translation

• The perspective shifts to the male speaker:

  • He says, ironically, that it was not him who said he loved classical music

  • He says he does like classical music but does not often go to a concert

• This suggests they both overstated their love for it to impress each other

Cope’s intention

• The poem’s irony offers a comedic and intimate exploration of two people attempting to start a relationship

• Hearing from both the female and then the male speaker shows the similar mistakes the pair both make

Lines 23–30

“I looked for a suitable concert

And here we are, on our first date.

The traffic was dreadful this evening

And I arrived ten minutes late.

So we haven’t had much time for talking

And I’m a bit nervous. I see

She is totally lost in the music

And quite undistracted by me.”

Translation

• The speaker says they tried to find a concert for them to go to together

• He is concerned he was late and seems a little worried

Cope’s intention

• Dramatic irony presents the misunderstandings between the pair:

  • While the female speaker thinks the man is distracted by the music, he is actually worrying about the impression he is making

  • In fact, he thinks she is focused on the concert

Lines 31–34

“In that dress she is very attractive –

The neckline can’t fail to intrigue.

I musn’t appear too besotted.

Perhaps she is out of my league.”

Translation

• The speaker begins to notice the woman and feels attraction

• He tries to control this, though, as he begins to wonder if she is too good for him

Cope’s intention

• The poem explores the mixed emotions of a couple on a date

• The speaker, here, explores the nervousness, as well as the stirrings of desire

• This line conveys the worrying thoughts about self-image at the start of a new relationship

Lines 35–38

“Where are we? I glance at the programme

But I’ve put my glasses away.

I’d better start paying attention

Or else I’ll have nothing to say.”

Translation

• The poem ends with the speaker realising he should focus rather than daydream

• He cannot see the programme as he has put away his glasses and feels it would look odd to get them out again:

  • However, now he cannot read any information and needs to impress his date with knowledge about the concert

Cope’s intention

• The poem ends with a final mirroring of the male speaker’s thoughts and the female speaker’s thoughts

• They are both equally trying to impress each other, and the concert is of no concern

• The poem is a comic examination of both genders’ similar emotions in a new relationship

Writer’s methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Wendy Cope’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem connects two sections of monologue. Each offers the intimate thoughts of two speakers who are dating. Their perspectives mirror each others’ and, in this way, Wendy Cope conveys misunderstandings at the start of new relationships. 

Structure

The poem’s structure presents the thoughts of two speakers on a date in a fast-paced poem that reflects their similarly anxious experiences. 

 Language

The poem highlights issues in relationships as a result of self-perception and the idea of status. While both speakers are presented as equally sophisticated, they believe they are lesser than the other. Cope mirrors their thoughts and language to show this as foolish. 

Context

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Wendy Cope or facts unrelated to the ideas in ‘1st Date – She & 1st Date – He’. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Wendy Cope which relate to romantic and complex relationships. 

This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Cope explores:

• Romantic relationships

• Complex love and desire

Romantic relationships 

• Wendy Cope is an English poet, born in Kent in 1945

• Her poetry is often a modern and unconventional examination of new relationships, such as in the poem ‘1st Date – She & 1st Date – He’

• Her poetry appears in anthologies that include poems about romantic relationships

• Wendy Cope has said that her poetry should be read and interpreted subjectively:

  • This means, the poems do not clearly explain their ideas, rather they allow a reader to interpret