Cambridge IGCSE English Literature Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 3 Exam Questions

About Cambridge IGCSE English Literature Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 3

Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 3 is one of the poetry set texts for Section A of Paper 1: Poetry and Prose in Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English. The selection of 15 poems, including Auden's The Capital, Kolatkar's The Bus and Jennings' The Enemies, is set for exams in 2026 and 2027. You answer one 25-mark question on your poetry text, choosing from two questions that each focus on a single named poem printed on the paper, so no comparison is needed. For 2026 and 2027 Paper 1 is closed book. Examiners reward close analysis of language, form and effect and a sensitive personal response.

Key poems and themes

• The 15 set poems The Road (Nancy Fotheringham Cato), The Instant of My Death (Sarah Jackson), The Bus (Arun Kolatkar), At the Bus Station (Julius Chingono), These are the Times We Live in (Imtiaz Dharker), The Enemies (Elizabeth Jennings), Boxes (Sampurna Chattarji), The Capital (W H Auden), an afternoon nap (Arthur Yap), Plaits (Elizabeth Smither), Children of Wealth (Elizabeth Daryush), Rich and Poor or, Saint and Sinner (Thomas Love Peacock), A Long Journey (Musaemura Zimunya), Touch and Go (Stevie Smith) and Song (George Szirtes).
• Which exam years This selection is set for 2026 and 2027 in the 0475 syllabus, and it also appeared on 2025 papers. It is not set for 2028 to 2030, when the new syllabus uses other poetry texts, so check your exam year with your teacher.
• Cities and the modern world The Capital, a sonnet from 1938, presents a city full of pleasures that hides injustice and draws people from the countryside. The Enemies describes strangers quietly entering a city whose people do not resist, creating an unsettling, dreamlike mood. Touch and Go considers how precarious humanity's future is.
• Journeys and travel In The Bus, from Kolatkar's Jejuri sequence, a pilgrim on a state transport bus sees his own face reflected in an old man's glasses. A Long Journey explores the speaker's feelings about change to the land and way of life he knew. These are the Times We Live in presents a traveller's identity being checked and judged by officials.
• Wealth, power and society Children of Wealth suggests rich children are sheltered so completely that they are cut off from real experience. Peacock's Rich and Poor or, Saint and Sinner satirises the hypocrisy of treating the same behaviour differently depending on wealth. In an afternoon nap Yap gently mocks an ambitious mother who fills her son's free time with study.
• How questions are worded Cambridge questions name the poem and ask how the poet conveys something, for example how Jennings makes The Enemies disturbing or how Zimunya conveys feelings about change in A Long Journey. Key words such as vividly, strikingly or powerfully mean you must explain the effect of the writing, not just its meaning.
• Assessment focus All four assessment objectives apply: detailed knowledge of the poem, understanding of deeper meanings, analysis of how language, structure and form create effects, and an informed personal response.

Common mistakes in Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 3

• Revising only the most famous poems. Questions can be set on any of the 15 poems, so you need a confident reading of each one.
• Writing a comparison. Cambridge poetry questions focus on one poem, so spend all your time on that poem rather than bringing in others.
• Ignoring the key word in the question. If it asks how a poem is made disturbing or moving, every paragraph should explain how the writing creates that effect.
• Listing techniques without effect. Name a feature such as enjambment or a rhyme scheme only if you explain how it shapes meaning or mood.
• Neglecting the ending. The final lines often shift or sharpen the poem's meaning, as in the reflection at the end of The Bus, and examiners expect you to discuss them.

Try three Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 3 practice questions