Tuesday 31st January 2012

Learning Objective:To be able to formulate and explore

interpretations and support them with apt quotations.

Must: C Should: B Could: AStarter: What are your initial interpretations about the poem ‘In Paris with You’?

Write these on the post it note and stick to the wall.

Consolidation of the poem

• In Pairs with You is a poem about love and regret. Paris, a city traditionally associated with love and romance, is the poem’s setting but Fenton substitutes the clichés of love poetry with the description of two people in a neglected Parisian hotel room. The persona describes the lover, the room and his confused emotions. The poem has a light hearted but sensuous mood.

Mood and Tone

• Using the words below how would you describe the mood and tone of the poem.

Happy

MelancholicAngry

Sad

ReflectiveBored

confused

Regretful

Mournful

Amused

Excited

Write 3 sentences explaining how the speaker feels about being in Paris with this person.

• The poem contrasts reality with the fantasy of love. The poem explores the consequences of love. How it is difficult to trust and love again after bad experiences. The speaker seems to reject all the ‘traditional expectations’ of love in search of the reality. The speaker wants a ‘real’ relationship that exposes the faults rather than Romantic gestures. The poem takes the reader through the journey of trusting/ being part of a relationship again.

How far do you agree with this and why?

Don’t talk to me of love. I’ve had an earful

And I get tearful when I’ve downed a drink or two.

I’m one of your talking wounded.I’m a hostage. I’m maroonded.But I’m in Paris with you.

Severe tone. Use of a negative imperative. Immediately removes the preconception of a romantic poem

Colloquial language suggesting the pain caused through words.

Suggests the emotional pain. Change of tone from comical to sad Alliteration

of the ‘d’ highlighting the tragedy. Love causing drinking and the need to forget.

Metaphor suggests the pain that words cause. Play on ‘walking wounded’ Image of a war victim.

Metaphor showing her feelings. Does not actually want to be there.

Self realisation that actually she is prepared to risk the pain again.

Yes I’m angry at the way I’ve been bamboozled

And resentful at the mess I’ve been through.I admit I’m on the rebound

And I don’t care where are we bound.I’m in Paris with you.

Considering his feelings. Unusual language.

Comical.

An air of acquiescence. Anger is subsiding.

First mention of ‘we’ as a couple instead of ‘you’

Repetition of the last line omitting the ‘but’ showing acceptance.

Do you mind if we do not go to the Louvre,If we say sod off to sodding Notre Dame,If we skip the Champs ElyséesAnd remain here in this sleazyOld hotel roomDoing this and thatTo what and whomLearning who you are,Learning what I am.

Unconventional. A conceit. Does not want to accept the conventional relationships.

Interesting description. Colloquial. Implies that she wants a different relationship.

Contrasting with the typical stereotype of Paris.

Again a stereotypical image. Room suggests sexual relationship and sordid affair.

Repetition of their intentions. Not just a physical relationship.

Don’t talk to me of love. Let’s talk of Paris,

The little bit of Paris in our view.There’s that crack across the ceilingAnd the hotel walls are peelingAnd I’m in Paris with you.

Repetition of the opening line of the poem.

Rhyming couplet. Further evidence of their crumpling environment. Metaphorically symbolic of the light entering their relationship as they get to know each other.

Repetition. The addition of ‘And’ associates the partner with the crumbling room. Could be interpreted as a comparison or a criticism of their relationship.

Paris becomes a metaphor for their relationship. Developed in the last stanza.

Suggestion that love is obtainable and within reach.

Don’t talk to me of love. Let’s talk of Paris.I’m in Paris with the slightest thing you do.I’m in Paris with your eyes, your mouth,I’m in Paris with… all points south.Am I embarrassing you?I’m in Paris with you.

Repetition of imperative. Reminder that the speaker does not wish to put a name/ categorise the relationship.

Could suggest the lover’s irritation at their closeness. Linked to the hostage image from first stanza. Or builds on from the metaphor of Paris representing their relationship and their growing closeness.

Sexual innuendo playing on the image of travelling. Again contrasts with the expectation of praise for their beauty.

Pre-empts the reader’s embarrassment. Directly addresses the lover’s feelings.

Final line. The poem ends with a resolution possibly to pursue the relationship. It shows acceptance of their situation and relationship. It is unclear whether the speaker is happy.

The Language of the Poem

The speaker seems to have had a bad experience in his past. How can you tell this? What vocabulary in the poem suggests pain and disorder?

How does the first person narrative affect the reader?

Conflict

The Structure of the Poem

What do you notice about the rhyme scheme? How does the rhyme scheme affect the rhythm?

What do you notice about the line lengths and stanza shapes? How do they affect your reading of the poem?

Using Point, Evidence and Explain/Analysis/Explore

• Answer the following question:

EXPLORE HOW FENTON USES SETTING IN HIS POEM TO REFLECT THE PERSONA’S EMOTIONS ABOUT LOVE.

• Fenton chooses the setting of Paris because of its initial associations and connections with love. The title of the poem ‘In Paris with you’ further adds to the reader’s initial impressions of a close, adoring relationship. However it is apparent after the opening line that the speaker wishes to break free from the conventions and constraints of a romantic love affair. ‘Don’t talk to me of love’ a thought later revisited in the last stanza. The use of the imperative ‘Don’t’ reveals a strong independent desire to rewrite the rules of their relationship. Fenton’s Paris is the ideal setting for this because he explores the ‘real Paris’ through the dirty, tired ‘hotel room with paint ‘peeling’. The reader is encouraged to follow his example and search for the desirable realities in their relationship underneath the glossy surface of the romantic gestures. Through setting his poem in Paris, Fenton prompts the reader to subvert the recognised stereotypes of love.

Peer Assessment

• Assess the candidates use of quotations to support, explanation of ideas, relevance of the opinions expressed.

Provide STRs and EBIs please. What are you looking for from an A*-B answer?

Comparing Poems

• If you had to include some top tips for comparing ideas what would they be?

Write them on a post it note to give to someone else in the room.

•Introduce the poems by making a simple statement about a common theme, style or other characteristic.

•Now choose one of the poems to begin your analysis.

•In the exam, you will be given the poem to start your comparison.

•In the exam, you will be given the focus of your task.

Write about the first poem & then the second

• What is it concerned with? Write a

paragraph giving a brief idea of what the poet is trying to tell the audience.

• Look at the style of the poem. Write two or three paragraphs showing how and why the poet uses form, language, imagery, rhyme and tone to achieve effects.

Look at the two poems together.• Compare similarities of theme, style, etc.

• Contrast where they are different.

• Respond personally to the poems by saying what you did or did not like about each.

• Finally, say which you found more effective. Give full reasons for your choice.

• Remember to P.E.E. at every opportunity!

Compare how poets present love in ‘Hour’ and one other poem from ‘Relationships’.

•Introduce the poems by making a simple statement about a common theme. them

e. •Now choose one of the poems to begin your analysis. use ‘Hour’

• Introduce the poems.• Write briefly about the first.• Look at the style of the first.• Write briefly about the second.• Look at the style of the second.• Compare and contrast the two

poems.• Respond personally to them.• P.E.E. throughout.

How have we met this objective today?

• To be able to formulate and explore interpretations and support them with apt quotations.