BTW, since we're on Mod B - would it be impressive and demonstrate extensive research / reading to reference a non-prescribed poem (talking about T.S. Eliot) when discussing a theme e.g sexuality, and referencing the hermaphrodite character Tiresias in Waste Land (non-prescribed)? Or would the teachers not care?
hmm i'm not entirely sure
i think you could mention it when discussing eliot's work holistically e.g. "[theme] is explored beyond [syllabus poem] in Eliot's other works of the time, such as in 'The Waste Land', reflecting the prevalence of..." but you can probably find the theme in other poems anyway which would fit the marking criteria better
although apparently the old syllabus required explicit reference to academic sources but the current one doesn't, so that might apply to this kind of thing? like you
can do it but its not going to benefit really