Hello, my name is Miss Keller, and welcome to today's lesson.

I'm so glad you could join me.

In this session, we are going to be analysing how William Blake uses language and structure in his poem, "A Poison Tree." So by the end of today's lesson, we will be able to explain how Blake uses language, form and structure to explore ideas of conflict.

So let's just take a look at today's key words.

We have got some literary methods or words, terminology that we might use to describe different types of text.

So we've got, for example, the word cautionary tale, which refers to a particular type of children's literature that was very, very popular during the Victorian times or the early 1900s.

And it was a narrative designed to teach a lesson, typically a warning against certain behaviours or actions.

So almost a story with a moral that was designed to teach young children perhaps how to behave.

And then some of the other methods that we'll be looking at in today's lesson, we've got rhythm, which is the pattern of beats or sounds in speech or writing.

Symbolism, which is the use of concrete objects or actions to represent abstract feelings, ideas or concepts.

And finally, an extended metaphor, which is a metaphor that is sustained or developed throughout a piece of writing.

So we would usually expect to see quite a few different references to that same metaphor.

So how is today's lesson going to look? Well, we're going to begin by exploring how Blake uses these extended metaphors, and also symbolism.

And then in the second 1/2 of today's lesson, we are going to explore Blake's use of form and structure.

So let's get started.

So I'd like to start off with a discussion that gets us thinking about some of these important images that we see in the poem.

So I'm going to show you three pictures of trees.

Now, I'm sure these aren't the only three trees you've ever seen in your lives, but they are three very, very different images.

And I'd like to hand over to you for a quick discussion to get us started off.

So I'd like you to be thinking about what words or phrases or ideas you associate with trees.

So take a moment to have a think and discuss this with the people around you.

Or if you're working on your own, that's okay.

Just make some notes on your exercise book or on a piece of paper.

Click pause while you do that, and then click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back, and what a fantastic discussion to start off today's lesson.

I was really impressed with the different creative words and phrases that I overheard lots of people using.

So let's just run through some of the fantastic words and phrases that I overheard in your discussions to describe trees.

So we had lots of people picking up on this idea that trees are sturdy and grounded.

They are rooted within the ground, they're immovable.

Also, then, lots of people picking up on perhaps the more spiritual way we might think about trees as wise and mystical because they're old and ancient.

Lots of trees have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

So they've been part of the Earth a lot longer than we have.

They're enormous, particularly the two pictures there at the bottom, but they can grow to absolutely enormous sizes.

They have a vast network of branches, and I think that middle image there really illustrates that.

There are lots of different branches that come off of that main trunk, and network is a fantastic way to describe it.

And then I also overheard a few responses that are thinking about the function of trees and how they're important to our life.

So I heard lots of people thinking about the fact that trees provide shelter and they provide food, like that top image where we can see some apples growing on that tree.

And also they help to sustain life.

Trees are a really important part of our ecosystem because they provide us with the oxygen that we need to breathe.

So they're a really fundamental part of life on earth.

So now we've began thinking about these descriptive words and phrases that we could use to describe trees.

Let's have a think about perhaps what they might symbolise.

So well done if you are also picking up on any of these ideas as well.

I overheard lots of people talking about this idea that trees symbolise growth, that they symbolise life, that they can also symbolise fertility and rebirth, particularly when we think about the seasons because the trees are a really important indicator, those green leaves, that spring has started and we should be expecting to see new life in the natural world.

They could also symbolise knowledge and wisdom if we we're thinking about this description of them as old and ancient and mystical.

They could also have this really important connection to nature, as we were discussing earlier.

They're a fundamental part of the natural world.

And finally, a link to family and relationships.

I was really impressed when I overheard this last link there because it was quite a creative one to make.

I overheard lots of people talking about the idea of a family tree.

So we've got lots and lots of key ideas then when we're thinking about trees.

So as we go on to look at the poem and we look at how Blake discusses trees, and the words and phrases he uses, we can start to draw on some of these ideas.

So throughout "A Poison Tree," Blake uses an extended metaphor to compare the speaker's conflict with their foe to a tree.

So I'd like to hand over to you for another discussion.

Can you now identify any key quotations that you think draw on these symbolic ideas we associate with trees? So pause the video while you grab your copy of the text, if you haven't already, and take some time to give the poem a really good read through.

And see if you can identify any of these key quotations.

So pause the video for as long as you need to, and click play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back, some really fantastic discussions taking place there.

Again, I was really impressed by the variety in the key quotations that I heard you all identifying.

So it is quite clear that there are actually lots of different examples in this text of Blake using this extended metaphor.

So let's just explore some of the most important examples then.

So well done if you were picking up on any of these key quotations as well.

So first of all, we had, "My wrath did grow," got that word grow there.

"I water'd it in fears and sunned it with smiles." Grew again, and the idea that it, "Bore an apple bright." And finally, we've got the description of it as a tree there at the end of the poem.

Which of these symbolic ideas could we link to some of these key quotations then? Well, I would argue that we could link quite a few of those ideas we were coming up with earlier, such as growth, life, sustenance, food, knowledge and nature.

So let's just explore some of these ideas in a bit more detail.

Well, we've got that link there to growth and life in the way that the wrath did grow.

We've also got this idea of sustenance, perhaps in that it was watered in fears and sunned with smiles.

So we've got this idea that perhaps the speaker is helping to sustain this tree.

Maybe that idea of sustenance has been reversed here.

We've got a link there to food, in the idea that it, "Bore an apple bright." But also this link to knowledge because quite common in literature is this symbolic link between apples and knowledge.

And we can argue that actually this could go right back to the Bible story of the Garden of Eden because it is precisely an apple that Eve is told not to eat from the tree of knowledge.

So we've got that really important link there.

And obviously, we've got lots of links to nature here, not just in the idea of the tree, but also in the fact that it was watered and sunned.

We've got lots of different natural elements in these key quotations.

So I'd like to hand over to you again then for another discussion, and I'd like you to think about why you think Blake has chosen to use this extended metaphor.

What could he be suggesting about the nature of conflict? So take some time to have a think and discuss this with the people around you or make some notes, and click play when you're ready to continue and discuss it together.

Okay, welcome back.

Some really, really detailed and quite nuanced interpretations that I overheard there.

So that's really fantastic.

So I'd like to just pick up on a few different interpretations of this extended metaphor.

So well done if any of these ideas featured in your discussion.

So first of all, then, Blake could be suggesting that anger and interpersonal conflict are both a part of human nature.

Remember that interpersonal conflict is conflict between somebody and somebody else, or two groups of people.

It's something that we all experience, and if it's not dealt with, it can grow into wrath and take deep roots within someone, which then could lead to inner conflict as well.

So we've got those important links to growth and nature, and the way that Blake almost implies that maybe anger and frustration is a natural, organic process similar to how a tree would grow.

Another interpretation of this metaphor then is that Blake implies that our anger and resentment can, if it isn't dealt with, feed and nurture our wrath over time, causing it to grow even more.

So he's using this natural metaphor to pick up on the idea that I think most of us can relate to that perhaps if we're feeling frustrated about something and we don't deal with it right away, then quite often, those feelings of anger can keep building up and growing until perhaps they explode as this angry wrath.

So that is another way in which he is using this natural metaphor.

So eventually in the poem, the wrath tree bore a fruit, which could be a symbol of the knowledge and beliefs that caused the resentment in the first place.

So we've got that important link there to the apple and this idea of knowledge.

And following the growth of this fruit, the foe tries to steal it, and is found dead beneath the tree, presumably poisoned.

So we've got this idea that whatever the apple does symbolise is something perhaps that the foe also wants or is attractive to them because they try to steal it.

And this toxicity, so the idea that this apple eventually perhaps poisons the foe, the toxicity of the tree could also link to life and death because it could imply that these ignored resentments that could grow could eventually become dangerous to others.

So this poem could also be interpreted as a reflection on self-growth and personal development.

So this idea that the resentment that could grow into this wrath could eventually end up becoming harmful to other people.

So now we've had a chance to look at extended metaphor.

Let's have a look at Blake's use of symbolism.

And as you can see from that image below, I would like to specifically pick up on this symbol of the apple.

"It grew both day and night 'til it bore an apple bright." So I'd like you to take a moment again to have another discussion.

What could the apple symbolise in this poem? So pause the video here while you take some time to discuss this with the people around you, or make a few notes if you're working on your own.

And click play when you're ready to continue and discuss it together.

Okay, welcome back.

And again, some really fantastic responses there.

I like that we're hearing lots of different ideas for what this apple could symbolise, which is fantastic because the most effective literary analyses always look at or explore multiple interpretations.

So this is a really, really good skill to be able to think about the same symbol, the same key quotation from a few different perspectives.

So let's have a look at some of the great responses I overheard.

So first of all then, this idea that the apple could link to a concealment of emotions in some way because we've got descriptions of the apple as bright and shiny.

It's not presented necessarily as the toxic poisonous apple that we discover it to be by the end.

In fact, when the foe perhaps first sees it, it's bright, it's shiny, it's attractive to look at.

So we've got this idea that perhaps the apple is pretending to be something that it isn't, which could link to the idea that maybe the speaker is pretending to be someone they're not by concealing these resentments.

We also have the idea of growth again.

So the growth of this resentment because as the apple grows on the tree, so does the speaker's resentment.

And we've got that idea that perhaps as each one grows more poisonous, as the apple grows more poisonous, perhaps the speaker's resentments start to become a bit more toxic.

So we've got these emotional interpretations, but we also have some literary interpretations.

And what I mean by that is apples are quite common symbols in literature, and we see them in lots of different types of literature.

And they usually tend to link to one of two key interpretations.

The first one being knowledge and corruption.

So we were discussing this briefly earlier, this idea that in the Garden of Eden, the apple given to Eve was forbidden fruit.

She wasn't allowed to have this apple from the tree of knowledge, and she did anyway.

So it symbolises this idea of forbidden knowledge and how attractive that can seem, and perhaps could corrupt somebody else.

And arguably, in this poem, maybe the speaker's foe is corrupted by the knowledge that they perceive, or the attractiveness of the apple.

And finally then, they could link to deception and danger.

Poisoned apples are quite a common trope that we see in folk and fairytales.

For example, in Snow White, we've got this idea that again links to this concealment idea that when the apple's presented to Snow White, it looks juicy and bright and shiny, and we have no idea, which Snow White has no idea that it is in fact poisonous.

So now it's time to pause and check our understanding.

So true or false, in "A Poison Tree," Blake uses an extended metaphor to illustrate the consequences of ignoring anger and resentment.

So take a moment to think about it.

And when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Welcome back, and well done to those of you who said true.

So now it is time to justify our answer.

So take a moment to read these two possible explanations, and decide which one you think best supports that statement above.

So pause the video again while you have a read and have a think.

And when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, hit play and we'll carry on.

Welcome back, and well done to those of you who said A.

By comparing the speaker's anger to a tree, he suggests that if it's left ignored, growing resentment can nurture and grow into wrath, which could become a danger to others.

So now it is time for our first practise task of today's lesson.

So what I would like you to do is to write a paragraph answering the following question, how does Blake present conflict in "A Poison Tree?" So in your answer, I would like to challenge you to make sure you include all of the following.

So interpretations of how conflict is presented in the poem, analysis of Blake's use of symbolism and, or extended metaphor.

So thinking about those examples we've been discussing already.

Evidence from the text, and comments on the writer's intentions or relevant links to the wider context of the poem.

So pause the video here while you give this a really good go.

Take as much time as you need to go over your copy of the poem, to really plan out and structure your paragraph so that your point is explained in a clear and concise way and is well supported with that evidence and analysis.

So pause the video here for as long as you need to, and click play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back.

So here is just an example of how you could have responded to this task.

"Blake presents conflict "as something that can breed growing resentment.

"Throughout 'A Poison Tree,' "he uses an extended metaphor "to compare the speaker's anger, resentment to a tree, "implying that when it was ignored, "the negative feelings took root within the speaker "and grew into a vengeful wrath.

"By using an extended metaphor, "Blake is able to explore many facets "of resentment and wrath.

"For example, suggesting it can be fed by fears and smiles.

"This poem could be read as a cautionary tale, "exploring the consequences "of ignoring the resentful feelings "caused by interpersonal conflict.

"It was originally published in his collection, "'Songs of Experience,' "comprised of Blake's reflections on life "and critiques of the society he lived in.

"We could perhaps read this poem as a warning to others, "perhaps based on Blake's personal experience of conflict." So that's just an example.

And remember, the beauty of analysing literature is that all of our interpretations are necessarily personal to us.

So it doesn't matter if you've not chosen the same quotes as I've chosen or you've not made the same points as I've chosen.

What is important is that you're including all those things on the checklist to ensure that your argument was valid, detailed and nuanced.

So let's just take some time for you to self-assess your own response, asking yourself whether you remembered to include interpretations of how conflict is presented, analysis of Blake's use of symbolism and, or extended metaphor, evidence from the text and comments on the writer's intentions and, or those relevant links to the wider context of the poem.

So take a moment just to review your response and see that you included everything from this checklist.

And I do have one final challenge for you as well.

What I would like you to do is underline any examples of tentative language in your response, which we would usually use to show personal interpretations.

So I'm thinking of words like may, likely, perhaps, implies, suggests, arguably.

These are all important words that show that something is our interpretation of the text, and not that we're trying to assert that perhaps our ideas are concrete facts.

So take a moment to use that checklist to review your work, and also underline those examples of tentative language.

And if you haven't got any examples of tentative language, take this opportunity to see if you can add a few examples into your response now.

So pause the video, and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, so we've made it to the halfway point of today's lesson.

In the second 1/2 of the lesson, we are going to explore how Blake uses form and structure.

Let's start off by thinking about Blake's use of time.

So I would like to hand over to you for a discussion to start us off.

So have another look through the poem, and I would like you to identify any references to time that you can spot in the text.

So pause the video while you have another read and see what you can identify.

And when you're ready to feedback together, click play and we'll carry on.

Welcome back.

So as I'm sure you've realised, there are quite a few references to time in this poem.

We've got line six, "Night and morning with my tears." And we've got, "And it grew both day and night," on line nine.

And then on stanza four, that final stanza, we've got another reference to night and morning.

All these references to time are focusing on this idea of day and night or morning and night.

So my question to you is how does this affect our interpretation of the speaker's conflict and negative feelings? So thinking really specifically about this day and night and how it conveys this sense of passing time.

So pause the video here while you have a think and take some time to discuss it.

And when you're ready to go through it together, click play and we'll carry on.

Welcome back, some really imaginative responses there.

Again, I liked how people were really working through this idea of the significance of those words, day and night.

What's significant about that idea? So well done if your discussions were also picking up on these ideas.

It depicts the speaker's anger and wrath as all consuming since it's something that affects him night and day and day and night.

It also implies that his wrath has only continued to grow over many days.

So we've got this idea that as the passing of time, the days and the nights slip past, our speaker's wrath is growing and growing and growing.

So we're getting this sense that it's something that's been sat with him perhaps for quite a while.

And we could link that back to the idea of the tree as an extended metaphor because trees don't really grow very quickly.

So perhaps we get this idea that wrath is quite deep rooted because it has been there a long time, slowly growing perhaps within our speaker.

So now we've explored Blake's use of time, I'd like to think about Blake's use of rhythm.

So over to you again then.

I'd like to count the number of syllables in each line.

So just a quick reminder, a syllable is the small sounds that come together to make up a word.

So for example, the word rhythm has two syllables, rhythm.

So take some time to count those syllables.

And then I'd like you to have a think about whether or not you can spot any patterns.

So pause the video here while you have a think, and click play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back, a very interesting discussion to listen to there.

I could hear lots of people clapping along to themselves as they were working out the rhythm of each line.

So well done if you were doing that as well.

And interesting to see that some of you were starting to draw out those patterns.

So let's discuss it together.

So here is an extract from the poem.

So let's have a look, the first and the last stanza we've got here.

And those square brackets in the middle just show us that we are missing part of the text.

So the number of syllables in each line then.

Well, that first line, we had seven.

I was angry with my friend.

And then on the second line, we had eight, and the third line, seven, and the fourth line, we had eight again.

And then jumping down to that last stanza, we had seven, seven, seven and seven.

So I was interested to see if we could spot any patterns or if we thought that these numbers had anything in common.

So well done if you were also picking up on this idea that the poem follows a regular rhythm.

We've got all of the lines here are roughly the same length.

It doesn't matter that they're not exactly the same length.

They're not wildly different sizes.

If we'd had lines of say four syllables and 12 syllables, we wouldn't have been able to say that it was regular.

Now we know we've got this regular rhythm.

I'd like to think about how it affects our interpretation of the poet.

So take some time again to discuss this with the people around you, or make some notes if you're working on your own.

And click play when you're ready for us to discuss it together.

Okay, welcome back, and some really interesting responses that I overheard there.

And well done for giving that a really good go because rhythm is quite an easy method to spot, but not necessarily an easy method to interpret.

So well done for being really imaginative there with your responses.

So we could have said that the rhythm gives the poem a sing song yet matter of fact tone.

We've got this, "I was angry with my friend, "I told my wrath, "my wrath did end." We're getting that very sing song way that the poem seems to be forcing us to read it.

And that also gives it a really matter of fact tone as well.

There's not particularly a rise and fall in the intonation.

The lines aren't necessarily building up the tension or building up the rhythm to one particular line.

It's quite even throughout the poem.

And we could argue that this drives the story along, but it also suggests that these events or these feelings aren't uncommon, and they're part of everyday life.

So we are getting a story that is being driven along at quite a pace here with this sing song rhythm.

But it's not necessarily building to a particularly exciting point.

It's something perhaps that we might experience all the time.

So now we've discussed rhythm, it's time to discuss rhyme.

So how does Blake use rhyme in the poem? And remember to think about whether or not you can spot any patterns.

And just a reminder, rhyme are when we've got those similar sounds at the end of a line, at the end of a word, which we then find at the end of a line.

So for example, the word time or crime both rhyme with the word rhyme.

So pause the video here while you have another look at the poem, pick out those rhymes and start to think about whether you can spot any patterns.

Click play when you're ready to discuss it together.

Welcome back.

Could see lots of people marking up their copies of the text there to show those rhyming words.

And actually using two different colours is a really great way to spot rhymes because you can then mark off the different lines that rhyme with each other.

Here is the whole poem then.

So which rhyming words could we identify? Well, we have actually got lots of different pairs of rhyming words, friend, end, foe, grow, fears, tears.

And actually, this occurs throughout the whole poem.

We're sticking with this like regular pattern of these pairs of rhyming lines.

What do these rhyming couplets remind you of? And we call them couplets because they're pairs.

So we've got that link.

They're pairs and couples.

What do they remind you of, and how does it affect our interpretation of the poem? So take some time to have a think and discuss it again, and click play when you're ready to continue together.

Okay, welcome back.

So what did this pattern remind us of then? So we know that we are dealing with rhyming couplets, these couples, these pairs of rhyming lines.

We could also refer to this rhyming pattern as an A, A, B, B rhyme scheme because we've got two lines that rhyme and then two different lines that rhyme.

So the A here represents those first two lines, and the B represents the next two lines.

And that continues throughout the whole poem.

Every single stanza has a pair of A lines at rhyme and a pair of B lines that rhyme.

And we could argue that it's similar to a children's poem or a nursery rhyme.

So well done if you were picking up on that idea.

Lots of famous nursery rhymes also use an A, A, B, B rhyme scheme.

A really famous one is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." So what's the significance then of this rhyming pattern that we could argue might link to a children's poem or nursery rhyme? Well, given what we know this poem is about, the idea that it's a warning, that it's a moral story, perhaps about how people should behave, we could argue that it resembles a cautionary tale.

And this was those types of children's literature that we were talking about earlier, which were stories, poetic stories that usually rhymed, that discuss the consequences of bad behaviour.

And they were usually really, really overblown.

And a really famous author that wrote these cautionary tales was somebody called Hilaire Belloc.

And in one of his stories, his poetic stories that was called "Matilda Who Told Lies and was Burned to Death," we can see that rhyming pattern coming forward.

So it says, "Matilda told such dreadful lies, "it made one gasp and stretch one's eyes.

"Her aunt, who from her earliest youth, "had kept a strict regard for truth." And as we can see there from the title, Matilda's unfortunate penchant for lying is going to have quite terrible consequences for her at the end.

And this literature was quite common for children's literature at the time, and it was this idea that perhaps moral stories would influence behaviour of young people because they wouldn't want to tell lies in case this happened to them.

So given that Blake's poem warns us of the consequences of the speaker's wrath that came out of not dealing with their initial resentment, we could see a similar idea here as well.

So now it's time to pause and check our understanding again.

So true or false, Blake's use of rhyme scheme helps us to interpret the poem as a warning to people not to ignore their resentments.

So pause the video while you have a think.

And when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Welcome back, and well done to those of you who said true.

So now it's time for us to justify our answers.

So take a look at these two explanations, and decide which one you think best supports that statement above.

Have a think, and when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Welcome back, and well done to those of you who said B.

He uses an A, A, B, B rhyme scheme, which gives the poem a musical feel like a nursery rhyme.

Arguably, it takes the form of a cautionary tale, children's stories aiming to prevent bad behaviour.

So now it's time for the final practise task of today's lesson.

And what I would like you to do is to complete the following table, finding evidence of Blake's use of methods here and commenting on how each method affects our interpretation of the text.

So pause the video here, take as much time as you need.

And when you're ready to go through it together, click play and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you had enough time there to really get to grips with Blake's use of form and structure.

So let's just explore some of the evidence that you could have found and some possible effects that you might have identified.

So starting first of all with that A, A, B, B rhyme scheme.

Well, if you just looked at stanza one and just picked out those last words at the ends of the lines, you would've been able to identify that pattern, friend, end, foe and grow.

So what is the effect of this A, A, B, B rhyme scheme then? Well, we could argue that it gives the poem a driving musical feel like a nursery rhyme.

And it could also resemble a cautionary tale, given its warning to others.

So regular line lengths then.

You could potentially give an example of one line if you wanted to using a direct quotation, but there'll be no need to copy out the whole stanza.

So the effect of these regular line lengths then.

The poem has a sing song, matter of fact tone, which emphasises the normality of these feelings, and therefore the importance of the warning.

And finally, then repeated references to time.

So we could have chosen that line, "It grew both day and night," but as we know from our discussion earlier, that was one of the few lines that we could have chosen.

And the effect then.

This emphasises the all consuming nature of the speaker's wrath.

It affects him all the time and stays with him over many days.

Okay, so we've made it to the end of today's lesson, and a massive well done for all your hard work today.

So let's just summarise what we've covered in today's lesson.

There are repeated references to both day and night in the poem, illustrating the all consuming nature of emotions.

The extended metaphor of a tree is used to depict how strong negative emotions can grow.

The apple grown on the tree could symbolise the speaker's growing resentment towards their foe.

The rhythm of the poem is straightforward and matter of fact, reflecting the everyday nature of these emotions.

And arguably, the A, A, B, B rhyme scheme has a nursery rhyme feel, giving the impression of it as a cautionary tale.

So once again, a massive well done for all of your efforts today, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Have a fantastic day.