Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're well.

I hope you're doing really, really well today.

My name is Miss Afzal, and I'm doing pretty good, thank you, because we're going to be exploring some poetry today.

We're going to be exploring the poetry of William Blake, and in particular the poem called "The Tyger".

So I'm gonna ask you to pause the video here while you go and get your copy of the poem, "The Tyger".

All right, you're back.

You've got your copy of the poem, "The Tyger", by William Blake.

I hope you are curious.

I hope you are up for it.

Have you've got lots of ideas, lots of energy, and enthusiasm to explore this incredible poem, "The Tyger" by William Blake.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can describe the imagery and themes in the poem and give some evidence to justify my ideas.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme, symbolism, imagery, atmosphere.

Okay, great to hear those.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a text.

Symbolism is the use of objects, actions, or ideas to represent deeper meanings or concepts.

Imagery is the use of language to create a mental picture or sensory experience for the reader or listener.

Atmosphere is the mood created in a section, or the whole of a text.

These are our keywords.

Let's be on the lookout for them.

They will be coming up in our lesson.

Reading and responding to "The Tyger" by William Blake.

That's the name of our lesson today.

It has two parts to it, exploring imagery and exploring themes.

Let's begin by exploring imagery.

"The Tyger" is a poem written by William Blake in 1794 as part of the collection titled "Songs of Experience".

What we know so far.

"The Tyger" consists of six verses, each with four lines.

These are known as quatrains.

Each verse has a rhyme scheme of AABB.

The poem describes a speaker marvelling at the sight of a fierce and powerful Tyger depicted as burning bright in the darkness of the forest.

The speaker questions who or what could create such a fearsome and awe-inspiring creature? Blake's poetry often explores themes of innocence and experience, human nature, and spirituality.

Hmm, I'm wondering, if you were to some poems, which themes would you be exploring in your poetry? Take a moment to pause, reflect on this, and now pause video and share with someone nearby.

What themes would you write about in your poetry? Okay, thank you for sharing.

I wonder what you came up with.

Maybe something similar to each other, maybe different.

And we can see on our screen the illustrated version of "The Tyger" created by William Blake.

And now it's time to read the poem again.

A copy can be found in the additional materials.

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night.

What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies.

Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat.

What dread hand and what dread feet? What the hammer? What the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? What dread grasp.

Dare its deadly terrors clasp.

When the stars threw down their spears and watered heaven with their tears, did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee? Tyger Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night; what immortal hand or eye, dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" There we have "The Tyger" by William Blake.

Check for understanding.

Which two creatures are mentioned in the poem? Dove, tiger, lamb, eagle? Pause a video while you decide.

Well done if you selected tiger and lamb.

The choice of animals in the poem is intentional by William Blake.

They each convey different meanings to the reader or listener.

Symbolism in poetry involves the use of symbols, objects, images, or actions that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.

In "The Tyger", symbolism links animals to emotions and themes.

And remember, theme is a big idea or topic that recurs within the text.

The two animals represented in the poem are the tiger and the lamb.

Now we can see a very cute little lamb on our screen.

The lamb could represent innocence, gentleness, and the peaceful aspects of creation, reflecting the animal's nature.

These are just some of the meanings that the lamb might represent.

There are many more.

I wonder what the lamb represents for you.

If the lamb is said to represent innocence, gentleness, and peace, what do you think the tiger might represent? Have a look at that image of a tiger on the screen.

What a creature.

So mesmerising.

I'd like you now to discuss the symbolism of the tiger.

How would you describe its nature? Pause the video, turn to someone nearby, and share with them.

Let's hear from Laura.

"The tiger might represent power and ferocity.

I know they are predators and are feared by their prey.

Compared to the lamb, they represented the darker, more mysterious forces of nature." Thanks for that answer, Laura.

Yeah, really quite a contrast to the peace and gentleness of the lamb.

I wonder if you had similar ideas to Laura's, or maybe something different.

Check for understanding.

Match the following emotions to the animal their associated with in the poem.

Innocence, fear, tenderness, awe, and the animals are the tiger and the lamb.

So pause the video while you match these emotions to the animal they're associated with in the poem.

Did you link up innocence with the lamb, fear with the tiger, tenderness with the lamb, and awe with the tiger? Well done if you made these connections.

And now it's time to explore the imagery contained in the poem.

Have a copy of "The Tyger" to refer to.

This can be found in the additional materials.

Imagery may be interpreted differently depending on the reader or listeners' experiences.

So we all come to poetry with our own unique identities and experiences.

So there, of course, can be many interpretations of a poem.

So let's explore the imagery in verse one and two.

So we can see these first two lines, "Tyger Tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night." We can see here that the tiger is compared to a burning flame within a dark and mysterious setting.

"Immortal hand or eye," this imagery suggests a divine or supernatural creator questioning the power behind the tiger's creation.

In the second verse, "Burnt the fire of thine eyes." The tiger's eyes are depicted as burning with an intense inner fire.

Let's explore the imagery in verse three and four.

In these first two lines, "And what shoulder, and what art, could twist the sinews of thy heart?" This imagery describes the physical strength and skill involved in the creation of the tiger.

"And when thy heart began to beat," the moment of the tiger's creation is depicted as dramatic and intense.

In verse four, "In what furnace was thy brain?" The tiger's mind is compared to a furnace, emphasising its intense, fiery nature.

The "dread grasps" suggests the powerful, possibly fearsome hands that shaped the tiger.

And finally, let's explored imagery in verses five and six.

So in verse five, we're talking about the stars.

Imagery here suggests the stars were not happy about the tiger's creation.

And the final two lines of this verse, "Did he who made the lamb make thee?" contrasts the gentle lamb with the fierce tiger.

Finally, verse six, we have that repetition.

"Tyger Tyger burning bright." We're repeating the vivid, fiery image of the tiger, reinforcing its intense presence.

"Dare frame thy fearful symmetry." This imagery might emphasise the skill required to create such a fearsome and beautiful creature.

My favourite example of imagery is "In what distant deeps or skies, burnt the fire of thine eyes?" I liked how William Blake makes you think of the tiger's eyes in the depths of the oceans or the skies above.

It made me think of the tiger's creation and how it came to be.

What about you? What is your favourite example of imagery? What do you like about it and what makes it effective? Pause the video here and share with someone nearby your favourite example of imagery.

Okay, thanks for sharing.

I wonder if you had a similar example of imagery that you each liked, or maybe they were different.

And now it's time for your task.

Based on exploring the imagery and our understanding of the poem, we can reflect on the atmosphere that William Blake is able to convey.

Atmosphere is one of our keywords.

It's the mood that is created by a section or the whole of the text.

So what atmosphere do you think is created by the poem? Examples might include mystical, tense, peaceful, eerie, joyful, melancholic, it means very sad, nostalgic, where you have a longing for the past, remembering and longing for the past, reflective, chaotic.

So refer to the poem and use examples from the text to support your reasoning about the atmosphere that you think is created by the poem.

We pause the video here while you have a go at this task and I'll see you when you're finished.

So, how did you get on with that? What atmosphere do you think is created by the poem? I'm curious.

Let's hear from Izzy.

"I think the poem creates an atmosphere of awe and mystery.

This is conveyed through the poem's vivid imagery, which shows the tiger as both a majestic and also ferocious creature.

The poem also raises questions about the nature of creation and the power behind it." Thanks for sharing that, Izzy.

Yeah, so an atmosphere of awe and mystery, and I like the way you really back that up with your evidence from the text.

I wonder, was your response similar to Izzy's, or maybe it was different? And now it's time for us to look at some themes, exploring themes in "The Tyger".

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

There are a few ways to identify themes, considering actions and characteristics of people within the text.

Identifying repetition, actions, emotions, traits, searching for deeper meaning using inference, considering the overall message of the text.

These are just some of the ways to identify themes.

One of the most prominent themes in a poem is creation.

The speaker asks several questions, reflect on who created the tiger and their reasons for doing so.

What themes do you think are shown within the text? Pause the video and share with someone nearby what themes do you think are shown within the text? Okay, thanks for sharing with each other.

So some other themes in "The Tyger" might include, I wonder if you came up with any of these, nature, fear, danger, curiosity, strength, and power.

There are many possible themes that can be drawn out from this text, and readers may interpret themes and their importance differently.

Check for understanding.

Match the theme to how it is conveyed in the text.

So we have the themes of creation, nature, and danger.

How these are conveyed in the text.

The tiger is depicted in its natural habitat.

The tiger's presence evokes feelings of fear.

Rhetorical questions are used in a poem asking about the origin of the tiger.

Pause the video while you match up the themes to how they're conveyed in the text.

Okay, so let's have a look at how you made these connections.

Creation is conveyed by the rhetorical questions that are used in the poem, asking about the origin of the tiger.

Nature is conveyed through the tiger being depicted in its natural habitat, and danger is conveyed through the tiger's presence evoking feelings of fear.

Well done if you made these connections.

And now it's time for your next task.

A takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

What are your takeaway ideas from reading the poem, "The Tyger"? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

What are you taking away? Thank you for sharing.

Let's hear it from Sam.

"It's important to be curious and ask lots of questions." Yeah, there are certainly a lot of questions in this poem, and some really quite big and deep questions and explorations.

Andeep says, "Creation is mysterious.

It's amazing that something as powerful and beautiful as a tiger could have been created." Yeah, absolutely.

Especially when we were looking at those pictures of the images of the tiger earlier.

I was thinking that was what an incredible creature.

So stunningly beautiful and yeah, very powerful.

What were your takeaway ideas? I wonder maybe something similar to what we've heard from Sam and Andeep, or maybe something different, some takeaway ideas you might have mentioned could be, life is full of contrasts.

It can be scary and intimidating like the tiger, or gentle and innocent like the lamb.

Even though we can ask a lot of questions, it's okay to not have all the answers.

The poem helps us appreciate how beautiful and inspiring nature is and how many different species there are in the world.

As our reading experiences are unique, your ideas will be too, and I really hope you enjoyed sharing those, and I hope you've enjoyed what you're taking away from this poem.

There's so, so much that it gives us.

In our lesson today, Reading and Responding to "The Tyger" by William Blake, we have covered the following.

"The Tyger" is a poem written by William Blake in 1794.

Imagery may be interpreted differently depending on the reader or listeners' experiences.

The poem uses symbolism.

Symbolism in poetry involves the use of symbols, objects, images, or actions that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.

The poem references to animals, the lamb and the tiger.

These can symbolise a range of emotions and themes.

A takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

Something I'd like to communicate to you is thank you for being here and joining in with this lesson, reading and responding to "The Tyger".

It was great to explore the imagery that you found significant and especially to hear about what you are taking away, the takeaway idea that you have from this poem.

I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.

Bye for now.