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A journey through poetry and time.Y7 HALF TERM ONE

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https://martinhumanities.com/2019/08/27/poetry-generator/

What is Poetry? What do you know about Poetry?

“Literature with all the water wrung out of it” – What does this statement suggest about poetry?

Introduction to poetryI ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the lightlike a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s roomand feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with ropeand torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means

What is Collins’ saying about poetry and the way we approach it here?

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Poetry Techniques: What is your answer? RAG – Rate your answer? How confident are you?

What is the actual answer?

1. What is the definition of a simile?

2. What is the definition of personification?

3. What is the definition of a metaphor?

4. What is the definition of hyperbole?

5. What is the definition of alliteration?

6. What is a caesura?

7. What is an imperative verb?

8. What is emotive language?

9. What technique has been used in the line “I wanna be your raincoat”?

10. What is the definition of onomatopoeia?

11. What is a stanza?

12. What is rhythm?

13. What does ABAB refer to?

14. What is a verse?

15. What techniques has been used in the line “The waves beside him danced”?

16. What does 1st person mean?

17. What does phonetic spelling mean?

18. What is a semantic field?

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19. What is the definition of repetition?

20. What is the definition of sibilance?

Marianne Moore a famous poet describes poetry as…

− “imaginary gardens with real toads in them”

− What do you think she means?

What does poetry mean to you?

Don't be polite.Bite in.Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that

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Write your answer here:

Write your answer here:

may run down your chin.It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are. You do not need a knife or fork or spoon

or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no coreor stemor rindor pitor seedor skinto throw away.

1. What is this poem about?

2. How do you know?

3. What title would you give this poem? Why?

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What can you infer about the underlined areas?

(INFER and DEDUCE both mean to GUESS or WORK SOMETHING OUT from CLUES.)

What does poetry mean to you?

What is the definition of a poem?

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What is the purpose of a poem?

Think, Pair, Share

What questions do you ask when you’re reading a text for the first time?

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Think. Use this space for notes on your own ideas:

Pair. Use this space for any additional notes after your paired discussion:

Share. Use this space for anything you want to add from the class discussion.

This page is blank so you can copy out the mind-map from the board.

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Bridegroom, dear to my heart,Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet,Lion, dear to my heart,Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.

Who do you think is speaking in the poem?

How do you think they are feeling?

What has happened before the poem begins?

Named The Love Song for Shu-Sin, it was discovered during excavations in the Mesopotamian region, in a search for evidence to corroborate the stories of the Old Testament. The poem sat untranslated for a number of years until archaeologist Samuel Noah Kramer came across it while translating ancient texts. In his book, History Begins at Sumer, Kramer describes his experience upon realizing what he discovered.

"When I first laid eyes on it, its most attractive feature was its state of preservation. I soon realized that I was reading a poem, divided into a number of stanzas, which celebrated beauty and love, a joyous bride and a king named Shu Shin… As I read it again and yet again, there was no mistaking its content. What I held in my hand was one of the oldest love songs written down by the hand of man." (pg. 245)

The poem is believed to have been used as part of a sacred ritual in which the king symbolically married a goddess named Inanna, a Sumerian goddess of love. The idea was this would ensure fertility and prosperity for the year.

It was likely recited by Shu Shin’s chosen bride. While it wasn’t love as we know it today, it was the ultimate representation of love between a monarch, his bride, and their god.

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https://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10752857~S1

This page is blank so you can copy out the diagram on how to approach a poem from the board.

RumiJalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian: رومی محمد ,(جلال‌الدینalso known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī ( محمد جلال‌الدین our" ,مولانا) Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ,(بلخىmaster"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master"), and more

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popularly simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian originally from Greater Khorasan in Greater Iran. Rumi's influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the "most popular poet" and the "best selling poet" in the United States. Rumi's works are written mostly in Persian, but occasionally he also used Turkish, Arabic, and Greek in his verse. His Masnavi (Mathnawi), composed in Konya, is considered one of the greatest poems of the Persian language. His works are widely read today in their original language across Greater Iran and the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are extremely popular, most notably in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, and South Asia. His poetry has influenced not only Persian literature, but also the literary traditions of the Ottoman Turkish, Chagatai, Urdu and Pashto languages.

1. When was Rumi born?

2. When did he die?

3. What did he do?

4. Where in the world is Rumi the ‘best selling poet’?

5. What language are Rumi’s works mostly written in?

6. Which country’s literary traditions has Rumi influenced?

The Agony and EcstasyI long to escape the prison of my ego

and lose myselfin the mountains and the desert.

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What can you infer about the

These sad and lonely people tire me.

I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your loveand feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I’m sick of mortal kings.

I long to see your light.

With lamps in handthe sheiks and mullahs roamthe dark alleys of these townsnot finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,

The intoxication of Love.

I long to sing your praisesbut stand mutewith the agony of wishing in my heart.

What does the title of the poem suggest?

Who is the poem about? What is it about? Why do you think Rumi wrote it?

Writing about poetry

When we write about poetry, we are writing like a literary scholar. This means that we need to use precise vocabulary:

Analytical VerbsThe writer shows… Comparison

and links…Structure or tension…

This technique/ moment/ device is…

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What can you infer about the

createsevokes illustrates impliesportrays highlightspresents

introducesconveyssuggestsrevealsstatesexploresinsinuates

comparesreflectsmirrorsalludes toechoessymbolises

buildsdevelopsstrengthensreinforcesrevealsconcludesestablishes

strikingshockingdisturbingprovocative

Key Subject Terminology Connectiveswordphraselinestanzachapter scenenovelplaypoemtextplot

nounverbadjectiveadverbpronounprepositioncharacterstructuredialogue

imagemetaphorsimilepersonificationpathetic fallacysymbolismsemantic fieldconnotationalliterationsibilanceonomatopoeia

thereforeequallysimilarlysignificantlymoreoversubsequentlynotably

in additionconsequentlywhereasalternativelyhoweverdespite this

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Every paragraph should begin with a clear point followed by evidence. This structure will help you to do that:

Success Criteria How did you do? Write a clear point Use a quotation ANALYSE key words and

images Comment on how the reader

might react to key ideas and images

Use a range of sophisticated vocabulary

What is Rumi saying about emotions? How are they powerful?

Impress me: What are the most emotionally

intense moments in this poem? How do you react to them?

Poetry Techniques: What is your answer? RAG – Rate


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Model Paragraph – use this space to copy down your teacher’s paragraph.

Independent Paragraph – use this space to write down your own paragraph. Remember to use the structure your teacher showed you.

your answer? How confident are you?












12. What is rhythm?







19. What is the definition of

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repetition? 20. What is the

definition of sibilance?

Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca; July 20, 1304 – July 18/19, 1374, commonly anglicized as Petrarch was an Italian scholar and poet during the early Italian Renaissance who was one of the earliest humanists.

Petrarch's sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyrical poetry. He is also known for being the first to develop the concept of the "Dark Ages."

In class you will now watch a clip about Petrarch. If you missed the lesson or want to watch again at home for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HzPCdL57o

Now complete the questions:

1. When was Petrarch born?

2. When did he die?

3. What type of poetry did he write that was admired?

4. What else is he known for?

What is a Sonnet?

The word ‘sonnet’ derives from the Italian word ‘sonetto’ and the Occitan word ‘sonet’ both of which mean ‘little sound’. By the 13th Century it had come to mean a poem that was 14 lines in length that followed a specific rhyme scheme and structure. Sonnets were traditionally about love or the problems associated with love. However, over time, both the content of sonnets and the rhyme schemes have become more adaptable. They are still 14 lines long though.

PAGE 15In your own words define what a sonnet is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HzPCdL57o

Sonnet 227

Original Italian English translation by A.S. Kline

Aura che quelle chiome bionde et crespecercondi et movi, et se’ mossa da loro,soavemente, et spargi quel dolce oro,et poi ’l raccogli, e ’n bei nodi il rincrespe,

tu stai nelli occhi ond’amorose vespemi pungon sí, che ’nfin qua il sento et ploro,et vacillando cerco il mio tesoro,come animal che spesso adombre e ’ncespe:

ch’or me ’l par ritrovar, et or m’accorgoch’i’ ne son lunge, or mi sollievo or caggio,ch’or quel ch’i’ bramo, or quel ch’è vero scorgo.

Aër felice, col bel vivo raggiorimanti; et tu corrente et chiaro gorgo,ché non poss’io cangiar teco vïaggio?

Breeze, blowing that blonde curling hair,stirring it, and being softly stirred in turn,scattering that sweet gold about, thengathering it, in a lovely knot of curls again,

you linger around bright eyes whose loving stingpierces me so, till I feel it and weep,and I wander searching for my treasure,like a creature that often shies and kicks:

now I seem to find her, now I realiseshe’s far away, now I’m comforted, now despair,now longing for her, now truly seeing her.

Happy air, remain here with yourliving rays: and you, clear running stream,why can’t I exchange my path for yours?

Who do you think is speaking in the poem?

How do you think they are feeling?

What words or phrases suggest this?

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In your own words define what a sonnet is:

BlasonA genre of poems that praised a woman by singling out different parts of her body and finding appropriate metaphors to compare them with.

The term originally comes from the heraldic term "blazon" in French heraldry, which means either the codified description of a coat of arms or the coat of arms itself.

Petrarchan love conventions:• The poet addresses a lady

• The poet-lover praises his mistress's superlative qualities. She is the object and image of love.

• Poet-lover presents himself as ardent and impetuous.

• Poet-lover dwells only on the subjective experience, hence on the misery of being in love:

• The poet employs contradictory and oxymoronic phrases and images: freezing and burning, binding freedom.

• The poet disclaims credit for poetic merits: the inspiration of his mistress is what makes the poetry good, he claims.

• The poet promises to protect the youth of his lady and his own love against time (through the poetry itself immortalizing).

What words or phrases from the poem fit the idea of a Blason?

What words or phrases from the poem fit with Petrarchan conventions of love?

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Petrarchan sonnet structure. Here is the link to the video your teacher used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS-50Yimkso

How does Petrarch present love in the poem?

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Copy down the diagram from the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS-50Yimkso

Remember how to structure your answer:

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Model Paragraph – use this space to copy up the paragraph your teacher modelled for you:

Success Criteria How did you do? Write a clear point Use a quotation ANALYSE key words and images Comment on how the reader might

react to key ideas and images Use a range of sophisticated

vocabulary What is Petrarch saying about

emotions? How are they powerful?



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Independent paragraph. Use this space to write a paragraph of your own:

Note down the things you need to focus on next time in order to improve:

What is a sonnet?

What are sonnets traditionally about?

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Note down the things you need to focus on next time in order to improve:

Which Italian Renaissance poet is associated with sonnets and what else is he known for?

Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Shakespeare's sonnets are poems that William Shakespeare wrote on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare's sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609. However, there are six additional sonnets that Shakespeare wrote and included in the plays Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Love's Labour's Lost. There is also a partial sonnet found in the play Edward III.

When analysed as characters, the subjects of the sonnets are usually referred to as the Fair Youth, the Rival Poet, and the Dark Lady. The speaker expresses admiration for the Fair Youth's beauty, and—if reading the sonnets in chronological order as published—later has an affair with the Dark Lady, then so does the Fair Youth. Current linguistic analysis and historical evidence suggests, however, that the sonnets to the Dark Lady were composed first (around 1591–95), the procreation sonnets next, and the later sonnets to the Fair Youth last (1597–1603). It is not known whether the poems and their characters are fiction or autobiographical; scholars who find the sonnets to be autobiographical have attempted to identify the characters with historical individuals.

In class you will now watch a clip about Shakespeare’s sonnets. If you missed the lesson or want to watch again at home for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDpW1sHrBaU&t= 6s

Now complete these questions:

1. How many Sonnets are in the quarto published in 1609?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDpW1sHrBaU&t=6s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDpW1sHrBaU&t=6s

2. How many additional sonnets are there, that we know of, that are not in the original quarto?

3. Name two of Shakespeare’s plays that include sonnets.

4. Which play contains a partial (incomplete) sonnet?

5. How many different people did Shakespeare write his sonnets to and what are they known as?

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;

But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou growest:So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

What is the poem about?

What does the narrator compare their lover to?

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What words and phrases suggest the narrator’s love for the person they are writing about?

What is the message of the poem?

True of False? Underline the statements that are true and circle the statements that are false.

Sonnets are associated with love.

Sonnets have 15 lines.

Sonnets have no set rhyme scheme.

Shakespeare wrote over 150 sonnets.

Now correct the false statements by re-writing them to make them true.

In class you will now listen to a clip of two actors reading one of Shakespeare’s sonnets. If you missed the lesson or want to watch again at home for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s2PnG1W1gM As you listen decide which you prefer and why.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s2PnG1W1gM

Sonnet 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delightThan in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I knowThat music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rareAs any she belied with false compare.

What makes this sonnet unusual?

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Think – write your own opinions/ideas here:

Pair – write your partner’s opinions/ideas here:

Share – write the results of the class discussion here:

What point is Shakespeare making about love?

Contreblazon inverts the convention of Blazon, describing “wrong” parts of the female body or negating them completely

How does Shakespeare present love in the poem?

You can answer on either sonnet we have studied. Remember how to structure your answer:

PAGE 26Model Paragraph – use this space to copy down your teacher’s paragraph.

Success Criteria How did you do? Write a clear point Use a quotation ANALYSE key words and images Comment on how the reader might

react to key ideas and images Use a range of sophisticated

vocabulary What is Shakespeare saying about

emotions? How are they powerful?



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Independent Paragraph – use this space to write down your own paragraph. Remember to use the structure your teacher showed you.

Improvements

Now that you have written and self-assessed your Shakespeare paragraph, rewrite it in green pen with improvements.

Explain what you did to improve your work

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The Romantics

Your teacher will play a video on the Romantics and their beliefs. If you want to rewatch it for revision or you weren’t in the lesson, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiRWBI0JTYQ&t=321s

What did the Romantics believe?

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).Wordsworth's magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semi-autobiographical poem of his early years that he revised and expanded a number of times. It was posthumously titled and published by his wife in the year of his death, before which it was generally known as "the poem to Coleridge".

Wordsworth was Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death from pleurisy on 23 April 1850.

1. When was Wordsworth born?

2. When did he die?

3. Who did he work with to help launch the Romantic Age in English literature?

4. Which of his works is considered to be his most important?

5. What is unusual about it?

6. What job did Wordsworth hold from 1843?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiRWBI0JTYQ&t=321s

Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but theyOut-did the sparkling leaves in glee;

A poet could not be but gay,In such a jocund company!

I gazed—and gazed—but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

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1.‌From what viewpoint does the poet observe nature?

2. To what does the poet compare the arrangement of the daffodils in the second stanza?

3. In which descriptions does the poet attribute human traits to something nonhuman (use personification)?

4. In your opinion, which words best describe the poet’s feelings about nature?

4. In your opinion, which words best describe the poet’s feelings about nature?

Match the vocabulary to the definition my drawing lines between the matching parts.

to wander a light wind

To flutter the edge of a place or thing

A breeze the state of being completely alone

The Milky way done with a lot of energy

The margin to look for a long time

A glance seeming to be thinking carefully

Sprightly to travel without a particular direction

Vacant to move with quick, light movements

To gaze a quick look

Pensive looking as if you do not understand

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Solitude a group of stars and planets

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What is Rhyme Scheme?

Your teacher will play you a video about rhyme and rhyme scheme. If you were not in class or wish to rewatch the video for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 68sZEkw4k2M

Rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse. You will use the alphabet when working out the rhyme scheme in a poem. You will always start with A, work your way through the next line of poetry and see if this rhymes with the first – if this is the case you will place the letter A again. If the lines do not rhyme you will put the letter B.

In your own words define rhyme scheme and explain how you would work out the rhyme scheme of a poem:

Work out and label the rhyme scheme for the first stanza of Daffodils:

I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

What is the effect of this rhyme scheme?

You now need to plan and create a presentation on the poem. Use these questions to help you:

1. What was the poet’s mood before he saw the daffodils?

2. What words does the poet use to create a joyful mood?

3. In what way is the contrast between the poet and the daffodils developed?

4. How does the poet use tenses to show the long-lasting effect the daffodils have had on him?

5. What is the main message of the poem?PAGE 33

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68sZEkw4k2M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68sZEkw4k2M

This page has been left blank to help you plan your presentation

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Daffodils:

1. What are the main ideas in ‘Daffodils’?

2. How does Wordsworth present the ideas?

3. What is the effect of the use of personification?

4. Can you remember a line from the poem?

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This page has been left blank for your storyboard. Remember to use quotations.

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Poetry Techniques: What is your answer? RAG – Rate your answer? How confident are you?













12. What is rhythm?







PAGE 37

19. What is the definition of repetition?

20. What is the definition of sibilance?

ByronYour‌teacher‌will‌have‌shown‌you‌a‌short‌video‌on‌Byron and his life. If you were not in the lesson or want to rewatch it for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= gn1sS9kz2ms George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English poet, peer and politician who became a revolutionary in the Greek War of Independence, and is considered one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest English poets and remains widely read and influential. From birth, Byron suffered from a deformity of his right foot.He was extremely self-conscious about this from a young age, nicknaming himself le diable boîteux (French for "the limping devil). Although he often wore specially made shoes in an attempt to hide the deformed foot, he refused to wear any type of brace that might improve the limp.He travelled extensively across Europe,

especially in Italy, where he lived for seven years in the cities of Venice, Ravenna, and Pisa. During his stay in Italy he frequently visited his friend and fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Later in life Byron joined the Greek War of Independence fighting the Ottoman Empire and died of disease leading a campaign during that war, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died in 1824 at the age of 36 from a fever contracted after the First and Second Siege of Missolonghi.Byron enjoyed adventure, especially relating to the sea. The first recorded notable example of open water swimming took place on 3 May 1810 when Lord Byron swam from Europe to Asia across the Hellespont Strait. This is often seen as the birth of the sport and pastime, and to commemorate it, the event is recreated every year as an open water swimming event. Whilst sailing from Genoa to Cephalonia in 1823, every day at noon, Byron and Trelawny, in calm weather, jumped overboard for a swim without fear of sharks, which were not unknown in those waters. He also liked to participate in bare knuckle boxing.Byron had a great love of animals, most notably for a Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. When the animal contracted rabies, Byron nursed him, albeit unsuccessfully, without any thought or fear of becoming bitten and infected. Although deep in debt at the time, Byron commissioned an impressive marble funerary monument for Boatswain at Newstead Abbey,

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn1sS9kz2ms



larger than his own, and the only building work which he ever carried out on his estate. In his 1811 will, Byron requested that he be buried with him. Byron also kept a tame bear while he was a student at Trinity, out of resentment for rules forbidding pet dogs like his beloved Boatswain. There being no mention of bears in their statutes, the college authorities had no legal basis for complaining: Byron even suggested that he would apply for a college fellowship for the bear. During his lifetime, in addition to numerous cats, dogs, and horses, Byron kept a fox, monkeys, an eagle, a crow, a falcon, peacocks, guinea hens, an Egyptian crane, a badger, geese, a heron, and a goat. Except for the horses, they all resided indoors at his homes in England, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece.His only legitimate child, Ada Lovelace, is regarded as a foundational figure in the field of computer programming based on her notes for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.

1. When was he born?

2. When and where did he die?

3. What disability was he born with?

4. What nickname did he give himself?

5. How long did he live in Italy and which cities did he live in?

6. Which other poet did he spend time with whilst in Europe?

7. What is Byron’s link to swimming?

8. What other sport did Byron participate in?

9. How do we know that Byron has a love of animals?

10. Who is his only legitimate child and what are they famous for?

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She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the nightOf cloudless climes and starry skies;And all that’s best of dark and brightMeet in her aspect and her eyes;Thus mellowed to that tender lightWhich heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,Had half impaired the nameless graceWhich waves in every raven tress,Or softly lightens o’er her face;Where thoughts serenely sweet express,How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,The smiles that win, the tints that glow,But tell of days in goodness spent,A mind at peace with all below,A heart whose love is innocent!

What is the poem about?

Is it love that is presented in the poem? What type of love?

What words and phrases suggest this?

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What can you infer about the underlined areas?

(INFER and DEDUCE both mean to GUESS or WORK SOMETHING OUT from CLUES.)

What can you remember about the Romantics?

Theme Evidence Analysis

Appearance : Byron avoids conventional symbols to

describe the subject’s beauty, eg flowers or a

sunny summer’s day. It is a less conventional

appearance that is described.

Light : there are several

references to day- and night-time, to aspects of the natural world which create light

(stars) and to an inner light or

radiance.

A sense of wonder : the

speaker’s sense of wonder is not

directly expressed but

comes from the nature of the

comparisons he makes between the woman and aspects of the natural world.

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Complete the table

How does Byron demonstrate the power of the woman’s beauty?

Did you include the following?

The whole poem is focused exclusively on this one person. We

are not told

anything factual about the woman (her name, her age, etc.) She therefore has a sense of mystery about her which enhances her attractiveness.

Byron uses strong contrasting images of light and darkness to convey extremes of emotion.

Which of these interpretations do you find most convincing and why?

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Interpretation Reason for interpretation

The speaker immediately falls in love with the woman he sees but takes some time to admit it.

The word ‘love’ finally appears in the last line of the poem.

The speaker is physically attracted to the woman he sees although he does not fall in love.

The speaker’s actual feelings are not directly described. He seems more aware of her physical good looks than anything else.

Tennyson

We are continuing our journey forward in poetry and are now going to look at some Victorian Poets. Your teacher will show you a video to introduce the era. If you were not in the lesson, or wish to rewatch the clip, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozH4vAMalT8

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson FRS (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was a British poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu". He published his first solo collection of poems, Poems Chiefly Lyrical in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Although decried by some critics as overly sentimental, his verse soon proved popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery,

was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Complete the following questions:

• When was Tennyson born?

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Which interpretation do you find most convincing and why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozH4vAMalT8

• When did he die?

• What important job did he hold?

• What was he awarded for his poetry at Cambridge?

• Which art and literature movement was Tennyson an influence on?

Your teacher will show you a video of the poem being performed. If you were not in the lesson, or wish to rewatch the clip, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 1EhzkCnPQew

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EhzkCnPQew



Part IOn either side the river lieLong fields of barley and of rye,That clothe the wold and meet the sky;And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot;And up and down the people go,Gazing where the lilies blowRound an island there below, The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,Little breezes dusk and shiverThro' the wave that runs for everBy the island in the river Flowing down to Camelot.Four gray walls, and four gray towers,Overlook a space of flowers,And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow veil'd,Slide the heavy barges trail'dBy slow horses; and unhail'dThe shallop flitteth silken-sail'd Skimming down to Camelot:But who hath seen her wave her hand?Or at the casement seen her stand?Or is she known in all the land, The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping earlyIn among the bearded barley,Hear a song that echoes cheerlyFrom the river winding clearly, Down to tower'd Camelot:And by the moon the reaper weary,Piling sheaves in uplands airy,Listening, whispers " 'Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott."

Part IIThere she weaves by night and dayA magic web with colours gay.She has heard a whisper say,A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot.She knows not what the curse may be,And so she weaveth steadily,And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott.

And moving thro' a mirror clearThat hangs before her all the year,Shadows of the world appear.There she sees the highway near Winding down to Camelot:There the river eddy whirls,And there the surly village-churls,And the red cloaks of market girls, Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,An abbot on an ambling pad,Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad,Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad, Goes by to tower'd Camelot;And sometimes thro' the mirror blueThe knights come riding two and two:She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delightsTo weave the mirror's magic sights,For often thro' the silent nightsA funeral, with plumes and lights And music, went to Camelot:Or when the moon was overhead,Came two young lovers lately wed:"I am half sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott.

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Part IIIA bow-shot from her bower-eaves,He rode between the barley-sheaves,The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,And flamed upon the brazen greaves Of bold Sir Lancelot.A red-cross knight for ever kneel'dTo a lady in his shield,That sparkled on the yellow field, Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,Like to some branch of stars we seeHung in the golden Galaxy.The bridle bells rang merrily As he rode down to Camelot:And from his blazon'd baldric slungA mighty silver bugle hung,And as he rode his armour rung, Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weatherThick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,The helmet and the helmet-featherBurn'd like one burning flame together, As he rode down to Camelot.As often thro' the purple night,Below the starry clusters bright,Some bearded meteor, trailing light, Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;From underneath his helmet flow'dHis coal-black curls as on he rode, As he rode down to Camelot.From the bank and from the riverHe flash'd into the crystal mirror,"Tirra lirra," by the river Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,She made three paces thro' the room,She saw the water-lily bloom,She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot.Out flew the web and floated wide;The mirror crack'd from side to side;"The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott.

Part IVIn the stormy east-wind straining,The pale yellow woods were waning,The broad stream in his banks complaining,

Heavily the low sky raining Over tower'd Camelot;Down she came and found a boatBeneath a willow left afloat,And round about the prow she wrote The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanseLike some bold seër in a trance,Seeing all his own mischance—With a glassy countenance Did she look to Camelot.And at the closing of the dayShe loosed the chain, and down she lay;The broad stream bore her far away, The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy whiteThat loosely flew to left and right—The leaves upon her falling light—Thro' the noises of the night She floated down to Camelot:And as the boat-head wound alongThe willowy hills and fields among,They heard her singing her last song, The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,Till her blood was frozen slowly,And her eyes were darken'd wholly, Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.For ere she reach'd upon the tideThe first house by the water-side,Singing in her song she died, The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,By garden-wall and gallery,A gleaming shape she floated by,Dead-pale between the houses high, Silent into Camelot.Out upon the wharfs they came,Knight and burgher, lord and dame,And round the prow they read her name, The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? and what is here?And in the lighted palace nearDied the sound of royal cheer;And they cross'd themselves for fear, All the knights at Camelot:But Lancelot mused a little space;He said, "She has a lovely face;God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott."

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Look again at the opening of the poem. Draw the image Tennyson is describing.

On either side the river lieLong fields of barley and of rye,That clothe the wold and meet the sky;And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot;And up and down the people go,Gazing where the lilies blowRound an island there below, The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,Little breezes dusk and shiverThro' the wave that runs for everBy the island in the river Flowing down to Camelot.Four gray walls, and four gray towers,Overlook a space of flowers,And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott.

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Some questions to consider and discuss:

• Why doesn't the poem directly mention the Lady's love for Lancelot?

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Pair. Use this space for notes on your partner’s ideas:

Share. Use this space for notes on the class discussion:

• Would you call this a love story? What other names could you use for it?

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• Is love the most important theme here?

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This page has been left blank for your storyboard of the poem. Remember to include quotes.

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1. What does effective descriptive writing look like? List the features you would expect to find in a piece of descriptive writing.

When you are writing to describe you need to keep a focus.

Think of yourself in two roles. First, as a cameraman zooming in and taking snapshots of what is happening. In addition, you then need to be the narrator who (in words) explains and describes the pictures the camera has taken.

You need to be able to zoom in and comment on the tiniest details given to you in a scene. As a narrator you must be able to bring the camera operators images to life.

Key features of Writing to Describe:

• An opening paragraph sets the basic scene

• Present tense is used

• Each paragraph focusses on a different snap shot/picture

• Connectives guide the reader through the description

• The writing appeals to the 5 senses

• Powerful vocabulary is used

• Adjectives and adverbs and imagery techniques create images in the readers’ minds

• “I” is not used

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What can be seen?

What might she be able to taste?

What can be smelled?

What feelings might the scene create?What can be touched?

What can be heard?

Define the following terms:

Adverbs

Adjectives

Personification

Pathetic Fallacy

Metaphor

Correct any you got wrong with a different colour pen.

Adverbs are words that describe verbs. Verbs are ‘doing words’.

E.g. The wind was quickly howling.

Adverb Verb

You can begin sentences with adverbs to make descriptions more imaginative.

E.g. Quickly, the wind howled through the trees.

Task: Write three sentences starting with imaginative adverbs to describe the setting.

Adjectives describe a noun. A noun is an object, thing, person or place.

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E.g. A tempestuous noise.

Adjective Noun

Task: Write three sentences that use three imaginative adjectives in each sentence to describe the setting.

Elizabeth‌Barrett‌Browning

Pathetic fallacy is at type of personification. It is often when the weather or objects are described with human emotions.

E.g. The cruel, rolling foam crept, with evil roars, onto the shore.

The foam of the waves cannot be cruel really, but we are describing it with human emotions. This creates a mood and shows characters emotions too.

Task: Write three sentences that use pathetic fallacy to describe the setting.

Metaphors describe something by comparing it to something else and saying that it IS this thing.

E.g. The sea is a wrinkled quilt of blue.

The sea was a splashing dog lapping at the shore.

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The sea is not a quilt or a dog, but by saying that it is we make our writing imaginative.

Task: Write two sentences which use metaphors to describe the setting.

Personification is when you give an object human qualities or actions.

e.g. The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.

The waves whistled as they slipped through the cracks in the rocks.

The stars cannot really dance and the waves cannot whistle, but we are describing them doing human actions to personify them imaginatively.

Task: Write two sentences which personify something from the image.

Write a paragraph including all the techniques we have covered this lesson. Share your paragraph with your partner and give them feedback on their paragraph.

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Using this structure strip write a description inspired by this image.

You must include imaginative techniques, varied sentence types and explore the senses.

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Elizabeth Barrett Browning

What is a sonnet? What type of poetry are they associated with? What country were they first written in?

Your teacher will now play you a video about Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband, the poet Robert Browning. If you were not in the lesson, or wish to rewatch it for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ01yThyrME&list=PL59nu_NXDv5OToeSLXQaV5p1bJECAUXOD&index=1

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime.Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabeth Barrett wrote poetry from the age of eleven. Her mother's collection of her poems forms one of the largest collections of juvenilia by any English writer. At 15 she became ill, suffering intense head and spinal pain for the rest of her life. Later in life she also developed lung problems, possibly tuberculosis. Her first adult collection of poems was published in 1838 and she wrote prolifically between 1841 and 1844, producing poetry,

translation and prose. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery and her work helped influence reform in the child labour legislation. Her prolific output made her a rival to Tennyson as a candidate for poet laureate on the death of Wordsworth.Elizabeth's volume Poems (1844) brought her great success, attracting the admiration of the writer Robert Browning. Their correspondence, courtship and marriage were carried out in secret, for fear of her father's disapproval. Following the wedding she was indeed disinherited by her father. In 1846, the couple moved to Italy, where she would live for the rest of her life. They had one son, Robert

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ01yThyrME&list=PL59nu_NXDv5OToeSLXQaV5p1bJECAUXOD&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ01yThyrME&list=PL59nu_NXDv5OToeSLXQaV5p1bJECAUXOD&index=1

Wiedeman Barrett Browning, whom they called Pen. She died in Florence in 1861. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband shortly after her death.

1. When and where was she born?

2. When and where did she die?

3. When did she start writing poetry?

4. What illnesses did she suffer from?

5. What did she campaign about?

6. What prestigious (important) job was she considered for?

7. Why did she carry out her relationship with Robert Browning in secret?

8. Where did she move to in 1846?

9. What was her only child called?

10. Who published her final collection of poetry?

Your teacher will now show you a recording of one of Barrett Browning’s poems. If you were not in the lesson, or want to rewatch it, here is the link:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkjPLJE3z2c&list=PL59nu_NXDv5OToeSLXQaV5p1bJECAUXOD&index=4

What is your 1st impression of the poem?

Sonnet 43 – Sonnets from the Portuguese

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightMy soul can reach, when feeling out of sightFor the ends of being and ideal grace.I love thee to the level of every day'sMost quiet need, by sun and candle-light.I love thee freely, as men strive for right.I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.I love thee with the passion put to useIn my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.I love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death.

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Poetry Techniques: What is your answer?

RAG – Rate your answer? How confident are you?













12. What is rhythm?







19. What is the definition of

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repetition? 20. What is the

definition of sibilance?

What does Barrett Browning repeat throughout her poem?

Why does she do this and what impact does it have on the reader?

How does Barrett Browning present love in the poem?

Remember how to structure your answer:

PAGE 62Model Paragraph – use this space to copy down your teacher’s paragraph.

Success Criteria How did you do? Write a clear point Use a quotation ANALYSE key words and

images Comment on how the reader

might react to key ideas and images


What is Barrett Browning saying about emotions? How are they powerful?



Improvements

Now that you have written and self-assessed your paragraph, rewrite it in green pen with improvements.

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Independent paragraph – Have a go at writing your own response to the question:

Robert Browning

Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets. His poems are known for their irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary and historical settings.Browning's early career began promisingly, but collapsed. His 1840 poem Sordello, which was seen as wilfully obscure, brought his poetry into disrepute. His reputation took more than a decade to recover, during which time he moved away from the Shelleyan forms of his early period and developed a more personal style.In 1846, Browning married the older poet Elizabeth Barrett,

and went to live in Italy. By the time of her death in 1861, he had published the crucial collection Men and Women. The collection Dramatis Personae and the book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book followed, and made him a leading British poet. He continued to write prolifically, but his reputation today rests largely on the poetry he wrote in this middle period.When Browning died in 1889, he was regarded as a sage and philosopher-poet who through his writing had made contributions to Victorian social and political discourse. Unusually for a poet, societies for the study of his work were founded while he was still alive. Such Browning Societies remained common in Britain and the United States until the early 20th century.

1. When was Browning born?

2. When did he die?3. What happened during his early

career?

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4. How long did his reputation take to recover?

5. What poetic form did he master?

6. What are his poems known for?

7. Who did he marry?

8. What were founded during his lifetime and why was this unusual?

What does this image have connotations of?

The poem we are going to study is called ‘My Last Duchess’ what can we infer from the title?

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FERRARA

That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,

Looking as if she were alive. I callThat piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s

handsWorked busily a day, and there she

stands.Will’t please you sit and look at her? I

said“Fra Pandolf” by design, for never readStrangers like you that pictured

countenance,The depth and passion of its earnest

glance,But to myself they turned (since none

puts byThe curtain I have drawn for you, but I)And seemed as they would ask me, if they

durst,How such a glance came there; so, not

the firstAre you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas

notHer husband’s presence only, called that

spotOf joy into the Duchess’ cheek; perhapsFra Pandolf chanced to say, “Her mantle

lapsOver my lady’s wrist too much,” or “PaintMust never hope to reproduce the faintHalf-flush that dies along her throat.”

Such stuffWas courtesy, she thought, and cause

enoughFor calling up that spot of joy. She hadA heart—how shall I say?— too soon

made glad,Too easily impressed; she liked whate’erShe looked on, and her looks went

everywhere.Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her

breast,The dropping of the daylight in the West,The bough of cherries some officious foolBroke in the orchard for her, the white

mule

She rode with round the terrace—all and each

Would draw from her alike the approving speech,

Or blush, at least. She thanked men—good! but thanked

Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old nameWith anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to

blameThis sort of trifling? Even had you skillIn speech—which I have not—to make

your willQuite clear to such an one, and say, “Just

thisOr that in you disgusts me; here you

miss,Or there exceed the mark”—and if she letHerself be lessoned so, nor plainly setHer wits to yours, forsooth, and made

excuse—E’en then would be some stooping; and I

chooseNever to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no

doubt,Whene’er I passed her; but who passed

withoutMuch the same smile? This grew; I gave

commands;Then all smiles stopped together. There

she standsAs if alive. Will’t please you rise? We’ll

meetThe company below, then. I repeat,The Count your master’s known

munificenceIs ample warrant that no just pretenseOf mine for dowry will be disallowed;Though his fair daughter’s self, as I

avowedAt starting, is my object. Nay, we’ll goTogether down, sir. Notice Neptune,

though,Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze

for me!

Find quotations in the poem to match the following pictures:

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What is your view of the Duke? What evidence is there of his power? Is there any evidence of conflict?

New Knowledge – Dramatic Monologue:

A poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.

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Define the term Dramatic Monologue in your own words:

1. Find clues about how the Duke feels about the picture of his last Duchess.

2. Find clues which tell you about the personality of the woman.

Some Key Questions to get you thinking:

1. How did the Duke feel about her behaviour?

2. What might have happened to her?

3. What does the Duke say about how people react to the portrait?

4. Why do you think Browning used enjambment in this poem – what effect did he try to achieve?

5. What impression do we get of the character of the Duke?

6. What is the power and conflict in this poem?

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This page has been left blank for your own dramatic monologue

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Anne Bronte

Anne Brontë (17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. She also attended a boarding school in Mirfield between 1836 and 1837. At 19 she left Haworth and worked as a governess between 1839 and 1845. After leaving her teaching position, she fulfilled her literary ambitions. She published a volume of poetry with her sisters (Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846) and two novels. Agnes Grey, based upon her experiences as a governess, was published in 1847. Her second and last novel, The Tenant of Wildfell

Hall, which is considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels, appeared in 1848. Like her poems, both her novels were first published under the masculine pen name of Acton Bell. Anne's life was cut short when she died of what is now suspected to be pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 29.Partly because the re-publication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was prevented by Charlotte Brontë after Anne's death, she is not as well known as her sisters. However, her novels, like those of her sisters, have become classics of English literature.

1. When was Anne Bronte born?

2. When did she die and what of?

3. Where did she live for most of her life?

4. How many novels did she write and what were they called?

5. What is special about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall?

6. Why is Anne not as well known as her sisters?

7. What was her pen name and why do you think she had to use one?

8. Other that working as a writer, what other job did she have?

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Your teacher will play a recording of the poem. Listen as you read through. If you want to relisten, or were not in the lesson, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ZxoL2w1seW8

HomeHow brightly glistening in the sunThe woodland ivy plays!While yonder beeches from their barksReflect his silver rays.That sun surveys a lovely sceneFrom softly smiling skies;And wildly through unnumbered treesThe wind of winter sighs:

Now loud, it thunders o'er my head,And now in distance dies.But give me back my barren hillsWhere colder breezes rise;

Where scarce the scattered, stunted treesCan yield an answering swell,But where a wilderness of heathReturns the sound as well.

For yonder garden, fair and wide,With groves of evergreen,Long winding walks, and borders trim,And velvet lawns between;

Restore to me that little spot,With grey walls compassed round,Where knotted grass neglected lies,And weeds usurp the ground.

Though all around this mansion highInvites the foot to roam,And though its halls are fair within --Oh, give me back my HOME!

What are your 1st impressions of the poem ‘Home’?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxoL2w1seW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxoL2w1seW8

How many places is Bronte describing? What are your impressions of them?

New Terminology:

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

From the Greek:

Nostos AND Algos

(Homecoming) (Pain/Longing)

Your teacher will now play a video that explores the context of nostalgia. If you want to rewatch it, or you weren’t in the lesson, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiTgn5QH_ HU

What is good about this response?

Bronte suggests that her home is, on the surface at least, unwelcoming, “barren hills Where colder breezes rise.” The adjective ‘barren’ means to be empty or infertile, so highlights that hardly any plants grow, and the comparative adjective ‘colder’ reveals that the climate of her home is less warm and hospitable than where she currently is. This suggests that it wouldn’t be a very pleasant place to live. It also makes me think

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How could this image represent nostalgia?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiTgn5QH_HU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiTgn5QH_

that there must be something very special about it for Bronte to want to be there so badly, especially when she is currently living somewhere so much nicer.

Bronte uses personal pronouns to highlight that, even though her home isn’t perfect, she loves it and feels she belongs there. She writes ‘give me back my barren hills’. The pronoun ‘my’ emphasises that she feels those hills are hers and she loves them, even though they are ‘barren’ and not very much grows there.

Now highlight the things you could ‘steal’ from the response if you were to create a response of your own.

Modernist Poets

We are moving forward again in our poetry journey, this time to the Modernists.

What do you think Ezra Pound’s imperative to ‘Make it New’ means?

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Write down everything positive about the response here:

What was Modernism? Your teacher will show you a video introducing the idea of modernism. If you were not in class, or want to watch it again for revision, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLyzxBY5sqE

In your own words write down what Modernism is:

W.H. Auden

Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was an Anglo-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content. Some of his best-known poems are about love, such as "Funeral Blues"; on political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939".He was born in York and grew up in and near Birmingham in a professional middle-class family. He studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. After a few months in Berlin in 1928–29, he spent five years (1930–35) teaching in British private preparatory schools, then travelled to Iceland and China in order to write books about his journeys.In 1939 he moved to the United States and became an American citizen in 1946, retaining his British citizenship. He taught from 1941 to 1945 in American universities.

He came to wide public attention with his first book Poems at the age of twenty-three in 1930; it was followed in 1932 by The Orators. Three plays written in collaboration with Christopher Isherwood between 1935 and 1938 built his reputation as a left-wing political writer. Auden moved to the United States partly to escape this reputation. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1947 long poem The Age of Anxiety, the title of which became a popular phrase describing the modern era. From 1956 to 1961 he was Professor of Poetry at Oxford; his lectures were popular with students and faculty.In 1939, Auden fell in love with Chester Kallman and regarded their relationship as a marriage, but this ended in 1941. However, the two maintained their friendship, and from 1947 until Auden's death they lived in the same house or apartment.

1. When was Auden born?

2. When did he die?

3. Where did he go to university?

4. What other jobs did he have as well as being a writer?

5. What important prize did he win?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLyzxBY5sqE

6. What citizenship did he hold?

“Funeral Blues”

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drumBring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead 5Scribbling in the sky the message He is Dead,

Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,My working week and my Sunday rest 10

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; 15For nothing now can ever come to any good.

--W.H. Auden

First impressions of the poem?

New Knowledge alert:

Hyperbole – When you exaggerate something for effect.

Apocalyptic imagery – Imagery to do with the end of the world.

Can you find examples of each of these in ‘Funeral Blues’?

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“Funeral Blues”

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drumBring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead 5Scribbling in the sky the message He is Dead,Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,My working week and my Sunday rest 10 My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; 15For nothing now can ever come to any good.

--W.H. Auden

In the poem how does Auden present his grief at the loss of a loved one?

• Imperative verbs to show the desire for life as it was to end “stop all the clocks”

• Metaphors to show the importance of the person who has died: He was my North, my South, my East and West’

• Hyperbole to show how devastated they are: “Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good”

What could this line mean? What technique has been used?

“He was my North, my South, my East and West”

Take key ideas and lines of the poem and map it out –

Draw an image that will help you remember it.

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Techniques

Find use of imperatives (giving a command).

Find examples of metaphors.

Find examples of hyperbole (exaggeration).

Diction - choice and use of words and phrases

Which stanza has words relating to the spirit and celestial world?

Which stanza has words related to sound?

Which stanza has words related to the general public?

Which stanza has words related to everyday (mundane) life?

What point of view is it written

in- 1st 2nd 3rd and why?

Overall what is the speaker in the poem trying to express?

Complete the table:

Technique Definition Correct or Wrong

Simile

Personification

Metaphor

Alliteration

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How is grief presented in Auden’s poem?

Have a read through this model answer and think about what is particularly effective:

In ‘Funeral Blues’ Auden shows his grief at the loss of a loved one in a variety of ways. He uses imperatives, metaphor and hyperbole to emphasise the devastating effect the death of his loved one is having on him.

Auden uses the structure of his poem to emphasise the depths of his grief. Within the 4 quatrains we see his grief develop from: the personal, focusing on things in his home such as his desire to ‘stop all the clocks’; to more public grief, with his wish that we ‘let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves’; to in the final stanza his grief taking on a celestial quality as he wants to ‘pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.’ This could have an emotive impact on the reader, making them feel sorry for Auden – as his grief is getting more and more intense.

Auden uses imagery to highlight to the reader how important the person who died was to him and his life. Auden writes: “He was my North, my South, my East and West” The use of the metaphor suggests that the person was his everything; someone who was always there for him and who was involved in every aspect of his life. It could also suggest that the person who has died was Auden’s guide through life, someone who gave him direction as ‘North’ ‘South’ ‘East’ and ‘West’ are all points on a compass; something we use to guide, direct us and prevent us from getting lost. After reading the extended metaphor in stanza 3 the reader may feel even sorrier for Auden as he seems lost, alone and full of grief.

Throughout the poem Auden uses imperative verbs. He begins with the line: ‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.’ The use of the imperative ‘stop’ shows that Auden wants everyday life to stop now that he has lost his loved one. He demands to ‘stop all the clocks’ suggesting that for him time has stopped at the moment they died. The use of imperatives suggests that he is trying to regain control as he feels at a loss without his partner. The one thing that he desires, to bring back his partner, he cannot do – so he tries to control everything else in his life. It could also be a reference to the tradition of stopping a clock at the point of the person’s death and only starting it again after the funeral. Finally, it may signify the narrator’s desire for total silence to mourn his loved one and experience his grief; absence of sound runs throughout the 1st stanza as Auden also wants to ‘cut off the telephone’ and ‘silence the pianos’. As this is the opening stanza of the poem the reader immediately gets the sense of overwhelming grief that Auden’s narrator is suffering; this could create empathy in those who have also lost loved ones.

Finally, Auden uses hyperbole to present the narrator’s grief. The final line of the poem reads “for nothing now can ever come to any good” this hyperbolic statement suggests that the narrator feels the positive part of his life is now over. The use of the word ‘nothing’ emphasises the negativity they are feeling as a result of their grief. It could be that they feel that the best thing in their life has now passed away and everything that is to come will be negative in comparison. This is the final line of the poem and it highlights the extreme and all-encompassing nature of grief. It is as

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if Auden’s narrator feels that their life and joy ended with the death of their loved one and so the poem ends with the idea that ‘nothing’ will ever be the same, or positive, again.

What is effective about the answer?

What could these lines mean? What technique has been used?

“The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun”

In the poem ‘Funeral Blues’ how does the poet express grief for the loss of a loved one? Can you remember any of the techniques used?

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Your turn to answer the question: How does Auden present grief at the loss of a loved one?

Success Criteria

Write a clear point

Use a quotation

ANALYSE key words and images

Comment on how the reader might react to key ideas and images


What is Auden saying about grief? How is it powerful?

Impress me:

What are the most emotionally intense moments in this poem? How do you react to them?

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