1. Essays out for collection
Discussion Topics
Does art do anything, or is it merely decorative?
Is poetry anything more that just, what WH Auden called “a wonderful game’?
How might art and poetry be important?
Read the foreword to the review of the value of arts in society from the Arts Council to help.
Essays out for collection

2. ‘The Fisherman’ Written 1916
“the beating down of the wise,
And great Art beaten down”
Find 5 other quotations from across the anthology that have a similar message
These lines are at the heart of Yeats’ poem ‘The Fisherman’. Create a mind map of interpretations.
What will the poem be about?
What connotations do the words hold?
What are Yeats’ concerns here?
What historical contexts are relevant to this quote?

3. Yeats was highly concerned with the value of art and poetry.
His poems move from the earlier Celtic Twilight style to a poetry which was more focused on the real human world and engaged with social concerns of his time.
Celtic Twilight:
The geographical setting of the woodland (away from the modern world)
The temporal setting of the in-between time of twilight
The figure of the lonely poet lamenting loss
The magical, mysterious, symbolic creatures

4. The Literary Landscape
Highlight 5 key contextual pieces of information
Choose 3 to relate to any of the poems we have studied so far
Use one to write a short response to the below question:
What were Yeats’ key concerns at the turn of the century?

5. Listen to the Poem
Can you sum up the poem ‘in a nutshell’? What is literally being described?

6. “Crunching the Poem” Read the poem again
Reduce each line of the poem to one word (it can be an emotion/feeling/mood/tone/ action)
Highlight 5 key lines which demonstrate Yeats’ anger and bitterness. Why is Yeats angry and how does he convey this?
Identify an area of hope in the poem – what is Yeats’ message?
How does the Fisherman epitomise Yeats’ ideal audience?

7. Variety of Interpretations
Match the below interpretations to a line in the poem – where is each idea most strongly conveyed?
‘Yeats is searching for an audience adequate to their own high style’
‘Yeats desires a wholly new kind of audience’
‘Yeats turns his back on ‘the reality’ of an Irish literary scene
‘The Fisherman’ is about the process of imagination and writing

8. Review: Mary M Colum, The Later Yeats
How far do you agree with the below critical statement about Yeats’ later work when it comes to ‘The Fisherman’?
Mary M Colum, The Later Yeats

9. Homework Reminder: Complete table Thursday Extension:
Watch the video tutorial on ‘The Fisherman’ and develop your annotations / own interpretations.

10. http://www. showmyenglishseleschool