Robin
Williams' character, teacher, John Keating (love or hate him) summed up reasons
for poetry to be read and written: “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s
cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race."
He goes on to quote Walt Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these
recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the
foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” “Answer. That you are here — that
life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may
contribute a verse... What will your verse be?”
For me, although an idealised
version, this does hold some truth. I do want my students to study poetry, not
solely for exams, but because poetry talks to them about life and the human
condition; interpretations can be multifarious and students can take risks and
along this journey they might feel there is something they can take away or
relate to.
Although there are different
approaches, the first thing I do is annotate my own copy of the anthology. I
have done this for GCSE and A Level texts, as a student of literature myself, why wouldn't I? Indeed, I can show them mine as a model
and demonstrate that I am only asking them to do something I have already done.
Furthermore, I add in questions that I could ask students to deepen their
understanding in the lesson.
I have found studying them
chronologically and in pairs works well. So I start with 'Ozymandias' and
'London' and once we have gone through the first poem move onto reading and
drawing comparisons with the second. I will start with images or statements
linked to the poem's central ideas in order to ensure students have that first,
then draw out how it is explored in the poem. To stretch students I bring in
non fiction articles such as those from the British Library: https://www.bl.uk/discovering-literature,
as there a lots in there for example on Ted Hughes and War https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/ted-hughes-and-war
, a video from The Guardian on The Last Kamikaze https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3qoNE4XwhM
or even a video based on Guardsman Tromans for some context on 'War
Photographer'.
Annotating:
with the best will in the world (unless you have embedded this strongly at KS3
or taught the same class the previous year) at the outset they might well just
be colouring in words! Students will need the skill of annotating modelled for
the first couple of poems. Students need to be shown they are highlighting
evidence linked to the question steer only and then a note by the side of what
they might add to say about it: method, tone, effect on meaning, what light it
throws on the question- does the writer challenge or question perceptions for
example, but all pertaining to and having a sharp focus on the question. You
could do the first one totally then with the second, do examples of relevant
highlights for them. Coupled with a ‘what’ linked to the Q, I might then get
students to add in ‘hows/effects’ in discussion or using some pre prepared
leading questions on the board.
Planning
essays. This needs to be modelled and guided in a comparative way not just for
this section but for other sections/contexts also. I have realised in both my A
level and GCSE classes that students default to planning by quotation. Instead
what they need to do is plan by argument or topic sentence and then quotation.
This makes them have to think of their overall thesis first, then arguments to
back that up, then quotations to support. This helps to ensure they have an
overall argument which is coherent and threaded through rather than paragraphs
on quotations linked to the steer. Breaking down the question and asking
students to think about the specific power or conflict in question and synonyms
for these is really useful. Furthermore, getting students to also think the
converse as there are poems which show powerlessness or conflicting emotions,
not just the obvious: attitudes towards conflict or more generally war.
Often,
they find it tricky to write introductions that don’t just narrate or sum up
the poems. This is important for grade 7+ students who need to think
conceptually and have that overview and argument threaded throughout. Show
models of these that get to the heart of what the poem wants to have a
conversation about . Ask students to think and discuss what ideas, themes and
messages they might take from the poem. Also ask them to consider whether the
poem: questions, challenges, opposes, reflect or condemns something in relation
to the question steer. Practise modelling and writing these in pairs on a
variety of questions. We try to ensure we include both poets’ names (write from
the writer) and a thesis statement which is essentially our argument in a
nutshell, really trying to get to the crux of the poems and the bigger
conversation they are having about life or the human condition.
Students
also find it hard to access high marks if they have been taught formulaic,
repetitious ways of writing about evidence. Exam boards have stated year on year
this is a reductive approach and results in students trying to remember the
formula rather than just giving their interpretation about a quotation. I get
why we did this and it still can enable our lower ability students but losing
the formula sets students free to talk about the what, how, why in the order
they want. I stopped using it with KS3 a couple of years back, and if they can
cope, Year 11 students definitely can.
Being
brave and taking risks. Do create a culture where students feel confident to
put an idea forward. Obviously, if we are wrong we are wrong - that can be an
idea scratched off in search of a better one. If a student told me Scrooge
lived in the sea because of the simile he was “as solitary as an oyster” I
would have to correct that, but at least that idea has been thrown out in the open and
the misconception corrected! Giving students chance to discuss and rehearse
ideas before feedback to the class is helpful. Another idea I taught a very
able top set was a ‘get out’ phrase like, “I’m not sure if this is right but
one idea could be...” This allows them to put a risky or half baked idea
forward without losing face. Another technique is to give six valid statements
that are written in quite an academic way and asking them to choose the one
they feel captured the crux of the poem and to discuss, find evidence and feed
that back to the class. Finally, alternative interpretations. The beauty of
literature is that we all bring our lives and our baggage to it. Aspects can be
ambiguous, can have shades of meaning and different readings should be
encouraged so students can see that their interpretation can be at an angle from
their partner's but nevertheless, equally valid.
Encouraging
students to take risks can, as I mentioned, lead to misconceptions. However, there is
another kind of student who, in their enthusiasm, goes the other way: they
extrapolate too far from the text. This also has to be addressed otherwise they
will be writing exam essays on these ‘far out’ theories. The best take on this I
heard was at an A level student conference where an examiner was talking about
being original but not without convincing support in the text and your
argument. He said something similar to- I don’t have to have thought of your interpretation before or
even agree with you, but since I am marking your answer you will need to
convince me your idea is valid, which means there has to be evidence of this in
the text and you need to have argued it persuasively. Therefore, if you ever
meet one of these students, (and I have about three at the moment) either tell
them they are wrong if it’s a misconception or use questioning to ensure their
interpretation and thought process are both clear and valid.
Students do have the uncanny ability to mistake the persona in the poem for the actual poet themselves. Many times teaching
‘Kamikaze’ I have had to remind students that the persona is the daughter
and that she is not actually Beatrice Garland or that the father is not
actually narrating the poem. Another good example is ‘Ozymandias’ - no, the
story is not told by Shelley. It is second hand and we are informed,
originally told by (in a Chinese box style) a ‘traveller from an antique land’ whilst echoing some of Ozymandias' words.
Adopting words like: persona, construct, narrator can all help create the
smallest of light bulb moments.
So, with input from my fellow Lit
Drive associates I have pulled together a sort of summarised Dos and Don'ts:
Some dos:- Start with big ideas, themes and statements. Before even reading a poem discuss this issues and ideas it illuminates.
- Consider, as you go, different types of power and conflict e.g. conflicting emotions, power of time, individual versus society.
- Teach students to discuss and write about the: WHAT, HOW and WHY of a quotation.
- Remember the 'HOW' of methods is more than word class. Other things are worth while exploring: persona, structure and tone.
- Share model essays with them and pick apart. Get a half baked one and ask them to improve it.
- Practise choosing poems to compare and discussing the pros and cons of different choices.
- Practise comparative sections and redrafting these over again.
- Practise writing thesis statements and defining the steer as it relates to both poems.
- Plan and model planning essays together on a range of examples of the themes.
Some don'ts:
- Teach poems line by line.
- Study poems in isolation- they need to be drawn together as soon as possible.
- Allow students to feature spot techniques or learn very convoluted terminology that they then say nothing about the effects of.
- Teach a prescribed structure -there is none. Have faith in your students, if they know the poems they can write confidently about them.
- Teach PEE or overly formulaic responses e.g. This word usually means...In this context the writer .... The impression this creates... The reader's response is,,,,These actually restrict thought and produce descriptive or limited interpretations.
- Treat the persona like a real person (a construct) or confuse them with the actual poet (they might not be!).
- Teach loads of bolted on historical context -drip it in where relevant as you go.
Now into
the fourth year of teaching the new spec, I am still refining as I go, but one
of my favourite aspects is the poetry anthology. And whilst I haven’t got the
kids standing on the tables shouting ‘Captain, my Captain!’ I do hope it gives
them a space to think and consider aspects of life they wouldn’t ordinarily be
inclined to: ‘ that life exists, and identity’ and that they ‘contribute a
verse’.
