Exam code:1ET0
Love’s Dog
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:
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The meaning of the poem
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The ideas and messages of the poet
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How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
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How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology
Below is a guide to Jen Hadfield’s poem ‘Love’s Dog’, from the Relationships anthology. It includes:
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Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
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Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
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Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
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What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The exam question asks you to compare the way relationships are presented in two anthology poems. ‘Love’s Dog’, as part of the Relationships anthology, explores themes related to romantic relationships and desire. It is therefore as important that you learn how ‘Love’s Dog’ compares and contrasts with the way other poems in the anthology present such ideas, rather than understanding the poem in isolation. See the section below on “What to compare it to” for detailed comparisons of ‘Love’s Dog’ and other poems in the anthology.
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
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The poem in a nutshell
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A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
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A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Jen Hadfield’s intention and message
‘Love’s Dog’ in a nutshell
‘Love’s Dog’, written by British poet Jen Hadfield, is a debate on the advantages and disadvantages of love. The poem offers a balanced yet unconventional evaluation that highlights complexities in romantic relationships.
‘Love’s Dog’ breakdown
Lines 1–2
“What I love about love is its diagnosis
What I hate about love is its prognosis”
Translation
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The poem begins with the speaker’s opposing feelings about love
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The lines use a metaphor that relates to illness:
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The “diagnosis” or symptoms (implying physical responses) of being in love are good but the outcome (the “prognosis”) is bad
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Hadfield’s intention
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Hadfield mirrors lines about love and hate to show close connections
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The poet suggests the complex nature of romantic relationships brings mixed feelings
Lines 3–4
“What I hate about love is its me me me
What I love about love is its Eat-me/Drink-me”
Translation
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These lines continue a list of opposing statements about love
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The speaker says love is “me me me”, perhaps implying it can make you self-absorbed
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This is contrasted with a reference to a fantasy story, Alice in Wonderland, perhaps to imply its mysterious and magical nature:
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The phrase “Eat-me/Drink-me” refers to labelled instructions on a cake and a bottle that change Alice’s size and lead her to an imaginary world
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Hadfield’s intention
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Hadfield continues a list of contrasting statements that assess different aspects of love
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In these lines, she alludes to the idea of transformation
Lines 5–6
“What I love about love is its petting zoo
What I love about love is its zookeeper – you”
Translation
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Here, the speaker relates love to control and physical care
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The couplets list two things the speaker loves as they address a listener
Hadfield’s intention
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Hadfield, perhaps, highlights ideas about care-giving in relationships
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The direct address, accentuated by a dash, suggest a partner who controls and supervises, as well as offers care
Line 7–8
“What I love about love is its truth serum
What I hate about love is its shrinking potion”
Translation
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The speaker again refers to the way love can alter someone
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These lines suggest love can force truth and make you feel small
Hadfield’s intention
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The speaker seems grateful for the honesty of intimate relationships:
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On the other hand, the poem implies this can be humbling:
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Perhaps this suggests uncomfortable truths that must be faced
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Lines 9–10
“What I love about love is its doubloons
What I love about love is its bird-bones”
Translation
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Here, the lines both describe what the speaker loves about love again
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The first line conveys love as precious and valuable:
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The word “doubloons” refers to old coins, and connotes to pirates and treasure
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This is then contrasted with a starker image of small, bare bones
Hadfield’s intention
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The strange imagery presents love’s dichotomies
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The poet uses incongruous images to symbolise two good things about love:
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The imagery connotes to adventure and wealth
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The image of “bird-bones” may connote to something that is fragile
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Lines 11–12
“What I hate about love is its boil-wash
What I love about love is its spin-cycle”
Translation
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These lines refer to a washing machine, which presents love in an unconventional way
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The speaker hates the “boil-wash”, connoting to intense heat that purifies
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The speaker says they love the “spin-cycle”, connoting to dizziness
Hadfield’s intention
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Hadfield uses mundane imagery to express intense emotions:
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The imagery alludes to ideas of painful purging (a love that purifies)
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In contrast, love can bring excitement, maybe confusion
Lines 13–14
“What I loathe about love is its burnt toast and bonemeal
What I hate about love is its bent cigarette”
Translation
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The speaker returns to describing two things they hate (“loathe”) about love
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The imagery connotes to damaged things: “burnt toast” and a “bent cigarette”
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The speaker also mentions “bonemeal” (a fertiliser made of ground animal bone)
Hadfield’s intention
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Hadfield uses alliteration to draw attention to love’s ability to ruin or break
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Darker images illustrate the speaker’s acknowledgment of painful emotions
Lines 15–16
“What I love about love is its pirate
What I hate about love is its sick parrot”
Translation
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These lines end the poem with opposing statements about love
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The imagery relates back to adventure with the word “pirate” and “parrot”:
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Parrots are associated with legendary stories about pirates
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However, the speaker ends saying they hate the fact love is “sick”
Hadfield’s intention
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Hadfield’s evaluation of love ends with allusions to dangerous adventures that can physically weaken
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The lines highlight the risk and excitement of romantic relationships
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The exam question asks you to compare the ways poets present ideas about relationships in the poem given to you on the exam paper and one other from the Relationships anthology. For the best answer, you will need to focus on the way themes are presented across two poems.
Perhaps you could begin your answer with a clear argument that clarifies how the poems explore relationships. This is better than providing a list of as many techniques as you can find or remember, as it demonstrates that you have understood themes in the poem and the poets’ intentions. For example, “Hadfield subverts ideas about traditional, romanticised relationships. Similar themes can be found in…”
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 Hadfield’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:
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Form
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Structure
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Language
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Examiners specifically state that they are not looking for as many “quotes” or techniques as you can find in the poem(s). In fact, it is better to understand the way themes have been conveyed, and then use language and structural techniques to support your argument.
Identifying sophisticated techniques will not gain you any more marks, especially if these techniques are only ‘spotted’ and the poet’s intentions for this language are not explained. Instead, focus your analysis on the reasons why the poet is presenting their ideas in the way that they do: what is their message? What ideas are they presenting, or challenging?
Form
The form of ‘Love’s Dog’ defies traditional presentations of love to imply its realistic reflection on romantic relationships. Jen Hadfield offers a balanced assessment of the qualities, and impact, of love.
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Theme |
Evidence |
Poet’s intention |
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Romantic relationships |
The poem is a first-person reflection that addresses a listener only once |
The narrator focuses on their feelings about love rather than speaking intimately to a loved one:
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Repetition of the speaker’s thoughts suggest introspection:
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Hadfield offers a less emotional speaker who presents an evaluation of love |
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Simple repetition of statements provide conclusions:
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The poem is straightforward, yet it expresses ideas about powerful emotions |
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The balanced form of Hadfield’s poem implies logic, but she juxtaposes this with repetitive ideas about oppositional emotions to show its influence |
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Structure
The poem’s structure conveys Hadfield’s ideas about the close connections between love and hate in romantic relationships.
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Theme |
Evidence |
Poet’s intention |
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Complex love |
The poem makes use of anaphora to show the complexities of love |
By repeating “What I love” and “What I hate” Hadfield is able to convey love’s contrasting qualities |
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The list is not regular:
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Mixing up lines presents a conflicted speaker:
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A lack of punctuation deviates from traditional structures |
Hadfield’s poem defies typical examples of romantic poetry as it provides no clear voice |
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Half-rhymes like “diagnosis” and “prognosis” begin the poem:
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The poem’s unconventional rhyme scheme contributes to an unstable speaker |
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Jen Hadfield’s poem is an abstract reflection that presents love as conflicting and inconsistent |
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Language
The poem ‘Love’s Dog’ can be considered post-modern in its employment of metaphorical imagery that undermines traditional romantic symbolism. Its title suggests the poem explores love that can enslave or disenfranchise.
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Theme |
Evidence |
Poet’s intention |
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Intense love |
A semantic field of illness connotes to love’s “symptoms”:
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The poem’s imagery often connotes to love’s powerful physical impact |
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The poem implies love is caring and comforting:
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Hadfield’s poem shows how the advantages of love are connected closely to the disadvantages:
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Imagery that alludes to love’s purity is conveyed with “boil-wash” and “truth serum”:
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Hadfield shows love’s ability to expose faults or weaknesses:
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Hadfield makes allusions to adventure stories:
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Hadfield implies love is exciting and imaginative, as well as transformative |
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Bizarre imagery draws attention to each metaphor so that Hadfield can emphasise the intense nature of love in a pragmatic way |
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Examiner Tips and Tricks
The best answers comment on the way elements of language, form or structure contribute or support an argument on the presentation of the theme in the question. This means you should aim to deliver an integrated comparison of the themes and ideas in this and the other poem you choose for comparison. Focus on the relevance of the methods used by the poet(s). It is better to structure your answer around an exploration of the ideas in the poems. Stay focused on the task and choose your evidence based on the theme named in the question.
Context
Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Jen Hadfield or facts unrelated to the ideas in ‘Love’s Dog’. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Hadfield which relate to romantic and complex relationships.
This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Hadfield explores:
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Romantic relationships
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Complex love
Romantic relationships
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Jen Hadfield, T. S. Eliot Prize winner, was born in 1978 in Cheshire, England
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The poem ‘Love’s Dog’ is part of a collection called Nigh-No-Place, written in 2008
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The collection consists of poems that are written as a stream of consciousness:
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‘Love’s Dog’ lacks punctuation and is introspective in nature
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It offers a reflection on romantic relationships
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Hadfield’s presentation of the negative elements of love in her poem can be considered typical of literature written from a feminist perspective
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The speaker’s confident assertions and logical evaluation of romance convey an individualistic view:
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The speaker even refers to the way love is “me me me”, implying self-absorption
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The poem challenges conventional female perspectives on love and suggests a sense of independence and autonomy:
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This may signify an egalitarian presentation of love
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It could be reflective of changes in political policy and social attitudes to gender after the Third-wave feminist movement of the 1990s
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The poem does not signal any particular gender
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In this way, the poem explores romantic relationships in a more impartial way
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Complex love
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Jen Hadfield studied English Language and Literature at Edinburgh University and went on to complete a higher-level
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