1. At the cenotaph: Stimuli
Saturday, 22 September 2018

2. Ideas from the CA:
The structure of a specially valued poem is held to be complex in ways which repay close attention; for example, the poem may be structured as a complex sequence of parallelisms. The more the reader studies the poem, the more he or she is aware of the poet’s skill in composing it in this way. The language of valued literary texts is also typically assumed to be complex: writers do not simply choose ‘ordinary’ words, like the words we use for conversation, but words which have resonance, historical associations, beauty, or ‘rightness’ for the particular context.
The subject-matter of valued texts is generally considered to be serious, dealing with moral and philosophical topics of acknowledged importance. Valued texts are supposed to give the reader an insight into fundamental questions which are of universal concern, such as the nature of evil, the corrupting effect of money, the value of love, and so on, and to rehearse the dilemmas of moral and ethical choice.

3. Remembrance Day: At the Cenotaph
I saw the Prince of Darkness, with his Staff, Standing bare-headed by the Cenotaph: Unostentatious and respectful, there He stood, and offered up the following prayer. “Make them forget, O Lord, what this Memorial Means; their discredited ideas revive; Breed new belief that War is purgatorial Proof of the pride and power of being alive; Men’s biologic urge to readjust The Map of Europe, Lord of Hosts, increase; Lift up their hearts in large destructive lust; And crown their heads with blind vindictive Peace.” The Prince of Darkness to the Cenotaph Bowed. As he walked away I heard him laugh. Siegfried Sassoon

8. As he walked away… Why does he laugh?
Why might this be a valuable poem for all young people to study before they are 18?
What might you suggest gives this poem “quality”? Look at the CA for guidance.
a thinking point