Conflict poetry How to Read Poems

Lesson Objectives At the end of the lesson, students should be able to: Show an understanding of, and be able to comment on, how poets use literary devices to create images in the reader’s mind Show an understanding of, and be able to comment on, how the structure of a poem can affect the meaning. Show an understanding of how a poem can tell a story.

Starter In your workbook, write down all the words that you associate with the word… WAR

In our next unit, we will be looking at war poetry – poetry either produced during a war or about war.

One of the main themes in War poetry is the futility of war One of the main themes in War poetry is the futility of war. Be on the lookout for this theme in the poems we will study this half-term.

ways to interpret poems… When you read a poem, there are a number of ways you can interpret/analyse it. Today, we are going to briefly look at three different ways to analyse a poem.

Suicide in the Trenches I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy, Slept soundly through the lonesome dark, And whistled early with the lark. In winter trenches, cowed and glum, With crumps and lice and lack of rum, He put a bullet through his brain. No one spoke of him again. You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you'll never know The hell where youth and laughter go. Siegfried Sassoon 1917

You can look at: Images The poet will create an image in your head. Focusing on stanza one, what sort of images does the poet try to create? Is the tone positive or negative? The poet will create an image in your head. What picture is built in your mind? What descriptive words are used?(adjectives) Which is the most powerful image in the poem? Why?

You can look at: Structure and Features The way the poem is laid out on the page. Are there gaps in the poem? How long are the stanza’s? What is the rhyme and rhythm of the poem? What, if anything, is unusual about the way the poem is written? 2) What do you think the indentation of the text represents?

Images: Literary Devices To create images, poets will often use the following literary devices: Simile - is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, introduced with the word ‘like’ or ‘as’. Metaphor - comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way without using ‘like’ or ‘as’. Personification - giving human traits (qualities, feelings, action, or characteristics) to non-living objects. Alliteration - using the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in close proximity. 3) Look at the poem as a whole. Are there any literary devices?

You can look at: Purpose What reason(s) did the poet have to write the poem? What do you think the poem is about? What was your first reaction to reading the poem? 4) Who is the poet speaking to in the final stanza? What is the message? Is the tone the same as in stanza 1?

Plenary Write a brief paragraph answering the following: How does the poet feel about war? Using the text to support your answer, explain how you know this.

Recap What devices can a writer use to paint a vivid image in our minds? How does the physical structure of a poem affect the meaning? What other things have you learnt today, in terms of ways to analyse a poem?