Explore how the poet powerfully communicates the pain of loss in either The Voice (by Thomas Hardy) or Sonnet 29 ('Pity me not because the light of day') (by Edna St Vincent Millay).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2011). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Candidates should choose ONE of the two poems and explore how the poet powerfully communicates the pain of loss.
2. For 'The Voice': Focus on Hardy’s evocation of a haunting memory, the speaker’s yearning for the past, the fading image of the beloved, and the reality of absence.
3. The speaker’s struggle with disbelief and doubt ('Can it be you that I hear?').
4. Hardy’s use of questions, natural imagery (wind, leaves), and the rhythmic fading of hope to convey the speaker’s deep sorrow and psychological state.
5. For 'Sonnet 29': Focus on Millay’s defiance against pity despite her profound suffering, her embrace of pain, and her refusal to compromise her intense emotional experience.
6. The contrast between external appearances and internal torment ('light of day', 'broken body') versus inner truth ('my spirit is not afraid').
7. The expression of a loss that is so total it transcends conventional sympathy.
8. Millay’s use of sonnet form, powerful declarations, and imagery of inner strength despite outer devastation.