Lesson 1 Poetry Anthology (Nature)

Death of a Naturalist - Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet. Ireland has a famous history of conflict caused by religion and politics, which goes back years. As we grow older, we become more aware of the news, current affairs and situations that make life less than ideal. Research Seamus Heaney’s childhood and find out what life changing situations he may have encountered as a child:

Here is the reading of the below poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgsaB4NRSak

In the poem, Heaney uses lots of words to recreate the sounds around the pond - some are pleasant sounds. Find evidence of these sounds. What atmosphere to they create?

What has Heaney learned about nature here1? How does the language highlight the sense of youth and naivety?

Enjambment is when one sentence of writing goes from one line of poetry into another. What is it used to show here?

Volta: this word means ‘turn’ and it is used to signal a change in message or tone. Where is the volta in this poem? What change is it signalling?

(Remember the context!)

Select three phrases that represent the historical background of conflict in Ireland. How old is the person venturing to the pond now and why do you think this?

Suggested annotations:

What time of year do you think this poem represents? Find evidence and describe how the evidence proves your answer.

What childhood experience in the poem fascinates the child and why is it so magical to children? Try to include context in your answer.

Why did that change as he grew older? Again, use the context of Ireland and Heaney’s life to show how his thoughts on nature have changed.

Has nature changed or have we? Make up your mind and justify your response in this space. What is Heaney trying to say about us?

What experience can you think of that has changed for you as you have grown? My example is mud: is would make pies with it on my back doorstep and have it all over my clothes. Now, I can’t stand it because it creates a mess that trains into the house and has to be cleaned up after! Using examples of the techniques you have identified above, write your own experience of a happy childhood memory that might not be so fun as you grow older!

Lesson 2 Poetry Anthology (Nature)

Excerpt from The Prelude – William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth is a Romantic poet. Research what a Romantic poet is and write it in your own words. (Please note: it is not a poet who writes about love!)

Wordsworth biography notes:

1) Wordsworth was born in 1770 and brought up in the Lake District in the North West of England. Google this place to understand its power in nature. Think of words and phrases you could use to describe it or how it would make you feel.

2) The untimely deaths of both his parents before he was aged 14 meant that he was separated from his beloved sister who was sent away to live with relatives.

3) Wordsworth hated his new life with his maternal grandparents (who he hated) In Penrith, missing his sister and mother terribly. He therefore spent most of his time outdoors, exploring the Lake District.

Excerpt from The Prelude is a small part of a greater piece of work. Tell me what stage of his life it is about and how you now this, as you read. An audio link is attached for the poem below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlMp7XTKFy0

Excerpt from The Prelude

And in the frosty season, when the sun

Was set, and visible for many a mile

The cottage windows through the twilight blaz’d,

I heeded not the summons: - happy time

It was, indeed, for all of us; to me

It was a time of rapture: clear and loud

The village clock toll’d six; I wheel’d about,

Proud and exulting, like an untir’d horse,

That cares not for his home. – All shod with steel,

We hiss’d along the polish’d ice, in games

Confederate, imitative of the chace

And woodland pleasures, the resounding horn,

The Pack loud bellowing, and the hunted hare.

So through the darkness and the cold we flew,

And not a voice was idle; with the din,

Meanwhile, the precipices rang aloud,

The leafless trees, and every icy crag

Tinkled like iron, while the distant hills

Into the tumult sent an alien sound

Of melancholy, not unnoticed, while the stars,

Define ‘rapture.’ Why did Wordsworth use this word to describe childhood?

Eastward, were sparkling clear, and in the west

The orange sky of evening died away.

William Wordsworth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgS4qKzuJjc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOEKdWrtz6U

Watch the above two videos and think of two reasons why Wordsworth would have enjoyed ice skating in the Lake District as a child. Then look for evidence of these reasons in the poem above. Annotate to show why you have selected these examples.

Structure: Lines 1-4 (until the word ‘summons’): what picture is represented and who might be summoning the child? Why might Wordsworth have ‘heeded not’ the summons?

Lines 4 (‘happy time’) to 15 (‘idle’): select adjectives to show how the child behaved. What impression are we given of him here? How does nature contribute to this?

“All shod with steel, we hiss’d along the polished ice.” What sound does the sibilance create? What does it imply?

Lines 15 (‘with the din’) to the end: how does nature respond to the presence of man?

“every icy crag tinkled like iron” What does this simile imply (why compare to iron)?

“sent an alien sound of melancholy” How does the metaphor imply sadness? (Clue: “alien” does not imply ‘space’ in this sentence!)

Read the following statements and decide whether or not you agree, using evidence from the poem to justify your response:

‘The ending of this part of The Prelude shows ‘evening died away’ and this is a metaphor for his life.’

‘Nature did not want humans invading their space because it is otherwise beautiful.’

Suggested annotations:

Lesson 3 Poetry Anthology (Nature)

To Autumn – John Keats

Keats was, like Wordsworth, a Romantic poet. He was famous for his narrative poems but more so for his Odes. Research the question and define it: what is an ode and what are its features?

If this poem is an ode entitled, To Autumn, what might it be about?

If we think of seasons as being metaphors for stages of life, what might each season represent and therefore, in which stage of life was this poem written?

To Autumn

What time of day are ‘maturing sun’ and ‘budding’ speaking about here?

What time of day is ‘half reaped’ speaking about here?

What time of day is spoken about here? Find evidence and justify your response.

To hear a reading of the poem, click the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr1qiKoMyQ8

Suggested annotations:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=What+Does+Harvest+Mean&&view=detail&mid=C81FE9CA74972F344320C81FE9CA74972F344320&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DWhat%2BDoes%2BHarvest%2BMean%26FORM%3DRESTAB How could this poem remind you of Harvest Festival? Watch this video for clues.

This is different to Keats’ other odes for they each have ten lines per stanza, whereas this has eleven. What is he saying about what nature during harvest in Autumn?

The speaker has personified nature as a hard-working woman who later takes a break and relaxes. Why does he personify her? (Think about the effect on the reader.)

Each stanza reflects a different sense: the first is touch; the second is sight; the third is sound. Pick two examples of each and show how the senses portray Autumn.

At the time Keats wrote To Autumn, he was dying from consumption, a disease now known as Tuberculosis. What shows you at the end that he knew death was near? Think about the seasons and particularly the symbolism of the birds in the final stanza.

Although he was facing death, Keats still seems content. Why do you think this might be? (The phrase YOLO could help you answer this!)

Given that he was a Romantic poet, you would think Keats is upset at humans reaping the bounty that nature has to offer but he appears to believe here that they can live alongside one another. Find evidence that he takes comfort in a harmonious nature between man and nature.

How is the cyclical nature of life shown in this poem? Just as we think Winter could be a metaphor for his own death, Keats mentions Spring in the final stanza. What does this show us about the power of nature, in comparison with man?

Lesson 4 Poetry Anthology (Place)

London – William Blake

What are citizens and what is citizenship?

What rights do citizens have?

William Blake

He was born in 1757 and died in 1827. (Note this is around the same time as Dickens!)

Lived in London.

He was a rebellious poet and a painter.

Respected religion but was deeply critical and hostile towards any form of organised religion. (London)

Blake was influenced by the French revolution in which the ruling classes were overthrown. Watch the video on this link to find out what that was about and why he might be influenced by it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEZqarUnVpo

A reading of the poem https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=reading+of+london+william+blake&docid=607987714601976181&mid=F50ADD28C76089A06B7EF50ADD28C7608

9A06B7E&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Find the words that tell us this is autobiographical (an account of his own life).

Cries and voices are heard here. what senses are being used? Was this walk a happy or sad one?

Find the references to the French Revolution! What did Blake want to happen?

Plagues, curse. Why are these strong nouns used to show the effects of misery in London?

Manacles are handcuffs: if the manacles are ‘mind-forg’d’ rather than real, what does that say about the life if the people in London? If you are struggling, remember that each day at school, you don’t wear handcuffs but you put on a uniform and go there whether you like it or now. What does ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ mean?

Suggested annotations:

Why does every stanza (verse) have to have four lines and ABAB rhyme scheme?

(Hint: regularity!)

The word EVERY is repeated throughout the poem. Repetition is a structural feature: why is EVERY used in relation to the misery here?

The senses

What does he see? What does he hear?

What feelings do you associate these sights/sounds with?

Look at the letters that begin each line of stanza 3. What do they spell?

What is the difference between listening and hearing?

What does he want you to hear?

Using embedded quotations from the poem, tell us Blake’s thoughts on London. Remember to include your knowledge of the French Revolution too, e.g. Blake thought London was a place of “sadness” and “woe” because the corrupt Government “charter’d” the city’s wealth so the poor had no control.

Label this image with quotations from the poem that show immorality, lawlessness and poverty.

Do you think they were classed as citizens with equal rights?

Lesson 5 Poetry Anthology (Place)

Living Space – Imtiaz Dharker

Glasgow, Scotland Mumbai, India

What are the differences between the architecture (building structures) in Glasgow and Mumbai?

Which would you feel safer in? Justify your response.

Research the following:

Where the poet was born

Where the poet was raised

The city that inspired this poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0tHRs9Bng

Now let’s read the poem:

Suggested annotations:

“Not enough straight lines.” What place is she talking about? What place might she be comparing it to?“The problem.” Why does she

initially think it is a problem?

The sentences run from one line into the next (enjambment). What do they reflect?

Look at the title, then the second stanza. Why is it a ‘space’ and not a home? Why does she repeat ‘living?’ What might the tiny stanza represent?

“Miraculous” and “dared” have been used as the poem progresses. How has the tone changed from the first line?

What do “eggs” symbolise? Why are they important to her? Why might someone have hung them outside?

q=a+reading+of+living+space+imtiaz+dharker&&view=detail&mid=3C46DE0766736E655BDA3C46DE0766736E655BDA&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Da%2Breading%2Bof%2Bliving%2Bspace%2Bimtiaz%2Bdharker%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

“Bright thin walls of faith” what else could this quotation refer to?

Why do the people in the slums need faith, as opposed to the people in steady westernised cities?

Read the following statement and decide whether or not you agree, justifying your responses in writing with quotation and an explanation:

Imtiaz Dharker initially thinks that the slums are horrifically dangerous in comparison with Glasgow, but then she begins to develop a sense of awe/wonder for the buildings themselves and the people inside them.

Final question: why is this called ‘Living Space’ and not ‘Home?’

Write in this box all of the quotations that refer to the eggs:

Which quotation might this image refer to? Justify your response.

Is there an imbalance between wealth and poverty in the world, base don what you have read?

Why does she personify the nails with the word “clutch?” what does it make you think of?