Poetry and Writers Different Ways

‘Casehistory: Alison (head injury)’ Learning Objectives: – AO1: Respond to texts critically and imaginatively, select and evaluate textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations. – AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings. ( Pre-reading activity Here is a riddle for you†¦ Who do you think would be ‘†¦my husband’s wife’? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ What about ‘†¦my mother’s only daughter’? _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ The title of the poem is ‘Casehistory: Alison (head injury)’. What do you think this poem is going to be about? ( Make a note of your ideas. ___________________________________________________________ ___ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Why might you talk about yourself in the third person? What is the effect? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ( Take 2 minutes to discuss the effect with your partner.Swap and develop your ideas. Feed back your ideas to the rest of the class. First impressions ( Read the poem. ______________________ ________________________ _________ _________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ ________________________ _____________________ What do you think has happened to Alison? The opening line above has a play-like feel.Imagine how this scene might look on stage. ( In the box below, sketch out the scene you imagine. In the notes box below, summarise your ‘vision’ of the action. How might you describe the attitude of the speaker of the poem? ( Choose the word or phrase that gives you this impression and write it in the box below. The first one has been done for you. Alison seems†¦ Wistful ____________ ____________ What does the younger Alison have that the Alison of the present does not? ( Fill in the table below. Alison of the past |Alison of the present | | | | |‘Autocratic knee / Like a Degas dancer’s’ |Knees that now ‘lug’ her ‘up stairs / Hardly’ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Let’s take a closer look ( Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis. Think PEA – point, example, analysis. 1. The poem is arranged in even, regular three line stanzas. What is the effect on the reader? _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where does this regular pattern come to an END, and what is the effect of this? ______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 3. There are two lines in the poem that begin with a single word followed by a full stop. What are they, and what is the effect on the reader? _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Poetry detective Spot the following linguistic and structural devices at work in the poem. What is their PURPOSE and EFFECT? |techniques |examples and analysis of their effect | |Parenthesis |‘(She looks at her photograph)’ – | |( ) | | |Ambiguity | |(the puzzle / riddle o f the first stanza)| | |Mid-line full stops | | |Repetition | | |Powerful adjectives | | |Enjambment | | |Use of the third person | | Get creative – AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings. ( Using ‘Casehistory: Alison (head injury)’ as a guide, you are going to write a poem of your own, using pictures of historical figures as inspiration. You are going to bring the long-dead subject of the painting to life in the form of a dramatic monologue! ( Take an online stroll through the 30 ‘must-see’ paintings hanging in The National Gallery: www. nationalgallery. org. uk/paintings/explore-the-paintings/30-highlight-paintings/ ( Which character did you choose? _____________________________ Writer’s toolbox ( With your choice of speaker in mind, tick the techniques you think would be useful in creating an accurate voice for your poem. Think about the intended effect of your selected techniques. If necessary, you can add additional techniques at the bottom. Poetic techniques: |Use: | | | | |Intended effect: | |Rhyme | | | |Non-standard English | | | |Mid-line full stops | | | |Enjambment | | | |Assonance | | | |Repetition | | | |Alliteration | | | |Metaphors | | | |Similes | | | |Onomatopoeia | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Get writing! _________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________ _________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ __________________________ ____________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ | |My Itchy Toes Smell Loads | | |( Complete the table below with what you consider to be the most important quotes and poetic devices | | |within each category. | | | |meaning | | | | | | | | |imagery | | | | | | | | |tone | | | | | |Structure and Form | | | | | | | | |language | | Comparing poems – AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two poems. Sample exam question and ‘Medusa’. Comparing poems – AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects ( Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two poems. Sample exam question Planning an essay ( Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your essay question. You must include 3 – 5 points of comparison. Number each point in the order you would write about them in your exam. When you write your essay, remember to analyse structural and poetic devices for their effect and meaning. Don’t just list. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | |Casehistory: Alison (head injury) | | | | | |(She looks at her photograph) | | | | | |I would like to have known | | |My husband’s wife, my mother’s only daughter. | | |A bright girl she was. | | | | | |Enmeshed in comforting | |5 |Fat, I wonder at her delicate angles. | |Her autocratic knee | | | | | |Like a Degas dancer’s | | |Adjusts to the observer with airy poise, | | |That now lugs me upstairs | | | | |10 |Hardly. Her face, broken | | |By nothing sharper than smiles, holds in its smiles | | |What I