Lesson video

Hi there, welcome to this lesson.

I'm so glad you've joined me.

In this lesson, we're going to be looking at one of John Lyons poems' from his "Dancing in the Rain" poetry collection, and it's actually a poem called "Carib Nightfall." It's the last poem in his poetry collection, so it's right at the end.

Are you excited? I am.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson outcome is, I can analyse the poem "Carib Nightfall" by John Lyons.

The keywords for today, are you ready to say them? Theme, imagery, and let's break this up, figurative language, put them together, figurative language, good job.

A theme is a central idea that the writer intends the audience to engage deeply with.

Imagery involves the use of vivid and sensory language that appeals to the reader's senses, creating vivid mental pictures, and figurative language includes the use of similes, personification, and other literary devices to create imaginative meanings.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

First, we're gonna to read and respond to "Carib Nightfall".

Then we are going to look at the structure and language in "Carib Nightfall." So let's start reading and responding to "Carib Nightfall." I'm going to read "Carib Nightfall" to you now.

Are you ready? "Carib Nightfall" "In the Caribbean at the end of day, sun drops suddenly like a fireball behind forested hills, and into the sea.

Steam clouds of red and orange, shaped like monsters float up into the sky and for an instant hover there.

Kiskadees and sici-yea birds in awe of the sky and the night rushing in, leave night music to bull frogs' croaking bass, high octave tunes of mosquito violins, and crickets' twittering." What did you think? Now, I'd like you to watch John Lyons reading "Carib Nightfall," enjoy.

<v ->The next one is "Carib Nightfall."</v> Now, the story behind this one.

As always with poets, you find stories and experiences and things.

When my mother died at nine, I had to go and live with my grandmother in Tobago for a while.

And of course, there's a place called Rockville, and we had a lot of land there.

And of course, it's the very first night there.

I couldn't sleep properly because of the noise.

There's so much noise happening honestly.

I came from a city, right? And then I ended up in Tobago with my grandmother in this very rural area.

And this is what happened here.

"Carib Nightfall" In the Caribbean at the end of day, sun dropped suddenly like a fireball behind forested hills, and into the sea.

Steam clouds of red and orange, shaped like monsters float up into the sky and for an instant hover there.

Kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee Kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee and sici-yea birds (chirping) in awe of the sky and the dark rushing in, leave night music to bull frog (croaking) croaking bass, high octave tunes of mosquito's violins (buzzing) and crickets' twittering (twittering).

<v ->True or false?</v> "Carib Nightfall" is not based on real-life sounds that John Lyons used to hear.

Pause the video and have a think if this is true or false.

Yeah, it is false because John Lyons used to live in a rural part of Tobago with his granny, or John Lyons lived in an urban part of Tobago with his granny.

Do you remember him talking about where he lived in that video? Yes, he mentioned that he used to live in the city when he lived in Trinidad, but then when he moved to Tobago to live with his granny, he moved to a rural part of Tobago.

And that's how he can hear all of those sounds in nature.

Now, I would like you to re-watch John Lyons reading "Carib Nightfall." This time, I'd like you to refer to the poem in front of you as he is reading it.

Follow along with your finger.

<v ->The next poem is "Carib Nightfall."</v> Now, the story behind this one.

As always with poets, you find stories and experiences and things.

When my mother died at nine, I had to go and live with my grandmother in Tobago for a while.

And of course, there's a place called Rockville, and we had a lot of land there.

And of course, it's the very first night there.

I couldn't sleep properly because of the noise.

There's so much noise happening honestly.

I came from a city, right? And then I ended up in Tobago with my grandmother in this very rural area.

And this is what happened here.

"Carib Nightfall" In the Caribbean at the end of day, sun dropped suddenly like a fireball behind forested hills, and into the sea.

Steam clouds of red and orange, shaped like monsters float up into the sky and for an instant hover there.

Kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee Kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee and sici-yea birds (chirping) in awe of the sky and the dark rushing in, leave night music to bull frog (croaking) croaking bass, high octave tunes of mosquito's violins (buzzing) and crickets' twittering (twittering).

<v ->Now, I'm going to respond to the poem.

</v> Before I respond, I need to think about these questions.

What did I like about the poem? What did I not like about the poem? Do I have any questions about the poem or do I have any questions to John Lyons? And what imagery did I see? Okay, so from the poem, I could see that it was kind of split up into two main themes.

I would say the first part is about the sunset and also the steam clouds rising.

So it's about kind of the natural world.

And then the second part of the poem is about the animals and the sounds that he can hear in the night.

So what did I like about that? Oh, I liked the fact that I could picture and imagine the beautiful sunset in the Caribbean because of the way he describes it so vividly.

Do I dislike anything? No, I don't dislike anything.

Again, I don't think I'd dislike anything that John Lyons has ever written.

What imagery did I see? So mainly, I would say, I saw the image of the sun setting, and then I didn't really have an image of the animals and the insects making their sounds.

I think it was more that I could imagine a band or an orchestra playing.

Now, it's your turn to respond to the poet.

You're going to think about these questions, the same questions as the ones I had.

What did you like about the poem? What did you dislike about the poem? Do you have any questions? And what imagery did you see? Pause the video and turn and tell your partner.

Okay, well done, some really great discussions there.

I heard someone saying, "I liked the language used in the poem to describe the sunset." That was similar to what I said.

"It created vivid imagery of the sky in my mind." Yeah, it did that for me too.

And someone said, "I wonder what the steam clouds are." Yeah, I wonder.

Do you wonder what the steam clouds are? I think it's because in the Caribbean, it gets so hot that sometimes you can almost feel and see that hot air rising.

And I think that's what the steam clouds are.

Now, it's your turn to read "Carib Nightfall".

I've done it, John Lyons has done it.

Now, you're going to have a go.

Remember to read with expression.

This will help bring the poem to life.

There are some key things to remember about reading aloud: Use an expressive voice, vary the volume, emphasise keywords, and use your face, facial expressions, please? Pause the video and have a go at reading this to your partner.

True or false? A reader should use an expressive voice when reading aloud.

What do you think? Pause the video and then press play when you've worked out the answer.

That's right, it is true.

The reader should use an expressive voice to engage the audience.

The reader does not need to engage the audience when reading aloud.

What do you think? Of course, they need to engage the audience when reading aloud.

We don't want them to get bored.

Task A of this lesson is you're going to re-read the poem, "Carib Nightfall" with expression.

Remember to use the reading aloud tips that I gave you, using an expressive voice, volume, emphasis on keywords, and facial expressions.

Pause the video and have a go at Task A.

Okay, when you did Task A, did you remember to do these things? Did you use an expressive voice? Did you vary your volume? Did you emphasise any keywords? And did you use facial expressions? Yes, I know because I saw you doing it, well done.

Now, let's look at the structure and language in "Carib Nightfall." Verses refer to a group of lines in a poem.

These are the lines in a poem.

The verses are the groups of lines that make up a verse.

They can also be referred to as stanzas.

So in this poem, I can see verse one and verse two.

Are there any more? Yes, there's a verse three as well.

So how many verses are there in this poem then? Can you count? Pause the video and count please.

Okay, get ready to say the answer.

One, two, and? Yeah, there are three verses of varying lengths.

So can you see in the first verses, one, two, three, four, five, six lines? Second verse, one, two, three, four, five, six.

So verse one and verse two have the same lengths of lines.

And then the third one, I can just see by eye, it's longer.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine lines in the third verse.

And are they grouped by themes? Let's look at the first verse.

That one talks about the sun falling behind forested hills into the sea.

The second verse is about the steam clouds.

And then the third verse are about the animals that he can hear in the night.

So yeah, they are grouped by themes.

What is rhyme? Rhyme is the use of similar or the same sound in words usually at the end of lines.

Rhyming words create a musical quality within the poem, enhancing flow.

Repetition involves repeating the same word a few times for emphasis and rhythm.

Let's look at rhyme in "Carib Nightfall." Is there rhyme? So we need to look at the end of every line, the word and the sound at the end.

So we've got Caribbean, day, suddenly, ball, hills, sea, clouds, orange, monsters, sky, instant, there, kiskadees, birds.

I can't see any rhyme in this poem.

Sky, in, to, bass, tunes, violins, and twitterings just to check.

Nope, there's no rhyme in this poem.

What about repetition? Are any of the words repeated? Have a quick look now to see if you can see the same words coming up again.

No, no repetition either.

True or false.

There is rhyme in the poem "Carib Nightfall." Were you listening? Pause the video, have a think.

So the answer is false.

Yeah, there are no rhyming words in this poem, or there are rhyming words on every line.

Well, I kind of gave it away.

There are no rhyming words in this poem, well done.

Let's look at punctuation.

So punctuation like commas, full stops, dashes, or ellipses can affect the rhythm, pace, and interpretation of the poem.

Let's have a look at the intentional use of punctuation in this poem.

I can see commas.

Can you see them? I can see full stops, not many.

There's one in the first verse, one in the second, and then one in the third.

It's almost like the first verse is the first sentence, the second verse is the second sentence, and then the third verse, which is really long, is the third sentence.

It's almost like it's like that.

And then there's commas.

He's got a hyphen for sici-yea.

And then he also used apostrophes because he's talking about the sounds that belong to those animals, so bull frogs' croaking bass and the twitterings of the crickets.

What does the purpose of punctuation in a poem? Is it to describe the imagery in the poem? Is it to affect the rhythm, flow, and meaning of a poem? Or is it to tell the reader what the words mean? Pause the video and have a think about what the answer is.

Yeah, so it is to affect the rhythm, flow, and meaning of a poem, well done.

A word that is often referred to in poetry is theme, that comes up time and time again.

A theme is a noun.

Theme is the subject, topic, or main idea of a piece of art or literature.

Themes can be diverse and they encompass a wide range of subjects from love, nature, and family to emotions or personal experiences.

This is how the word theme is used in a sentence.

"Nature was the main theme of the poetry collection." Quick check for understanding.

Do you know what the poem is about? Can you summarise the poem? And what are the main themes? I think you've heard me talk about them already, but I want you to pause the video and just have a think about those questions.

I could hear people saying, "It's about beautiful Caribbean sunset." And you'd be right.

What are the main themes? So nature and the natural world.

Yes, because in the first verse, he vividly describes the sun setting.

The second verse, he vividly describes the steam floating up into the air.

And then there's also an element of colour as well, isn't there? And you could say also the theme of nature.

Let's now look at the language in "Carib Nightfall." Now he talks about the Caribbean quite a lot in his poems and that's because that's where he's from.

So Trinidad and Tobago are a group of islands in the Caribbean.

And he talks about the sun dropping suddenly.

So why would the sun drop? If you imagine, the sun was in the sky, then it dropped suddenly.

What is that trying to tell the reader? Well, it's trying to tell you that it turns dark quickly in the Caribbean.

Doesn't do it gradually, but happens quite quickly.

And it's like a fireball.

That's a simile, isn't it? So it's describing the sun and comparing it to a fireball which implies that it's very hot still.

"Behind the forested hills." So forested means that there's dense foliage.

"And into the sea." Why would the sun drop into the sea? Does it actually fall into the sea literally? Or is it a metaphor? Yeah, so he's trying to say that it looks like the sun has dropped into the sea, but actually, it's just gone beyond the horizon, hasn't it? Now, we talked about the steam clouds previously, didn't we? And we said that that's hot, humid air.

In the Caribbean, the air is so wet that it forms dense steam clouds that rise up.

And these, to him, look like monsters.

He's, again, using another simile here using the word like, so like a fireball.

That's what he's using to compare it with.

And he's saying that the steam clouds looked like monsters.

Maybe they were quite ominous, kind of rising like this.

And then he also mentioned that they hovered.

Now hovered means that you stay in the same position.

You're in the air and you are just staying in that same position.

Now, kiskadees and sici-yea birds, there's a picture of a sici-yea bird.

It's got a yellow breast.

So these are Caribbean birds.

"In awe of the sky and the dark rushing in." So that means the dark.

He's given the dark human qualities saying it was rushing like this.

So that means that the night is coming in quickly.

It's turning dark quickly.

The bull frog, this is a picture of a bull frog, and makes this deep, low sound which sounds like a bass instrument.

And then the mosquitoes make a high-pitched sound which sounds like violins.

And then he's also said that the crickets make a twittering sound, which is the sound that they make when they rub their legs together.

And it creates a really great image for the reader of a band or an orchestra.

What type of literary devices does John Lyons use in the poem "Carib Nightfall?" Did you remember me talking about the two types of literary devices? Is it simile, repetition, or personification, or and personification? Pause the video and have a think.

Yes, that's right, he does use simile.

He compares the sun to a fireball.

So he uses the word like, like a fireball.

And what was the other one that he compared? He said the steam clouds shaped like monsters.

So those are the two similes that he used in his poem.

And then he also said that the night rushed in, didn't he? So that's personifying the night rushing in like this.

So that's why we need to tick personification.

Now, I would like you to rewatch John Lyons reading "Carib Nightfall." This time, focus on his style and dialect.

<v ->The next one is "Carib Nightfall."</v> Now, there's a story behind this one.

As always with poets, you find stories and experiences and things.

When my mother died at nine, I had to go and live with my grandmother in Tobago for a while.

And of course, there's a place called Rockville, and we had a lot of land there.

And of course, it's the very first night there.

I couldn't sleep properly because of the noise.

There's so much noise happening honestly.

I came from a city, right? And then I ended up in Tobago with my grandmother in this very rural area.

And this is what happened here.

"Carib Nightfall" "In the Caribbean at the end of day, sun drops suddenly like a fireball behind forested hills, and into the sea.

Steam clouds of red and orange, shaped like monsters float up into the sky and for an instant hover there.

Kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee, kis-kis-kisskadee and sici-yea birds (chirping) in awe of the sky and the dark rushing in, leave night music to bull frog (croaking) croaking bass, high octave tunes of mosquito's violins (buzzing) and crickets' twittering (twittering)." <v ->Task B, which theme stands out to you, as the reader,</v> as being the most important throughout the poem and why? You may also identify your own theme and discuss that.

This is a talk activity.

Here are some scaffolds that can help you to have a discussion about the themes.

I think the theme of nature is most important because mmm.

I think the theme of weather is most important because mmm.

Or I think the theme of colour is most important because mmm.

Pause the video and have a discussion with your partner about which themes stand out to you the most.

Well done, some really great discussions I could hear.

I heard someone saying, "I think the theme of nature is most important because John Lyons has positive memories of Caribbean nature." I think I agree with you.

I heard someone else saying, "I think the theme of weather is most important because in the poem, John Lyons describes how hot and humid it is." I think he does quite like that sort of weather 'cause he dances in the rain to that weather.

And finally, I heard someone saying, "I think the colour of theme is most important because John Lyons wants to create vivid imagery of the sunset for the reader." And I think he does that really effectively.

Remember, a personal response will often be influenced by your own experiences, what you can relate to emotionally, and also what inspires you.

To summarise, reading and rereading poems leads to richer response and a greater understanding of language within them.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs in a poem.

Readers can interpret a poem, its themes, and its meaning in different ways.

Poets use vivid description to create imagery and may choose to use figurative language such as personification or simile to bring their poems to life.

I hope you enjoyed analysing the poem "Carib Nightfall" by John Lyons.

We have finished the lesson, goodbye.