Hello everyone and welcome to your lesson today on comparing conflict in two war poems. Make sure you have your copy of the AQA Power and Conflict anthology for this lesson.

If you haven't already got it, pause the video, go and grab it, and then continue with the lesson.

Our learning outcome for today is to be able to compare poet's attitudes to conflict in two war poems from the power and conflict anthology.

And as I mentioned, we'll be comparing Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade today.

Here are our three keywords for today's lesson.

The first one is nihilistic.

Nihilistic is a view that all traditional values are unfounded and existence is meaningless.

You may perhaps remember that there is a tone of nihilism in the poem Bayonet Charge in the second stanza.

The next key word is futility.

Futility means incapable of producing useful results.

Pointless.

Many poets in the power and conflict anthology present war as futile, and the last key word is dehumanise.

Dehumanise means to deprive someone of the qualities that make them human.

Indeed, many of the poets in the power and conflict anthology show how war dehumanises soldiers.

I'll give you a moment to pause the video and make a note of those keywords.

Off you go.

Great.

Let's get started with today's learning.

In today's lesson we have two learning cycles.

We'll first start off with exploring comparisons between war poems that we've studied, and then we are going to look at how to plan our comparative response and make sure we have all the elements we need in order to write a successful paragraph.

So let's begin with exploring some comparisons between war poems now.

So our question is compare how poets present the effect of conflict in Bayonet Charge and one other poem from the Power and Conflict and anthology.

In order to help you decide which poem to compare with Bayonet Charge, we need to first start with looking at the ideas presented in Bayonet Charge.

And this is what you should do no matter what question you're asked, you should have a look at that first poem and think about what is shown in that poem.

So let's start off with looking at what's shown in Bayonet Charge.

So in Bayonet Charge, we have the futility of war shown to us, and we see that through how the soldier questions his purpose mid battle.

We also have the criticism of patriotism in this poem.

You remember in the third stanza all the ideas that were once motives for joining the war such as patriotism, such as duty, such as honour, they are no longer important in the face of danger.

Our next theme in Bayonet Charge is the negative effect of war on nature.

You'll remember how Ted Hughes shows the impacts of war on the air, on animals, on wildlife, on greenery.

And lastly, we see the dehumanisation of soldiers in this poem.

We see this through the way in which Ted Hughes describes machinery alongside human body parts making us aware of the way in which soldiers were treated as cogs in machines.

So there are four big ideas in the poem Bayonet Charge.

I now want you to discuss what other poems would you link to Bayonet Charge.

If you were asked to compare the presentation of conflict, pause the video and discuss that now.

Since Bayonet Charge is a war poem, we might choose to compare the presentation of conflict in Bayonet Charge with another poem about war.

Let's take a look at comparing Bayonet Charge alongside two other war poems that we've studied.

So we could compare Bayonet Charge and Exposure by looking at these themes, how nature and war are linked, the effects of conflict on the individual and the futility of conflict.

Those are three themes shown in both Bayonet Charge and Exposure.

If we were to look at comparing Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade, we could look at those two poems along the themes of how they expose powerful ideas or people, how they show the mental versus the physical impact of war and how they show the dehumanisation of soldiers.

So there you have two poems that you could most definitely compare Bayonet Charge to.

June says that he would like to compare Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade as he thinks they both show the destructive effects of conflict.

He wants you to help him pick out relevant evidence.

So here is an idea for the first comparison point.

I found some evidence that you may want to use if you were comparing Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade on the theme of how they expose powerful ideas in people.

For Bayonet Charge, I've found the evidence, the traditional values and beliefs about war are discarded as amongst the danger of the battlefield.

They are considered luxuries.

This could be a criticism of the government that encouraged men to sign up for the war based on those traditional values.

In Charge of the Light Brigade, we see a criticism of those in command whose mistakes cost hundreds of lives.

And the quote there is someone had blundered.

So in Bayonet Charge, we see how Ted Hughes exposes powerful ideas and we see how in Charge of the Light Brigade, Tennyson exposes powerful people.

I now want you to find evidence for the two remaining comparison points.

So how does Bayonet Charge show the mental effects of war and how does Charge of the Light Brigade show the physical effects of war? I then want you to show how both poems may depict the dehumanisation of soldiers.

So pause the video now and find evidence for the two remaining comparison points.

Off you go.

Let's go through some ideas.

So for the mental versus the physical effect of war, you could have said the following, for Bayonet Charge, Bayonet Charge explores both the physical effect of war and the mental effect of war.

We see the physical effect of war in the quote stumbling and sweating because that's the soldier's physiological reaction to be placed in the battlefield.

And we see the mental effects of war in stanza two when Ted Hughes shows the soldiers' confusion about his position in this war.

In Charge of the Light Brigade, it mainly explores the physical effects of war and we see that through Tennyson's language, particularly shattered, sundered, volleyed and thundered that shows the extent to which the Light Brigade were met with brutality and the extent to which they were forced off their horses and met with their tragic death.

The dehumanisation of soldiers is shown in Bayonet Charge through the reference to clockwork and the inner dialogue in stanza two, as well as the merging of weapon and bodily imagery.

As we've said, the merging of weapon and bodily imagery shows us how Ted Hughes blurs the lines between what is human and what is machine perhaps suggesting the soldiers were dehumanised.

The inner dialogue of the soldier in stanza two also points to the fact that the soldier may not have had his own mind when joining this war and may not have been able to question why he was doing the things he was doing, which obviously points to him being denied of the things that make him human.

Now in Charge of the Light brigade, we see the dehumanisation of soldiers through the phrase, there's not to make reply, there's not to reason why.

Again, it shows how soldiers do not question their authority figures, which shows how they're denied freedom and the ability to make their own decisions when in war.

We also see the dehumanisation of the soldiers perhaps through how the soldiers are commodified as the 600.

They are no longer seen as individual people with their own feelings.

So there you have some comparison points between Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade and the corresponding evidence that you could use to support those points.

Now let's check your understanding of what we've discussed so far.

Whilst Bayonet Charge alludes to the mental effects of war, Charge of the Light Brigade mostly focuses on the effect of war on nature, the physical effect of war, or the effect of war on families of soldiers.

Pause the video and answer that question now.

Well done if you said, whilst Bayonet Charge eludes the mental effects of war, the Charge of the Light Brigade mostly focuses on the physical effect of war.

We see that through the graphic description of how the soldiers meet their end and how they are brutally forced off their horses and met with their sudden death in that poem.

Next question, check your understanding is whereas Owen shows how nature can be more destructive to man than war itself, Hughes shows how war destroys nature shows how the soldiers cannot differentiate between the effects of war and effects of nature or amidst the relationship between war and nature.

Pause the video and answer that question now.

Whereas Owen shows how nature can be more destructive to man than war itself.

Hughes shows how war destroys nature.

So we see that Owen presents nature as the most powerful force at war, whereas Hughes presents war as overpowering nature.

Now I want you to complete the table to find evidence that helps you to compare Bayonet Charge and Exposure.

Remember to explore ideas about language, form, and structure.

So the first comparison point that you need evidence for is how both poems present war and nature as linked.

The next comparison point is how both poems show the effects of conflict on the individual.

And the last comparison point that you need to find evidence for is how both poems show the futility of war.

Pause the video and find your corresponding evidence for each of those comparison points now.

Off you go.

Great effort there everyone.

Let's go through some ideas.

So let's find some evidence for the presentation of war and nature.

In Bayonet Charge, Hughes suggests nature is a victim of war and in Exposure, Owen suggests nature is more harmful to the soldiers than warfare.

So we see how both poets present nature and war as linked, but Owen and Hughes show this relationship in very different ways.

Now let's look at the effect of conflict on the individual.

In Bayonet Charge, Hughes uses the third person to explore the impacts of war on an individual.

We know that Ted Hughes father was one of the few survivors in the Gallipoli campaign, so perhaps Ted Hughes tries to get into his father's shoes in Bayonet Charge and thus uses the third person to explore the effect of war on an individual.

But in Exposure, Owen uses the first person to explore the impact of war on an individual and we know that Owen was indeed a World War I soldier who wrote directly about his own experiences in the trenches.

So this could be the explanation for why Owen was able to use the first person.

Now it's up to you to decide which account of war is more powerful.

Is it the third person or the first person? Now let's look at how both poems show the futility of war.

In Bayonet Charge, the futility of war is shown via the inner dialogue in stanza two, which questions the purpose of war.

It shows how if a soldier can't understand what they're doing in the middle of that battlefield, then surely that shows how futile war is.

And in Exposure, we see the futility of war through the repetition of, but nothing happens and the nihilistic tone, which suggests war is futile.

Well done on that task.

Let's move on to our second learning cycle where we'll plan a comparative response now.

Creating a plan will help you prepare to write an effective comparative response.

Here is a segment of our multiple paragraph outline and we'll be using this method to plan our responses.

So we should have a thesis, a topic sentence for each paragraph, supporting detail for each paragraph, a closing sentence for each paragraph, and a conclusion for the overall essay.

The thesis is where you outline your overarching argument for your response.

Each topic sentence outlines the argument of each of your paragraphs.

The supporting detail is where you'll outline the key language, form, structure and contextual detail that supports your topic sentence.

The closing sentence is where you'll summarise the argument in each of your paragraphs.

And lastly, the conclusion is, well, you will outline the conclusive summary of the author's message.

Let's look at its success criteria for your comparative thesis statement now.

So comparative thesis statements should focus on both texts as a whole and explore the overarching argument of the whole essay.

So say we were met with this question, how do poets explore ideas around conflict in Bayonet Charge and Exposure? Let's look at an example comparative thesis statement in response to this question.

A student for their comparative thesis statement wrote, this makes Bayonet Charge very interesting to compare with Exposure because it's clear that Hughes was knowledgeable about war although he did not fight.

Now I want you to discuss, does this thesis statement meet the success criteria? Justify your answer.

Pause the video and discuss that now.

This thesis statement talks mainly about the author of Bayonet Charge, so therefore it does not focus on both texts as a whole.

This thesis statement also does not answer how both poems present conflict so it doesn't explore the overarching argument of the whole essay either.

Gathering a range of ideas about both poems and writing detailed topic sentences first can help us create more effective thesis statements.

Let's take a look at that now so I can take my initial notes on both poems and turn them into three topic sentences.

So my first note on the poems, Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade was that both poems either expose powerful ideas or people, I can turn that idea into a topic sentence.

Both Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade expose powerful ideas or people that cause harm to soldiers in war.

My next idea about both poems here was how they either explore the mental or the physical impact of war.

I can turn that note into a topic sentence.

Both bayonet charge and charge of the light brigade explore the devastating impact of war.

Whilst bayonet charge explores mental and physical impacts on soldiers, the latter focuses on physical harm.

And my last note was the how both poems look at the dehumanisation of soldiers.

I can turn that into the following topic sentence.

Both Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade expose how soldiers are dehumanised at war to the detriment of their wellbeing.

Notice how one of the main ways in which I'm able to transform my notes into comparative topic sentences is through the use of correlative conjunctions.

Now here is the success criteria for your comparative topic sentences.

Your comparative topic sentences should have a clear focus and link to the question.

So let's consider this question.

How do poets explore ideas around conflicts in Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade? A student wrote the following topic sentence, both Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade expose powerful ideas or people that cause harm to soldiers in war.

I want you to discuss, does this topic sentence meet the success criteria? Make sure you justify your answer.

Pause the video and discuss that now.

This topic sentence is focused on how both poems expose the harmful impact of power.

And this topic sentence talks about war and will discuss the reality of war versus perception.

Thus, it addresses the question focus, conflict.

I can then use all of my ideas about the poems to create an effective thesis statement that encompasses all of these ideas.

So all of my topic sentences, I can merge into a comprehensive thesis statement like this.

Bayonet Charge exposes the mental and physical harm soldiers face allowing Hughes to explicitly critique harmful propaganda.

Whereas Charge of the Light Brigade focuses on the physical harm and is more subtle in its critique of authority figures, perhaps due to Tennyman's role as poet Laureate.

Now let's take that comparative thesis statement.

Does this thesis statement now meet the success criteria? Pause the video and discuss that question now.

This comparative thesis statement does indeed meet the success criteria.

Firstly, it focuses on both texts as a whole.

It focuses on Bayonet Charge as a whole and Charge of the Light Brigade as a whole.

It also explores the overarching argument of the whole essay.

The overarching argument is that Ted Hughes explicitly critiques propaganda, whereas Tennyson is more subtle in his critique of authority figures because he had an important role as poet Laureate.

Let's check your understanding now of what we've gone through.

Both Bayonet Charge and Charge of the Light Brigade expose how soldiers are dehumanised at war to the detriment of their wellbeing.

This is an example of a comparative thesis statement, comparative topic sentence or topic sentence.

Pause the video and answer that question now.

Well done of you said that sentence is an example of a comparative topic sentence.

It has a clear focus which is dehumanisation, and it links to the question we are being asked, which is about conflict in both poems. Now I want you to plan and write three topic sentences and write your thesis statement for the following question.

How do poets explore ideas around conflict in Bayonet Charge and Exposure? Remember, your thesis statement is where you'll have your overarching argument, which is supported by both poems as a whole, and your topic sentences form the first sentence of each paragraph and they must state the paragraph's main idea.

Pause the video and complete that task now.

Here is Aisha's thesis statement.

Owen presents war as futile.

The futility of war affects the World War One soldier in detrimental ways.

It does not meet the checklist as it stands.

It does not explore the overarching argument of the entire essay, and it does not focus on both texts as a whole.

Here is her redraft.

Both Owen and Hughes expose the detrimental impacts of war and its futility on the individual.

Both poets seem to critique fabricated depictions of war.

Owen achieves this by presenting nature as the enemy.

Whilst Hughes achieves this through the soldier's existential reflection in his poem, it now does meet the checklist.

It does explore the overarching argument of the entire essay, which is that both poets look at the detrimental impact of war and its futility, and it does focus on both texts as a whole.

It talks about how Exposure does this as well as how Bayonet Charge does this.

I now want you to self-assess your own thesis statement using the checklist, pause the video and self-assess.

Well done.

Remember, being critical of your own work and self-assessing is a sure way to guarantee you are going to get better at planning and writing.

Well done.

Now, here is one of Aisha's topic sentences.

Owen and Hughes both show how nature and war are linked, whereas Owen shows the harsh impact of nature on soldiers at war.

Hughes explores the detrimental effects of war on nature.

She identifies that it has a clear focus and links to the question.

I now need to check each of your topic sentences has a clear focus and links to the question.

Pause the video and self-assess your topic sentences now.

Great job and great effort with all of your planning today.

Here's what we've learned in today's lesson.

Charge of the Light Brigade, Bayonet Charge and Exposure are all poems about war.

Exposure and Bayonet Charge both convey the futility of war and convey the links between war and nature.

Charge of the Light Brigade and Bayonet Charge, both expose the truth about powerful ideas and powerful people.

Comparative thesis statements should provide an overarching argument and focus on both poems as a whole, and comparative topic sentences should have a clear focus and link to the question.

Very well done on all your effort today.

I hope to see you in another lesson soon.