Year 8 English Project Term 6:

Poetry and Relationships

Instructions:

There are five different poems available to study. You must complete the tasks

on the first four of the poems, but you have the option to aspire to do five

Your work should be presented in a booklet. This booklet must include the

following:

A front cover with the title ‘Poetry and Relationships’, some drawings or

print outs of images that reflect the contents of the booklet, and your name,

mentor group and main English teacher

Close analysis of four different poems - this may take the form of

annotations around the poems (you will need to print them or copy them out),

or notes answering the questions on lined paper.

Aspire: Research each poet – their lives and beliefs, plus information about

the society/era they were writing in. Your research notes should go next to

the appropriate poem in the booklet, e.g. Front cover; poem 1 analysis;

poem 1 research notes; poem 2 analysis; poem 2 research notes, etc.

A paragraph analysing one of the poems plus DIRT work

Your own poem exploring a particular type of relationship

A commentary on your poem, explaining the language techniques and

form/structure you have used and the intended effect, plus the message

about relationships you have tried to convey and how the current situation

has inspired your work

Deadline: Friday 10th July. Your teacher will ask to see your work so far at

various checkpoints throughout the term. Aim to analyse a poem each week for

the first four weeks, then use the final two weeks to complete your analytical

paragraph and to write your poem/commentary. This is clearly labelled.

Contents

The Poems:

Percy Bysshe Shelley: ‘Love’s Philosophy’………………. p. 3

Questions and research prompts on ‘Love’s Philosophy’ …… p.4

Robert Browning: ‘Porphyria’s Lover’…………………….. p. 5

Questions and research prompts on ‘Porphyria’s Lover’……. p. 6

Maura Dooley: ‘Letters from Yorkshire’…………………… p. 7

Questions and research prompts on ‘Letters from Yorkshire’... p. 8

Owen Sheers: ‘Winter Swans’ ……………………………... p. 9

Questions and research prompts on ‘Winter Swans’ ………... p. 10

Seamus Heaney: ‘Follower’ ………………………………. p. 11

Questions and research prompts on ‘Follower’ …………….. p. 12

Links to YouTube videos on each poem …………………… p. 13

Writing an analytical paragraph …………………………. P. 14

The Creative Task:

Guidance on writing your own poem ………………………... p. 15

Guidance on writing your commentary ……………………… p. 16

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Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) (Week 1)

Love’s Philosophy

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix forever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single,

All things by a law divine

In another's being mingle -

Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high heaven,

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

If it disdained its brother:

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea -

What is all this sweet work worth,

If thou kiss not me?

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Percy Bysshe Shelley: ‘Love’s Philosophy’ (Week 1)

Comprehension and Analytical Tasks:

1. What is the poem about? Write a brief summary of what happens.

2. What kind of relationships are explored? What key themes arise?

3. What does the word ‘philosophy’ mean? Write a definition.

4. What pairings (dualities) does Shelley make in the poem (eg. the moonbeams

and the sea)? Highlight them or make a list.

5. What verbs does Shelley use to describe these pairings? What are the

connotations and effect of these words? Why might he repeat the same verbs?

6. Why has Shelley used so much natural imagery in the poem? How does this

relate to ‘Love’s Philosophy’?

7. There are two stanzas, both of which end with a rhetorical question, although

both are very different in tone. What does each question suggest?

8. What is the overall message of the poem?

Aspire Tasks:

1. What is enjambment? Find an example of it in the poem and comment on the

effect.

2. The rhyme scheme for both stanzas in the poem is ABABCDCD and the poem

has a regular structure with clear patterns. What is the effect of this? How

might it link to the meaning and message of the poem?

Aspire research prompts:

Shelley was one of the Romantic poets. Research Romanticism and the Industrial

Revolution, what the Romantic poets believed in and what their poetry was

mainly about.

What is ‘the sublime’ in Romantic poetry? Write an explanation in your own

words.

What did he feel the aim/purpose of poetry was?

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Robert Browning (1812-1889) (Week 2)

Porphyria’s Lover

The rain set early in tonight,

The sullen wind was soon awake,

It tore the elm-tops down for spite,

And did its worst to vex the lake:

I listened with heart fit to break.

When glided in Porphyria; straight

She shut the cold out and the storm,

And kneeled and made the cheerless grate

Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;

Which done, she rose, and from her form

Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,

And laid her soiled gloves by, untied

Her hat and let the damp hair fall,

And, last, she sat down by my side

And called me. When no voice replied,

She put my arm about her waist,

And made her smooth white shoulder bare,

And all her yellow hair displaced,

And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,

And spread o’er all her yellow hair,

Murmuring how she loved me — she

Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,

To set its struggling passion free

From pride, and vainer ties dissever, And give herself to me for ever.

But passion sometimes would prevail,

Nor could tonight’s gay feast restrain

A sudden thought of one so pale

For love of her, and all in vain:

So, she was come through wind and rain.

Be sure I looked up at her eyes

Happy and proud; at last I knew

Porphyria worshipped me; surprise

Made my heart swell, and still it grew

While I debated what to do.

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That moment she was mine, mine, fair,

Perfectly pure and good: I found

A thing to do, and all her hair

In one long yellow string I wound

Three times her little throat around,

And strangled her. No pain felt she;

I am quite sure she felt no pain.

As a shut bud that holds a bee,

I warily oped her lids: again

Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.

And I untightened next the tress

About her neck; her cheek once more

Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:

I propped her head up as before,

Only, this time my shoulder bore

Her head, which droops upon it still:

The smiling rosy little head,

So glad it has its utmost will,

That all it scorned at once is fled,

And I, its love, am gained instead!

Porphyria’s love: she guessed not how

Her darling one wish would be heard.

And thus we sit together now,

And all night long we have not stirred,

And yet God has not said a word!

Robert Browning: ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ (Week 2)

Comprehension and Analytical Tasks:

1. What is the poem about? Write a brief summary of what happens.

2. What kind of relationships are explored? What key themes arise?

3. This poem is a dramatic monologue. Find out what this is and make notes on the

effect – why is it significant that we only hear the story from the speaker’s point of

view?

4. The speaker uses very calm, colloquial speech – why is this significant? Consider

what he is actually talking about… what does it reveal about his state of mind?

5. There are two settings in the poem: the storm outside and the interior of the cottage.

a. The storm: Browning uses pathetic fallacy in the opening lines –

highlight/write down examples of this and comment on the effect – what

atmosphere is created? What might the pathetic fallacy be foreshadowing?

b. The cottage: how is the inside of the cottage a contrast to the outside? What

false impression of the cottage is given? What does Porphyria’s entrance

reveal about what she has the power to do?

6. What impression do you get of Porphyria? Refer to key quotations.

7. Why do you think the speaker decides to strangle Porphyria? Support your ideas

with reference to the poem.

8. What emotion is the speaker feeling in the last line? How does he feel about what

he has done?

9. What is the overall message of the poem?

Aspire Tasks:

1. The rhyme scheme is fairly regular, and follows this pattern: ABABB, CDCDD, EFEFF,

etc. However, it is asymmetrical as each rhyming unit is backloaded: there are more "B"

rhymes than "A," and more "D" than "C," etc. What might this lack of symmetry mirror

about the speaker?

2. The poem is written in iambic tetrameter. What might be the effect of this regular

rhythm? Can you find any lines where Browning breaks this? Effect?

Aspire research prompts:

Research the Gothic – what are the conventions of this genre? What types of

settings are used? What kind of atmospheres are created? What do the narratives

involve and what are the characters like?

Make a list of famous Gothic texts.

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Maura Dooley (1957 - ) (Week 3)

Letters from Yorkshire

In February, digging his garden, planting potatoes,

he saw the first lapwings return and came

indoors to write to me, his knuckles singing

as they reddened in the warmth.

It’s not romance, simply how things are.

You out there, in the cold, seeing the seasons

turning, me with my heartful of headlines

feeding words onto a blank screen.

Is your life more real because you dig and sow?

You wouldn’t say so, breaking ice on a waterbutt,

clearing a path through snow. Still, it’s you

who sends me word of that other world

pouring air and light into an envelope. So that

at night, watching the same news in different houses,

our souls tap out messages across the icy miles.

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Maura Dooley: ‘Letters from Yorkshire’ (Week 3)

Comprehension and Analytical Tasks:

1. What is the poem about? Write a brief summary of what happens.

2. What kind of relationships are explored? What key themes arise?

3. There are two settings in the poem – the speaker, who works indoors, and the

person she writes to, who works outdoors. Highlight/make a list of quotations

showing the contrasting things they do. What different ways do they communicate?

And what do they communicate with?

4. Do you think their relationship is romantic or platonic? Justify your opinion.

5. Pick four quotations from the above task (two for the speaker; two for the person

she writes to) and analyse them – what is the poet suggesting about the way each

person lives their life? How do you think they feel about the jobs they have chosen?

Identify any techniques used and develop your interpretations.

6. ‘Still, it’s you /who sends me word of that other world other world /pouring air and

light into an envelope.’ What is the effect of the imagery here? ASPIRE: How is

enjambment used here to develop the imagery?

7. What question does the speaker ask? What does it reveal about her feelings?

Aspire Tasks:

1. The poem is written in free verse. Find out what this is and offer an interpretation of

the effect.

2. What is the significance of the phrase, 'me with my heartful of headlines'? What is

the effect of the alliteration here? (Tip – consider the words that are alliterated

and what they mean when placed together.)

Aspire research prompts:

‘Letters from Yorkshire’ is relevant to our current situation with coronavirus. It highlights

the importance of communication, especially when you are far away from somebody or

unable to see them to speak to in person. Spend some time discussing with your family

how they are finding isolation or reflecting on how you yourself are finding it/what

your friends have said about their feelings. It is also significant in that it refers to

‘headlines’ from a newspaper – how have you felt about the media coverage? Find out

what bias is and think about fake news - discuss this with your parents and reflect upon

whether you can believe everything you read, plus whether you know where to find

reliable news sources.

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Owen Sheers (1974 - ) (Week 4)

Winter Swans

The clouds had given their all - two days of rain and then a break in which we walked,

the waterlogged earth gulping for breath at our feet as we skirted the lake, silent and apart,

until the swans came and stopped us with a show of tipping in unison. As if rolling weights down their bodies to their heads

they halved themselves in the dark water, icebergs of white feather, paused before returning again like boats righting in rough weather.

'They mate for life' you said as they left, porcelain over the stilling water. I didn't reply but as we moved on through the afternoon light,

slow-stepping in the lake's shingle and sand, I noticed our hands, that had, somehow, swum the distance between us

and folded, one over the other, like a pair of wings settling after flight.

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Owen Sheers: ‘Winter Swans’ (Week 4)

Comprehension and Analytical Tasks:

1. What is the poem about? Write a brief summary of what happens.

2. What kind of relationships are explored? What key themes arise?

3. Pathetic fallacy is used in the opening stanza as ‘The clouds had given their all -

/Two days of rain and then a break’. What might this reflect about what has

happened in the couple’s relationship?

4. What technique is used to describe the ‘waterlogged earth’ in the second stanza?

What might this represent about the couple’s communication with one another?

5. The swans move in ‘unison’ and are described to be ‘like boats righting in rough

weather.’ Technique and effect? Again, consider what this suggests about

relationships

6. A clear turning point comes in stanza five with the companion’s direct speech

marking the moment of a change within their relationship. What is said and what

change happens as a result?

7. Why do you think the last stanza only has two lines when the rest all have three

lines?

8. Identify the technique in the final line and explore the effect. What is the overall

message of the poem?

Aspire tasks:

1. What might the use of sibilance in the penultimate stanza mirror?

2. How does the poet use enjambment to convey his message about relationships?

3. The lines are irregular and unrhymed. What might this, and the disjointed rhythm of

the poem, reflect?

Aspire research prompts:

Research swans and why they are used in literature – what are they symbolic of?

Research Owen Sheers – what is his poetry known for? What is he trying to

explore through his poems?

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Seamus Heaney (1939 - 2013) (Optional extra)

Follower

My father worked with a horse-plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horses strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright steel-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. I stumbled in his hobnailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. I wanted to grow up and plough, To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was follow In his broad shadow round the farm. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away

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Seamus Heaney: ‘Follower’ (Optional extra)

Comprehension and Analytical Tasks:

For this poem, try analysing it yourself, based on this question: How does Heaney

present the relationship between father and son in ‘Follower’?

Tips:

Read the poem two or three times

Identify techniques and consider the effect in relation to the question

Consider what message Heaney is sending about relationships

Explore how the father is presented

Explore how the son is presented

Identify shifts/changes in the poem

Aspire tasks:

Explore how the rhyme scheme and meter are used to reinforce the messages of

the poem

Consider the use of enjambment

Aspire research prompts:

Heaney is regarded as one of the most important poets of his time. Research his

background and achievements, plus his experiences of the Irish rural world. Consider

how this has influenced his poetry.

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YouTube Video Links

Percy Bysshe Shelley: ‘Love’s Philosophy’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcl9mAxtnfo

Robert Browning: ‘Porphyria’s Lover’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmKyKElDo74

Maura Dooley: ‘Letters from Yorkshire’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBk99T8cIds

Owen Sheers: ‘Winter Swans’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i89Q4FQLNho

Seamus Heaney: ‘Follower’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60SZ_SvU4H4

There are also many websites you can use to help you with the questions if you are

struggling, such as: BBC Bitesize; SparkNotes; poemanalysis.com; genius.com etc. Type

the poem into Google and there will be loads of articles and websites on offer.

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Writing an Analytical Paragraph (First Task Week 5)

For one of the poems that you have studied, you need to write a paragraph

answering the following question:

How does [poet] present ideas about relationships in [poem]?

You should spend around 30 minutes on this task. Your teacher will ask for

this to be emailed in so they can give feedback and you can make

improvements in green. The FLASH skills you will be marked on are as

follows (aspire skills in red):

E/EQ (evidence/embedded quotation)

I/AI (inference/interpretation/alternative interpretation)

L/S (language/structural analysis)

WM (writer’s message)

WT (writer’s techniques)

Z (zoom)

CON/B (context/big ideas and themes)

LQ (link to question)

Below is an example paragraph exploring how the power of nature is presented in a

poem called ‘Exposure’. Use this as a model to help you structure your own paragraph.

It may help you to identify where each of the FLASH skills have been used in the

paragraph before you start writing your own.

In ‘Exposure’, Wilfred Owen presents nature as a malevolent force, something that is

brutal and agonising. The poem opens with the declaration that ‘Our brains ache, in the

merciless iced east winds that knive us’, and here Owen personifies the wind as the

enemy, cruelly inflicting pain on the soldiers as if it were even more deadly than man-

made weapons. The adjective ‘merciless’ highlights the ruthlessness of the wind; it has

no regard for the feelings of the men and callously attacks them. The use of the first

personal plural ‘our’ shows how the experience was shared by all the soldiers, and the

fact that their ‘brains ache’ could be due to the physical discomfort they are enduring,

or it might suggest they are suffering from PTSD. Owen fought in the war himself, and

this poem is exposing the harsh reality of war, despite propaganda glorifying war and

making it out to be an honour to serve your country.

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Guidance on Writing a Poem (Week 5/6)

Firstly, you need to decide which type of relationship you are going to explore. Here

are some ideas:

Parent and child

Friendship

Marriage

Teacher and student

Humans and nature

Love

Society

Family

Betrayal

Breakdown

Separation

Some are obviously more positive than others – this is the nature of relationships.

Discuss with your parents/carers/siblings about different relationships they have

experienced, as well as ones you have experienced. Consider how relationships and

the value you place on them may have altered over time (both positively and

negatively). Why do relationships change? Is it a good or a bad thing? Is one person

responsible or both? Reflect on the coronavirus – has it made you re-evaluate

relationships? Treasure them more? Become aware of relationships that were bringing

you down? Made you realise how important people are?

You can think bigger than your own personal relationships:

How does society feel about the coronavirus? Are they supportive of the

government’s decisions? Were they the right decisions at the right time?

How have society come together to support one another? Watch videos of

people in Italy and Spain singing and playing instruments on their balconies.

Consider the NHS workers – did you #clapforourcarers on Thursday 26th March?

Watch some videos of this happening and watch interviews where NHS workers

explain what this meant to them. How does it make you feel?

Do you have a bigger appreciation of nature and the outside world now you

are limited in the time you can spend there? Perhaps go for your walk and

really immerse yourself in nature; consider its power and how you feel in

comparison. Read over your notes on the sublime – have you experienced

something like this? Perhaps when skiing in the mountains or at sea? Read more

about the Romantic poets if you are interested in man’s experiences with nature.

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Planning and Writing:

What / How / Why

Once you have decided on the type of relationship you will write about, you need to

decide what message you are trying to convey and how you will convey it. You also

need to be aware of the reasons why you are trying to convey this message - why is

this an important thing for you to explore? What has influenced you?

The ‘how’ is the more technical side. This is where you will carefully select your

vocabulary and use techniques to get your message across. Success criteria as follows:

Vivid imagery (similes/metaphors/personification)

Ambitious vocabulary

Voice – who is your speaker? Will you write in first or third person? How do they

feel? What is their attitude towards the topic? Are there any shifts in tone or

emotions?

Form – how will your poem appear on the page? How many stanzas? How many

lines per stanza?

Rhyme scheme – will you use one? What will your rhyme scheme (or lack of)

reflect?

Aspire:

Meter (rhythm) – how many beats per line? Will you use iambic pentameter?

Iambic tetrameter? Will it be irregular? What will this reflect? Will it change?

Conduct more research into how poets use meter.

Remember, you need to think carefully about your poem and how/why you use the

above. There must be a reason behind your choices to use certain methods and what

effect you want to create.

Guidance on Writing a Commentary (Week 6)

For this task, you need to explain your thought process behind your poem. You are

essentially returning to the what / how / why and explaining what your poem is

about and what message you tried to convey, how you have tried to convey it

(analysis of techniques/word choices/rhyme scheme/structure etc.), and why you

wanted to convey it. This may well be linked to the current situation with coronavirus.

You should aim to write between 250 and 600 words for your commentary.

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