Y10 Poetry Unit: Power and Conflict ● ● ●
This is the timeline of our lessons, and the work that needs to be completed to the best of your abilities. Remember, whilst we are out of school, it is crucial that you put absolute focus into your studies and meet the deadlines set. We will not have time in Y11 to go back over all of the Y10 content Ensure you meet the deadlines, and plan out your time clearly each week.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Sessions: 1.London 2. Ozymandias 3. Core Task: descriptive writing (submit to teacher)
Sessions: 1. My Last Duchess 2. The Prelude 3. Comparison essay task (submit to teacher)
Sessions: 1. Charge of the Light Brigade 2. Bayonet Charge 3. Core Task: descriptive writing (submit to teacher)
Sessions: To be decided. 1. Exposure 2. Storm on the Island 3. Core Task: persuasive writing (submit to teacher)
POWER & CONFLICT POETRY Ozymandias Percy Shelley 1817 ANALYSIS
Narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a statue in the middle of the desert. The statue is of an ancient & cruel ruler from a past civilization – Pharaoh Ramesses II. The poem is about the temporary nature of power. Ultimately, power will fade, art cannot immortalise power & nature will be long-lasting.
London William Blake 1794 ANALYSIS
Narrator describes a walk around London & comments on the despair & misery that he sees. Blake was influenced by the French Revolution & wanted social & political equality. He wanted the people to rise up against the powerful ( church, monarchy) & in turn emancipate (liberate/free) themselves.
The Prelude: William Wordsworth 1850
This is only an extract of the poem & is autobiographical. It is about an over confident narrator who finds a boat & takes it out on the lake. Although confident to begin with & enjoying the scenery, the narrator sees the mountain appear on the horizon & is overwhelmed with its size & power. It causes the narrator to retreat & change his view of nature, he now realises its power. Wordsworth was a romantic poet (Romantics challenged people about they way they thought. They also saw the power of nature over mankind.)
ANALYSIS
My Last Duchess Robert Browning 1842 ANALYSIS
A Duke is showing a visitor a portrait of his Duchess ( former wife) who is now dead. Whilst observing the painting he tells the visitor that the Duchess was flirtatious & displeased him. As he speaks we realise that the Duke is insanely jealous & probably had the Duchess killed. We learn at the end of the poem that the visitor has come to arrange the Duke’s next marriage & is representing the woman he is set to marry. Poem based loosely on the real Duke of Ferrara.
The Charge of the Light Brigade Alfred Tennyson 1854 ANALYSIS
A tribute to the British cavalry ( soldiers on horseback) who died during the Crimean War. Basically, the men were given an incorrect order to charge into battle & with swords, & meet the Russian enemy, who were armed with guns. The cavalry were defenceless- yet still fought bravely.
Exposure Wilfred Owen 1917-1978
An authentic poem based on Owens’ own experience on the front line. It was a horrendous winter & the men are subject not to enemy attacks but to the brutality of nature. Nature is personified as the main enemy & the men can only wait to die. It is an anti-war poem & stresses the insignificance of man compared to nature. During the Somme, over 60,000 British soldiers died in one night.
ANALYSIS Storm on the Island Seamus Heaney 1966 ANALYSIS
Bayonet Charge Ted Hughes 1957 ANALYSIS
The narrator describes how a community are waiting to be hit by a storm. It is obvious that they have been hit before because of the landscape of the island (houses squat). The narrator starts off confident but as the storm hits the power of the storm creates feelings fear & trepidation.. Heaney grew up in a farming community in Ireland; much of his poetry uses agricultural/natural images. The poem focuses on a single solder’s experience of a charge towards enemy lines. It describes his thoughts & actions as he tries to stay alive. It is clear that the solder is not ready for the charge & could have been sleeping. The soldier fears for his life & the patriotic ideals that encouraged him to fight have gone. Hughes was a former RAF serviceman & often look at man’s impact on nature.
Tissue Imtiaz Dharker 2006 ANALYSIS
The Emigrée Carol Rumens 1993 ANALYSIS
Kamikaze Beatrice Garland 2013 ANALYSIS
The poem uses tissue as an extended metaphor for life. She describes how life, like tissue is fragile. However, she also discusses some of the literal uses of paper that are intertwined with our lives, such as recording names in the Koran- She then goes onto to discuss how we are made from tissue ( living tissue which is our skin) emphasising that life is fragile. Dharker has Pakistani origins & was raised in Glasgow. Many of her poems looks at issues of identify.
The speaker speaks about a city that she left as a child. The speaker has a purely positive view of the city. The city she recalls has since changed, perhaps it was scene of conflict, however, she still protects the memory of her city. The city may not be a real place but represent a time, emotion -perhaps the speaker’s childhood. According to Ben Wilkinson (critic), Rumens has a ‘fascination with elsewhere.’ Kamikaze is the unofficial name given to Japanese pilots who were send on a suicide mission. The mission was considered one of honour but this poem is about a pilot who aborted the mission. Hi daughter imagines that her father was reminded of his childhood & the beauty of nature & life whilst on the mission. When he returned home he was shunned.
Checking Out Me History John Agard 2007 ANALYSIS
The narrator discusses his identity & emphasises how identity is closely linked to history & understanding your own history. In school he was taught British history & not about his Caribbean roots to which he feels resentful. He mocks some of the pointless things he was taught & contrasts the nonsense topics with admirable black figures.
Remains Simon Armitage 2008
Based on the account of a British soldier who served in Iraq, first published in a series of interviews by Channel 4 called ‘The Not Dead’. . A group of soldiers shoot a man who’s running away from a bank raid. His death is described in graphic detail & the soldier who is telling the story can’t get the death of the man out of his head. He didn’t know if the man was armed or not & the reader gets the impression that it was not an isolated incident.
ANALYSIS
Poppies Jane Weir 2009 ANALYSIS
A mother describes her son leaving home, seemingly to join the army. The poem is about the mother’s emotional reaction losing her son to the war. She fears for his safety & after he leaves her she goes to a familiar place that reminds her of him. Weir is a textile artist as well as poet & textiles feature heavily here.
War Photographer Carol Ann Duffy 1985 ANALYSIS
A war photographer is in his darkroom, developing pictures that he has taken in different warzones. As the pictures develop he recalls the death of one man & remembers the cries of his wife. The photographer contrasts his experiences to rural England & focuses on people who do not seem to care about war torn places. Duffy was inspired to write this poem by her friendship with a photojournalist.
Terminology Alliteration Assonance Autobiographical Authentic Blank verse Caesura (plural caesurae) Colloquial language Dramatic monologue Emotive Enjambment Euphemism -“all smiles stopped” First person Form Free verse Half rhymes Iambic pentameter Imagery In medias res Internal rhyme “tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers” Irony Juxtaposition Language Layout Metaphor Monologue Mood Narrative Onomatopoeia Anaphora Oxymoron Personification Sonnet Phonetic spellings Plosive Rhetoric Rhetorical question Rhyming scheme Rhyming couplet Rhythm Sibilance Simile Stanza Verse Structure Symbolism Voice Third person Tone Volta Epic poem Cliché Hyperbole Semantic field Protagonist Poet Persona Chorus Narrative Syllable Repetition
Themes Power of Nature: Ozyma ndias, The Prel ude, Exposure, Storm on the Island, Ti s sue & Ka mikaze. Power of humans : Ozyma ndias, London, My La s t Duchess, Tissue, Checking Out Me Hi s tory. Effects of conflict: The Cha rge of the Light Bri ga de, Exposure, Bayonet Charge, Rema ins, Poppies, War Photographer, Ka mi kaze. Reality & brutality of conflict: The Cha rge of the Li ght Bri gade, Exposure, Bayonet Cha rge, Remains, War Photographer.
Loss & Absence: London, Exposure, Poppi es, The Emigree, Ka mikaze. Memory: The Prel ude, My l a st Duchess, Rema ins, Poppies, War Photographer, The Emi gree, Ka mikaze. Place: London, The Prelude, The Emigree, Ka mi kaze.
Identity: My La s t Duchess, The Charge of the Li ght Brigade, Poppies, Tissue, The Emi gree, Ka mikaze, Checking Out Me Hi s tory. Individual Experiences: London, The Prel ude, Bayonet Charge, Remains, Poppi es, War Photographer, The Emigree, Ka mi kaze. Bravery: Expos ure, Bayonet Charge, The Cha rge of the Light Brigade.
Compa ring connectives
Contra sting connectives
Li kewise In the same wa y Si mi larly Equa lly Li kewise As wi th
However Whereas On the other ha nd Convers ely Al ternatively Al though
KS4 Power and Conflict Poetry Week 1 Session 1: London Session 2: Ozymandias Core Task: Descriptive Writing
KS4 Power and Conflict Poetry
Session 1: London
Key Vocabulary Oppressive – harsh, cruel, controlling treatment from someone in power, or cruel and brutal conditions.
e.g. The prison was an oppressive environment and left the prisoners hopeless and miserable. Session plan: Part 1: Context and Background Part 2: Poem and Glossary Part 3: Questions Part 4: Extended Response
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Part 1: Context and Background Read the context information below and summarise it in 5 bullet points: William Blake (1757-1827) was a deeply influential and important poet, engraver and artist from south London who held strong feelings on the injustices suffered by the poor in 19th century Britain. Many of Blake’s poems were religious in nature, but although he held religious views Blake opposed the church as a corrupt organisation that exploited the children it was supposed to help. Blake was appalled by the terrible conditions the poor lived in and used to take frequent walks around the city to see the shocking effects of industrialisation and uncaring government for himself. Blake’s poem London was published in his book ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’, which aimed to show the “Two Contrary States of the Human Soul”. Whilst the ‘innocence’ poems are often positive, the ‘experience’ poems like ‘London’ showed the awful effects of modern life on people and the natural world. In 1789, the French people, facing similar conditions, revolted against their king and took power by force. Blake was one of many who saw this revolution as proof that the people had more power than they believed they did, and might take power if society wasn’t made more equal.
Pause Point
Glossary: Corrupt – act dishonestly for personal gain Exploited – take advantage of in a negative way Revolted – took power by force, overthrew 6
Part 2: Poem and Glossary Read the poem twice through: I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow. And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse
Glossary: Wander (verb): to walk without definite purpose. Chartered (adjective): when an organisation is given specific privileges by those in power and fall under their control. Mark 1) (Noun): a sign, symbol, stain. 2) (verb) to notice something Woe (noun): a feeling of deep sorrow or grief. Ban (noun): is a ruling that forcibly stops something. Forge (verb): to give form or shape to something. Manacles (noun): handcuffs Hapless (adjective): unlucky Appall (verb): to shock or amaze in a negative way. Blight (verb): to spoil or destroy something or to cause an urban area to become run-down and neglected. plague (noun): a widespread disease that is deadly. hearse (noun): a horse-drawn funeral cart
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Part 3: Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
8. 9. 10.
Pause Point
What is Blake’s speaker doing in the poem? List one thing the speaker sees or hears in each stanza. Look how often Blake repeats ‘every’. Why might he do this? Look across the poem and see which words you can find that relate to suffering. What do you notice? What might Blake mean when he says he sees ‘marks of weakness, marks of woe’ in the faces of the people? The phrase ‘mind-forged manacles’ means ‘chains/handcuffs created in the mind’. What does this suggest about the power of the people? ‘Chimney-sweepers’ were children, often exploited by the church as cheap or free labour when they were supposed to be cared for. Why do you think Blake might describe the church as ‘blackning’? What might it symbolise that the palace (the home of the king) has “blood” on its walls? What is unusual about the phrase ‘marriage hearse’? What does this suggest about joyful or hopeful events like a marriage for these people? The metre (rhythm) of the poem is very controlled (and mostly in iambic tetrameter). Why does it suit this poem to have a very controlled metre? 8
Part 4: Extended Response Write two paragraphs on the following question, using at least four references to words, phrases or methods from the poem: How does Blake show ideas about suffering in the poem? You might think about:
- The different forms of suffering Blake highlights - The methods Blake uses to present these forms of suffering - The people and organisations Blake accuses of causing this suffering
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KS4 Power and Conflict Poetry
Session 2: Ozymandias
Key Vocabulary Hubris – extreme pride, dangerous overconfidence, foolish arrogance
e.g. The president displayed hubris when he stated that he couldn’t possibly lose the election. Session plan: Part 1: Context and Background Part 2: Poem and Glossary Part 3: Questions Part 4: Extended Response 11
Part 1: Context and Background Read the context information below and summarise it in 5 bullet points: Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was an English poet and a key figure in the Romantic movement of the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Romantic movement was a time in Literature when writers rejected order and rules in favour of writing about emotions, feelings and experiences. Their writing explored the beauty and power of nature and the importance of the imagination. Shelley’s views were considered radical at the time: he was expelled from Oxford University for writing a pamphlet about the importance of Atheism and he opposed the monarchy and the church for being corrupt and abusing their power. In 1818 Shelley and his friend Horace Smith had a competition to write a poem inspired by the broken statue of an Egyptian Pharaoh, Rameses II, which had just been acquired by the British Museum. Their poems explore how nothing man makes is permanent and all human power fades.
Pause Point
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Part 2: Poem and Glossary Read the poem twice through: I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said – “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert… Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Glossary: Antique – ancient, old Trunkless – without a trunk, cut short Visage – face Sneer – a mocking smile, an expression that suggests you think very little of the person you are sneering at Mocked – imitated, copied (i.e. his expression copied into stone by the carver of the statue) Boundless – without limits or boundaries 13
Part 2: Poem and Glossary Read the poem twice through: I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said – “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert… Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Glossary: Antique – ancient, old Trunkless – without a trunk, cut short Visage – face Sneer – a mocking smile, an expression that suggests you think very little of the person you are sneering at Mocked – imitated, copied (i.e. his expression copied into stone by the carver of the statue) Boundless – without limits or boundaries 14
Part 3: Questions 1. 2. 3. 4.
Pause Point
In your own words, what does the traveller say that he saw in the desert? What was the expression on the face of the statue? (lines 4-6) What was written on the pedestal of the statue? What do you imagine was probably around the statue when these words were carved onto it? 5. What is around the statue now? 6. What must have happened to the empire of Ozymandias? 7. The poem uses the sonnet form, which would usually be used for poetry about love. This is a slightly ironic use of the sonnet form – what is the ‘love’ that is displayed in the poem? 8. Line analysis: when Ozymandias refers to himself as ‘king of kings’ what does he compare himself to and why would this show hubris? 9. Line analysis: when the poet describes the statue’s ‘sneer of cold command’ what does this suggest Ozymandias was like as a ruler? 10. Line analysis: in the final three lines, how does Shelley show the power of nature to destroy what Ozymandias built? 15
Part 4: Extended Response Write two paragraphs on the following question, using at least four references to words, phrases or methods from the poem: How does Shelley show ideas about power in the poem?
You might think about: - The way Ozymandias’ hubris and arrogance is presented - The way Shelley emphasises the ruin of Ozymandias’ kingdom - The power of nature and time
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KS4 Power and Conflict Poetry
Week 1: Core Task
Week 1: Core Task Each week you will have a core task to complete that will be submitted to your teacher. This week’s core task is descriptive writing: Imagine that you are the traveller from the poem and you encounter the ruins of the statue in the desert for the first time. Write a short account of your experience in first person. OR Write a description based upon this image. Your piece should be at least 4 paragraphs long. 18
