Hello there, welcome to today's lesson.

Great to see you.

My name is Mr. Barnsley, and I'm really excited to continue to explore the poetry in the AQA World and Lives poetry.

Today we're gonna be looking at a new poem, and that poem is called "Named Journeys." So you're gonna want your copy of the AQA World and Lives Anthology to hand, 'cause you're gonna want to be able to see the poem.

All right, let's get started.

Okay, so let's look at today's outcome then.

By the end of today's lesson, you're gonna be able to understand how Mundair, the poet, presents the concept of identity and migration in their poem.

Now there are five keywords that we're gonna be keeping an eye out for today.

They are migration, deity, interlaced, heritage, and conceptual.

Let's explore what each of these words mean.

So migration is the movement of a person or group of people from one country, one locality, one place of residence, to somewhere else.

A deity is a god or goddess.

Interlaced means to join different parts together to make a whole.

Your heritage is the history, the traditions, the practises of a particular country or society.

And conceptual are ideas that are based, or something that's based on ideas or principles.

So let's keep an eye out for these five words, see if we can spot them in the lesson, and also use them in our own discussions and work.

So we're gonna be understanding a new poem today, and that poem is ""Name Journeys." And to do that the first learning cycle, we're gonna look at a bit of context behind the poem, and we're gonna look at a bit of Hindu mythology.

And in the second learning cycle, we'll move on to reading the poem and seeing how our understanding of that context helps us understand the poem.

So let's start then by diving into our first learning cycle, all about Hindu mythology.

So throughout "Name Journeys" Mundair interweaves Hindu mythology.

So one of the deities that are referenced in the poem, there are two deities referenced in the poem, the first is Rama.

And Rama is the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu.

So the core of Rama's story is told in the Ramayana, and this is where Rama, we learned that Rama is the first born son of the King Dasharatha and the queen Kaushalya.

Now he is chosen as heir to the throne.

However, the queen Kaikeyi is owed a favour by Dasharatha, and she requests that her son, Bharata, is crowned instead.

Hmm, seems like we've got a problem here.

Now, in "Name Journeys," I'm gonna give you a little bit more insight into one of the initial quotations.

Rama is associated with the wilderness.

So I want you to think about, make some predictions.

If you don't know the story about Rama and his wife Sita, what do you think happens next in the story, based on this phrase "the wilderness"? Why don't you pause the video, have a think.

If you've got a partner you can discuss with them, share some ideas with them.

Otherwise, you can just think through this independently.

What might happen? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, I had some really interesting suggestions there.

I heard some of you saying maybe Rama goes off on a mission, a quest to prove his worth, to prove that he deserves to be the heir to the throne.

Others said maybe he's rejected or cast out by his parents, his community, because he's no longer heir to the throne.

So, some interesting ideas there.

Now, actually, Rama is banished to the forest for 14 years, and he's accompanied by his wife, Sita, and his brother Lakshmana.

Now, Sita is the other deity that is referenced in name journey.

So they're the two key names to remember, Rama and Sita.

So in the "Name Journeys," Sita is associated with a trial.

Okay, so when we look at the poem you will notice that Sita is referenced in association with a trial.

What do you think might happen? Again, if you don't know the story of Ram and Sita, let's make some predictions here.

Why might we associate Sita with a trial? What might happen? Pause the video, have a think.

Discuss with your partner, if you've got a partner.

Otherwise, think through this independently.

Okay, what do you think might happen? Right, Laura said, and I heard some people saying some very similar things, Laura said, "Perhaps Sita is accused of some sort of crime.

"She has to prove her innocence." We think of trials, we think of, we think of crime, the law.

So maybe Sita is proving her innocence.

Now, following their arrival in the forest, Sita is abducted by the Ravana, the demon king.

Now Rama follows Sita and kills Ravana.

However, Rama is actually initially quite hesitant to take Sita back.

He suspects her of infidelity, of cheating on him, and she has to prove her chastity, her loyalty to him in a trial by fire.

Now, actually Sita proves her chastity.

She proves that she wasn't, there was no infidelity.

However, by this point, Rama does not trust Sita, and he banishes her.

So what do you think the implication of this story might be? What do you think the implication of this story might be? Why don't you pause the video, have a think.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss with them.

Otherwise, think independently.

What's the implication of this story then? Some really interesting discussions there, and I heard people saying, "Perhaps it suggests that "sometimes once the seeds of doubt have been sown "and once you mistrust, "or the mistrust has set in, "it can be really difficult to dislodge them.

"It can be really easy to hang on to that doubt "and that mistrust." Okay, so which themes do you think are central, then, to the story of Rama and his wife, Sita? Is it a, belonging and acceptance; b, isolation and mistrust; or c, identity and heritage? Pause the video, have a think, and a press play when you think you've got an answer.

Yes, well done if you said b, isolation and mistrust.

And we want to keep these at the forefront of our mind, as we begin to make the link between this Hindu mythology and the poem itself.

So, over to our first task.

In the poem, the speaker explores their migration.

So, they have migrated to Manchester City in the north of England, and they compare themselves to Rama and Sita.

So I want you to answer the following questions.

So here is one quotation from the beginning of the poem.

"Like Rama I have felt the wilderness." What then can you infer, what can you predict from this about how the speaker might feel? Second question.

"Like Sita, I have been chastened through trial by fire." What can you infer from this? Okay, we're making some predictions based on some short quotations from the poem.

What predictions can you make? And finally, thinking this kind of larger, the bigger picture, why do you think the speaker would refer to Hindu mythology in a poem concerning their migration? All right, so first task is all about making some predictions using the clues that we have.

So over to you.

Pause the video, make these predictions, and press play when you're ready to reflect on the predictions that you have made.

Over to you.

All right, we're gonna reflect on the answers, the predictions that we have made by just asking ourselves some further questions to think about whether we've thought about everything.

So, for your first answer, can you have a look and make sure you considered the meaning of the word "wilderness" and how that might relate to someone's experience.

For your second question, did you consider the connotations of "chastened" and "trial" and how these might make someone feel? And for that third question, did you consider what it says about the speaker and how they see Hinduism and its connection to their identity? Okay, so three bigger questions for you to kind of ask yourself as you look back over your answers.

All right, so take a moment, reflect on what you've written so far, and press play, pause the video to do that, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

So you've done some reflection there, but really, we can't really kind of know how good our predictions have been until we read the poem.

So I think it's time for us to move on to our second learning cycle.

So let's start by considering the title of the poem, "Name Journeys." How can your name go on a journey? It seems like, you know, that might not feel like two words that you would often put together.

So how could your name go on a journey? Why don't you pause the video and have a think about this.

If you've got a partner, discuss this with them.

But don't worry if you're working by yourself, you can just think through this question independently.

All right, pause the video, have a think, and press play when you are ready to share your responses.

Some really interesting ideas there.

I want to shine a spotlight on some of the great things that you were saying, 'cause I think it was very similar to some of what our Oak pupils have said.

So Lucas said, "Perhaps it refers to different nicknames "and different versions of your name as you grow older?" So your name might change what your friends and family call you might change as you get older, and that's a journey that your name goes on.

Alex said, and I heard someone saying something very similar to this, that, "Your name is a really fundamental part "of your identity.

"So actually your name journey "might represent a much bigger journey, "your own personal journey through life." Some really great ideas from our Oak pupils, and I think they mirrored some fantastic things that you were saying.

All right, it's time for us to read the poem.

You are gonna need your copy of the AQA World and Lives Poetry anthology.

If you have not got it out and open in front of you, now it's time to pause your video and get yourself sorted.

You want to see a copy of the poem for this.

All right, pause the video, get yourself sorted, press play when you are ready.

Okay, no more warnings.

You should have everything that you need.

We're gonna read this poem together.

Well I'm gonna read it to you, but I'm gonna turn the camera off because I don't want you looking at the screen.

I want you focusing on the text.

So I want you to be reading the text, reading along with me, as I read this poem to you.

Okay, let's go.

"Name Journeys." "Like Rama, I have felt the wilderness, "but I have not been blessed with a companion "as sweet as she, Sita, "loyal, pure, and true of heart.

"Like her, I have been chastened through trial by fire.

"Sita and I, spiritual sari sisters, "entwined in an infinite silt "that would sway Draupadi's blush.

"My name, a journey between rough and smooth, "an interlacing of banyan leaves with sugar cane.

"Woven tapestries of journeys, "travelling from south to north "where the Punjabi in my mouth became dislodged "as milk teeth fell and hit infertile English soil.

"My mouth toiled to accommodate the rough musicality "of Mancunian vowels.

"And my name became a stumble that filled English mouths "with a discordant rhyme, "an exotic rhythm dulled.

"My voice, a mystery in the Anglo echo chamber.

"Void of history and memory." All right, some really excellent following along there, active listening, well done.

All right, I want us to return to the imagery of the Hindu deities, the Hindu gods.

"Like Rama I have felt the wilderness." "Like Sita I have been chastened through trial by fire." Why do you think Mundair begins the poem with this imagery? Why don't you pause the video, have a think, and press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Well done, some great discussions there.

I really liked it when people said that, "The image of Rama implies this sense of isolation "and feeling like an outsider." Remembering Rama was banished.

"The image of Sita evokes a sense of being judged "and having to prove yourself.

"So perhaps by opening with these images, "Mundair is suggesting that "this is how the speaker felt "when they first arrived in Manchester." Isolated from the community around them and constantly having to prove themselves.

Really interesting interpretations.

Well done if you said something similar.

How might we link Sita's fate, then, to how the speaker feels? So we know the speaker is.

Sorry, that Sita is put on trial by fire and still is banished by Rama.

How might we link Sita's fate to how the speaker feels? Why don't you pause the video, have a think about that.

Discuss, if you've got a partner, or just think through independently.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Some great ideas there.

I really liked when people saying, "I think the speaker feels that "they're never truly gonna be understood, "might never feel like they're truly gonna be accepted, "despite the fact that they're continually "trying to prove themselves." Now we might have also seen, you might have, kind of that quote might have stood out to you about how the speakers suggest their name is an interlacing of banyan leaves with sugar cane.

Now both banyan leaves and sugar cane are symbols of India.

So, what do you think it means that their name is interlaced, is kind of connected with these symbols of India? What do you think that means? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to hear some suggestions.

Really well done there.

I really liked when people were saying, "Look, if we think of our name as representing who we are, "then the interlacing of their name with India "really suggests that their Indian heritage "is inseparable from who they are as a person, "their sense of self." Those three things, my name, my heritage, and my identity are all interlocked, all interconnected.

Well done if you said something similar to that.

Okay, which of the interpretations of their name being an interlacing of banyan leaves and sugar cane do you think is most relevant? Is it Lucas who says, "It implies that their name "means nourishment due to the link to Indian food?" Or is it Alex who says, "It implies their Indian heritage "is inseparable from their identity?" Pause video, have a think, and then press play when you are ready to find out the correct answer.

Well done if you said Alex's inference feels the most relevant.

We don't know that Lucas is wrong, but without knowing the name of the speaker, it is probably one leap too far.

Maybe their name does mean nourishment, who knows? But we can't prove that.

Whereas, we can justify this link between name and heritage and identity.

Well done if you said Alex there.

We also know that speaker describes their language, Punjabi, as being in their mouth.

What are the implications of this? What does it suggest about the language and identity, the fact that it's in their mouth? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Again, some really, really interesting ideas.

Really well done if you said something similar to this.

"By describing Punjabi as being in their mouth, "the speaker implies that their language "is not only a physical part of them, "but through the association with their mouth, "implies that their language nourishes them, it sustains them.

"It creates a link between language and identity." So now we've got four things interlaced.

We've got name, we've got heritage, we've got language, and all of these coming together to help form identity.

So, let's brainstorm all the connotations of this quotation.

So, if you're working in your exercise book, you might want to write this down, you might want to make annotations directly on to your anthology, but let's really think about this quotation here and why it might be so interesting and so useful.

So, that phrase, "Punjabi in my mouth," really suggests that language physically sustains your sense of self.

Okay? You know, it's not just a part of who you are, but by speaking it, by saying it really helps you sustain your sense of self.

But the fact that this kind of, we use this phrase "became dislodged," it almost suggests that the speaker really had no choice here.

It was almost like a force.

The fact that we mentioned their milk teeth, kinda the first set of teeth you have, suggests that maybe this migration happened when they were very young, so this was obviously a decision that wasn't made by them.

And actually, by using this verb hit when talking about their teeth kind of falling out their mouth, and it's actually quite a violent, or kind of, for me, it has connotations of pain, which feels like this whole move for the speaker, this migration, was actually one that's quite painful for them.

And interesting that they call the English soil infertile.

We can link this to those images of food, the banyan leaves and the sugar cane, because actually it really suggests that these symbols of India can't grow in English soil, and therefore perhaps the speaker's Indian identity can't grow, can't flourish in England.

So really interesting how, and powerful, I would say, how actually their identity has been stifled, because their language, and as a consequence, their links to their heritage and kind of can't grow in England.

And that is having an impact on their sense of self, their sense of identity.

Really interesting ideas.

Great to make sure you've got them all written down.

So why don't you pause the video, and if you haven't already, make a note of these on your anthology.

Okay, true or false, then, the speaker creates a link between language and identity.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got an answer.

Yeah, well done if you said that's true.

Let's justify that now.

By describing Punjabi as being in their "mouth," the speaker implies their language is physically a part of them.

By using words such as "dislodged" and "hit," the speaker implies that they did not want to lose their language.

Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Right, well done if you said a, I think that's a very clear and logical interpretation.

B, I would say needs another step to make it a little bit clearer.

Those words "dislodged" and "hit" feel quite violent, which suggests a lack of choice.

I think we need to extend that further.

We can't just be like, oh this shows they didn't want to lose their language, because it shows that maybe this has been an impact or losing their language has been an impact of migration, which has been hurtful or painful to them.

I think that could just be a little bit clearer, that justification.

Okay, so the speaker suggests that, once they arrived in Manchester, their "name became a stumble." I want us to look at this quotation in a little bit more detail.

Again, we're gonna do this, work through this verbally, but if you do want to at any point make notes on your anthology, then that would be a fantastic thing to do.

So answer the following questions to help us take our analysis from the literal, what this quote is actually saying, to the conceptual.

So, kind of the deeper ideas behind it.

So let's start by what does it literally mean? When they say when they moved to Manchester, their "name became a stumble." What do you think they literally mean by that? What might it suggest about how their name is perceived in Manchester? And let's take it all the way out to the big ideas.

How might we link this back to the speaker connecting their name to their identity.

So pause the video, have a think about these questions.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss through these verbally, or you can just think through them independently.

And then we'll go through them together and we might even make some notes if that feels like the right thing to do.

All right, pause the video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to move on.

All right, I heard some great ideas there.

So, literally, people saying like their name was find, you know, people found their name hard to say.

Their name obviously reflects their Indian heritage and is very unlikely, then, to be an anglicised and English sounding name.

And, therefore, people in Manchester maybe struggled to say that.

Which we know how important names are to people, so it can often feel quite disrespectful when people don't say your name correctly or don't learn your name correctly.

So what might suggest about how their name is perceived in Manchester? Well, we kind of started touching on that.

Well it, you know, if they are finding that, you know, people are struggling with their name, or are not putting the effort into learn their name, they might find that their name becomes a bit of a stumbling block.

It becomes a bit disadvantaged to them.

It maybe separates them from the community that they have moved to, and as a result of that they, through no fault of their own, may be suffering from disadvantages.

So what is this saying? Well, it perhaps it suggests that actually that the speaker almost falls, and they lose their sense of self, they lose their sense of heritage.

You know, they feel less connected to their name because of the way they are treated because of their name, which means they feel less connected to their heritage, which means they're less connected to their language, and they're less connected to their sense of self.

So I think there's this really, I think this quote is actually quite upsetting, really, to think about how important our names are to us, and then what are the consequences if our names are not respected in, you know, in the way that it feels like the speakers hasn't been here.

Okay, let's check for our understanding then.

Which interpretation of "my name became a stumble" feels most conceptual? Is it Laura's? "It suggests that they almost fall "and lose their sense of self and sense of heritage." Or is it Izzy who says, "It suggests that people find their name difficult to say, "and therefore stumble over it." So we're looking for the more conceptual interpretation, not the most literal.

Pause the video, have a think.

Press play when you think you have the right answer.

Yeah, really well done if you said Laura there.

All right, over to our final task then.

The poem ends with the lines "in the Anglo echo chamber "void of history and memory." I want you to think about what does this suggest about the speaker and their Indian heritage? Write a short answer for me.

Things to consider.

An echo chamber is an environment where a person encounters beliefs that reflects and reinforces their own.

So if you surround yourself by people who think very similar things, you are usually sharing ideas in an echo chamber.

'Cause everyone's gonna be like, "Yeah, I agree with you.

"Great idea." That's an echo chamber.

A void means an absence.

And I want you to think about why the speaker would end on those lines.

So why don't you pause the video, think about the impact of the ending of this poem, and what we're learning about the speaker and their Indian heritage.

All right, over to you, food luck with this.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to do some reflecting.

All right, welcome back.

We're gonna reflect on our own work.

We're gonna do that by looking at some of the work of our Oak pupils.

So Laura wrote, "The idea of the 'echo chamber' "being an Anglo one suggests that minority voices "are being drowned out.

"Furthermore, the notion of the speaker's voice now being "in a 'void of history and memory' "implies that perhaps that she's expected "to forget her Indian heritage and history." Okay, let's give Laura's response of what went well and an even better if.

So, what went well? Well, Laura has really created those links between the ideas of heritage and identity in the poem and linked them to the final couplet.

And she's done that by looking at some of those individual words and phrases like echo chamber and void and Anglo.

However, even better if, she hasn't really considered the structural significance, the fact that this is the final line.

So what we could have built on this photo saying, actually perhaps the speaker is suggesting that they cannot reconcile their heritage and identity with the UK.

So the fact that we end in such a, with this sense of like hopelessness, suggests that actually this is an irreconcilable difference and their Indian heritage is doomed to being lost as they've migrated, which is a really sad and upsetting way to think about things.

All right, I want you to use Laura's feedback to give yourself your own what went well and your own even better if.

Okay, pause the video and over to you.

All right, welcome back.

It was great reading this poem for the first time with you.

I think this is a fantastic poem with some really interesting ideas at the heart of it.

On the screen you can see a summary of all the key learning that we've covered today.

Do pause the video, read through each of these very carefully, and make sure you feel confident with them before you move on to your next lesson.

All right, thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope you've had a great lesson.

It's been lovely learning alongside you.

I hope to see you in one of our lessons in the future again soon.

Goodbye, have a great day.