Hello everyone.

It's lovely to see you all here today for this lesson on analysing the poem "Shall Earth No More Inspire Me." My name's Dr.

Clayton.

I'm meant to guide you through your learning journey today.

Now, analysing poetry are my favourite things to do because I feel like a detective, pulling all these little details and pieces together to create a picture of what the poet's intentions were.

Hopefully you'll see in this session how we can take all of these different details, methods, and ideas and form them together to create a cohesive idea about the poem.

So grab your pen, laptop, whatever you use for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how Bronte uses language and structure to explain her viewpoint.

So we have four words today we're going to focus on as our keywords.

They're identified in bold throughout the learning material.

And I'll try to point 'em out to you as well throughout the lesson, so you can see them being used in context.

Now, our first keyword personification, and this means the attribution of human characteristics to non-human things.

Our second keyword is unstressed syllable, and that's the part of the word you don't emphasise or accent.

Our third keyword is iambic, and that's a pattern in poetry where each unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable.

Finally, our fourth keyword is feminine ending, and that's a line that ends in an unstressed syllable.

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and their definitions.

So pause the video and write them down now.

Fantastic, let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to look at the personification of nature and what Bronte may have been saying about nature itself as well as the relationship between mankind and nature through this.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to analyse the regularity of the poem and consider why Bronte might have done this.

And then for our third learning cycle, we're going to see how we can combine all of these ideas together into a cohesive argument about the poem.

So our key idea we're gonna focus on today is how Bronte has presented nature.

So we're going to begin by looking at a certain technique that Bronte uses in relation to nature and what the implications of that might be.

Now, throughout the poem, the speaker, who we presume to be nature, uses phrases such as "I know" and "I've seen." I'd like you to think about what does this indicate and what is the effect of this? Now, if you're working with someone else, you might talk through ideas with them, and if you're working through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the video and think about what the implications are of nature saying, "I know" and "I've seen" throughout the poem.

Some fantastic discussions there.

You might have noticed this personifies nature.

Now, personification is one of our key words.

It means to attribute human characteristics to non-human things.

Now, personifications a very common device.

So I think sometimes we might forget to really think about the implications of it.

By personifying something, we're giving agency, a purpose, and a voice.

The consequence of personification, so we consider the non-human thing to have sentience, emotions, a conscience, and therefore, we think that in this poem, nature has those things.

Personifying nature creates an emotional connection between the reader and nature because we see them as an entity with thoughts and feelings rather than abstract concept.

Now we're going to consider the other implications of the personification.

So we think about the personifying nature gives it a purpose and a voice.

We now want to think about what Bronte is saying, that nature's trying to use its voice to say.

So I'd like to think about what is the speaker, so nature, doing in the poem? Who are they talking to, and what do they want to happen? And then what are the wider implications of this? So pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Some great discussions there.

Now, you might have remembered that in the poem, nature is talking to a listener and trying to encourage them to return to their former appreciation of nature.

So Bronte is perhaps trying to encourage us to see nature as a living entity that's trying to reconnect with us, to reconnect with humanity, and forge a loving relationship between mankind and nature.

By specifically saying "I know" and "I've seen," Bronte's bestowing authority and experience onto nature.

So perhaps we might see it as worthwhile and powerful, rather than something we can simply ignore.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

Now, what I'd like to tell me is which Oak pupil's interpretation of the personification of nature is most relevant to the poem? So Laura says, it makes us feel sympathy for the listener because they have lost their connection to nature.

And then Izzy says, it makes us feel an emotional connection to nature, that arguably encourages us to reconnect with it.

So which one of those is most relevant to the poem? Pause the video and make a selection now.

The correct answer is that it makes us feel an emotional connection to nature because nature's the one who's speaking to us and arguably encourages us to want to reconnect with it.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Onto our first task of the lesson.

But we're going to consider extending our thoughts about the personification of nature and think about what that might be saying about mankind's relationship with nature.

Now, throughout the poem, we hear the speaker, nature, imploring the listener to return to their former appreciation of nature.

However, the listener never responds.

The only voice we hear in the poem is nature's voice.

So what do you think that suggests about Bronte's wider feelings about the relationship between nature and mankind? And I'd like you to write a short answer explaining Bronte's feelings and ideas about what you think her intention might have been through the listener never responding to nature.

What does that say about the connection between nature and humanity? Pause the video and write your answer now.

Fantastic ideas, everyone.

Now what I'd like you to do is consider Izzy's ideas.

Do you agree with them? Why or why not? So Izzy has taken the idea of humanity not responding to nature, as she thinks it means that Bronte's intention may have been to suggest that humanity has turned its back on nature and stopped listening to it.

Izzy's also considered the context here, a thought about the fact that Bronte saw the societal effects of the Industrial Revolution and how society shifted from a rural to urban living.

And she thought that perhaps the listener's disconnection from nature is referencing the Industrial Revolution and how society shifted its priorities away from rural life.

Now, I'd like you to pause the video then and think about Izzy's ideas.

Do you agree with them? Why or why not? Amazing work, everyone.

It was great to see people adding Izzy's thoughts to their own answer to enhance it.

Great work so far, everyone.

We're now moving to our second learning cycle.

We're going to consider the structure of the poem and consider how Bronte plays with ideas of regularity to bring meaning to the poem.

So for this learning cycle, we're looking at the structure of the poem.

Now, there are some people who find analysing structure difficult because sometimes it might be hard to see the intention behind what the poet has done, and perhaps we don't have quite the same barrier to understanding images and symbols because part of our existence is the interpretation of signs and images.

Now, when looking at the structure of a poem, I encourage you to think of it as a beat running through the poem.

To analyse the structure then, you might consider whether the beat is regular or irregular and whether any specific moments that don't quite fit the pattern of the beat.

Then you can consider what the pattern of the beat suggests to us about the emotion of the poem.

So you might think of this as if someone is saying the poem out loud and the beat represents their voice.

Perhaps a regular beat means they're calm and in control because their voice is steady and unchanging.

Perhaps an irregular beat means they're feeling passionate emotions.

Perhaps a misstep of the beat reflects a spike in emotion because the tone of voice or pace suddenly changes.

So we're going to start off by looking at the rhyme scheme of the poem.

So let's say the first stanza of the poem together, "Shall earth no more inspire thee, thou lonely dreamer now? Since passion may not fire thee shall nature cease to bow." Now what I'd like to think about is what is the pattern of rhyme here? So which words form identical sounds with other words? Now, if you're working with someone else, you might discuss your ideas with them.

If you're working by yourself, you can just think about it.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Fantastic work there, everyone.

It's great to see people repeating the poem out loud to themselves to think about which words are making identical sounds.

Now the pattern of rhyme here is A, B, A, B because "thee" rhymes with "thee," and "now" rhymes with "bow." Now, I'd like you to look at the next five stanzas.

What is the pattern of rhyme there? So pause the video, take a few minutes to work that out.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Again, it was great to see people reading the poem out loud themselves to think about which words are making identical sounds.

Now, you might have noticed that the first six stanzas have the same A, B, A, B rhyme scheme, meaning there's a regularity to the first six stanzas of the poem.

So now I'd like you to think back about what I said about thinking about the structure as a beat that runs through the poem.

What might that regular rhyme structure of A, B, A, B represent in terms of the speaker and the listener? What emotions could it represent? Or we think about it as a pattern.

What might alternating pairs of words represent about their relationship? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It was great to see people reading the poem out loud again to remind themselves of what it sounds like and what the speaking voice sounds like.

Now, like Laura, maybe you thought about the structure being that beat that runs through the poem and perhaps the regularity of the beat creates a calm and steady tone, and maybe that creates a soothing tone and encourages the listener to return to nature because they see it as a calm and safe place.

Or perhaps like Izzy, you might have thought about the pattern of the structure and thought about how potentially, alternating pairs might represent how the speaker and the listener are connected through the interweaving nature of the rhyme.

So we've thought about the regularity of the first six stanzas.

Now let's think about the final stanza.

So the final stanza reads, "Then let my winds caress thee.

Thy comrade let me be.

Since nought beside can bless thee, return and dwell with me." Now what I'd like to think about is what is the pattern of rhyme here? So where are the identical sounds? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

So the pattern of rhyme here is A, A, A, A.

Since thee, be, thee, and me all have identical sounds and they all rhyme.

Now, what I'd like to think about is what might that suggest? What might this particular pattern of rhyme suggest? So again, you might think about it as a beat.

What does it suggest as a beat? But what does it suggest as a pattern as well? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

So if we think about it as a beat, that would create the same unchanging tone as A, B, A, B.

However, if we think about it as a pattern that shows the same concept or idea being repeated with nothing else interrupting it, so perhaps it reflects the harmony of nature, everything working together to create a unified whole.

Alternatively, it could perhaps suggest an optimism that the listeners return to nature and become whole again.

Because they're no longer alternating pairs, they now exist as a whole together.

So now for a quick check for understanding about the rhyme scheme.

So is it true or false that the first stanza deviates from the regular rhyme? Pause the video and make a selection now.

Great answer, it's false.

It's the final stanza that deviates from the regular rhyme.

So now I'd like to justify why that might be.

So is it A, that the irregular rhyme of the final stanza arguably links to Bronte's chaotic vision of the world without nature? Or is it B, that the A, A, A rhyme of the final stanza could suggest the speaker and the listener are coming together and creating a unified whole? So pause the video and make a selection now.

Correct answer is B.

The A, A, A rhyme of the final stanza could suggest a speaker and listener coming together.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Now we've got the second task of the lesson, but we're going to think about the rhythm of the poem.

Now, I think the rhythm is arguably the hardest part of the poem to analyse.

So I want you to think about it as a sound of a speaking voice.

What might a steady rhythm suggest, and what might a fluctuating rhythm suggest? Now, the rhythm of the poem is largely iambic trimeter.

If we say this line out loud, "thou lonely dreamer now," there are six syllables.

We go from a low sounding "thou" to a louder sounding "lone" which creates an unstressed and stressed syllable pattern.

Now, there are three pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables in the line.

So the unstressed syllables represented by the X and the stressed syllables represented by the slash.

Therefore, it's iambic trimeter.

However, on every first and third line of each stanza, there's an extra unstressed syllable on the end of each line.

Now, unstressed syllable is one of our keywords and it means a syllable you don't place emphasis on.

So if you say this line out loud, "Shall earth no more inspire thee," you'll notice our voice becomes lower again on the "thee" because there's an unstressed syllable.

Now, what I'd like to think about for the task is why do you think that might be? What might the break in rhythm suggest, but also how might we interpret the fact it's an extra unstressed syllable? So the fact we end on a lower note, what might that mean? So pause the video, take a few minutes to think about it.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It was great to see people reading the lines out loud again to see what it sounds like through a speaking voice.

Now, I'd like you to consider Laura and Izzy's ideas and think about who you agree with more.

So Laura said, an unstressed syllable is a soft sound.

So perhaps it mirrors the idea of the speaker trying to soothe and comfort the listener.

And Izzy said, perhaps the unstressed syllable could indicate the distress of nature.

So as they aren't speaking in a steady rhythm, perhaps Bronte's intention to show they will not feel calm and steady until the listener has returned to nature.

So pause the video, read their ideas over again, and think about who you agree with more.

Amazing, it was great to see people adding either Laura or Izzy's ideas to their own, because that's why we discuss ideas in literature, in order to develop and enhance our understanding of the text through seeing it through someone else's eyes and perspective.

So now onto our third and final learning cycle where we're going to think about how we can bring all of these ideas together to create a cohesive argument.

So when you're writing about a poem, you want to ensure that all of your analysis of the small details contributes to a wider cohesive point about the poem.

This means you want to think about how all of your ideas work together to present a unified point about the poem.

Sometimes, you find that people just write down every interesting thing they can say about a poem, but that doesn't form an argument and it doesn't show how you've looked at the poem and interpreted its meaning.

So let's consider how we can draw our ideas of personification and regularity into a cohesive argument about the poem.

So here are some of the points we've made throughout the lesson.

We've said that nature is personified.

So nature's been given human characteristics and nature is speaking to humanity.

We've said the rhyme scheme, the A, B, A, B, and then the final A, A , A could reflect a calm, soothing voice.

We've also said the extra unstressed syllable, so an extra soft syllable at the end of the line, could enhance the soothing tone.

Now what I'd like you to do is think about what wider points link these ideas together.

So what Bronte have been saying about nature overall through these points? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Amazing, everyone.

Now, you might have said that all of these points suggest that nature has a voice and a sentence, and it feels emotions like a human being, and that it's using its voice to actively try and connect with the listener through that emotion.

Now, when thinking about your ideas, you always want to bring it back to Bronte's intentions.

What did you want the reader to feel or understand based on the themes or ideas within the poem? So what I like you to think about is about wider connection, is that Bronte is trying to show nature as capable of showing emotions and is using those emotions and voice to try to connect with the listener.

What do you think Bronte's wider intentions are? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Fantastic ideas, everyone.

Perhaps like Izzy, you might have thought that Bronte is trying to make us see nature as a living being in order to encourage us to appreciate and respect nature, rather than turning to industry.

Now, a quick check for understanding.

So when you're analysing a text, you should make sure A, you analyse as many methods as possible to show your knowledge.

B, your analysis links the overall argument about the poem, or C, you make disconnected points to show your range of ideas.

So pause the video and make your selection now.

The correct answer is B.

When analysing a text, you should make sure your analysis links the overall argument about the poem.

So very well done if you got that right.

So now let's draw everything we've discussed onto a plan.

In order to think about the question, how does Bronte present nature? So our topic sentence might be, Bronte depicts nature as a living entity that is capable of not only feeling emotions, but actively trying to connect to the listener through those emotions.

Now, for our supporting detail, we might say the "I know" shows the personification of nature and it creates the impression of nature being a living being that's capable of feeling emotions and also bestows authority and experience onto nature.

We might have also said that the pattern of rhyme, that regular A, B, A, B and then the final A, A, A suggests that nature is trying to soothe the listener through its voice.

Because it has a steady, calm beat.

The rhythm then, it furthers suggests that nature is trying to calm the listener.

We've said that regularity of the iambic trimeter creates a soothing tone and the extra unstressed syllable might further enhance that soothing tone.

A concluding sentence then might be that Bronte may have been trying to encourage the reader to see nature as a living being in order to inspire humanity to treat nature with appreciation and respect.

Amazing work everyone.

We're now onto the final task of the lesson.

So I'd like to use the plan on the previous slide and everything we've talked about in the lesson to write and answer the question, how does Bronte present nature in "Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee." Now, when you're writing, make sure you include an analysis of quotations and methods, links between your analysis and your wider idea about the poem, and what Bronte's intentions might have been.

So pause the video and write your answer now.

Amazing work everyone.

It was great to see people constantly refer to the plan to make sure they're creating a cohesive argument.

Now, I'd like to consider this snippet from Laura's answer.

How might we change Laura's interpretation of the unstressed syllable to fit the topic sentence? So our topic sentence was, Bronte depicts nature as a living entity that is capable of not only feeling emotions, but actively trying to connect to the listener through emotions.

And Laura's written, Bronte's use of rhyme and rhythm also feeds into the idea of nature, trying to connect the listener through emotions.

The rhythm of the poem is largely iambic trimeter, but there's an extra unstressed syllable on every other line.

Ending on an unstressed syllable is called a feminine ending.

So perhaps this links the idea of nature being a woman.

So pause the video and think about how we might change that interpretation of the unstressed syllable to fit the topic sentence.

Now it is a valid interpretation to link the feminine ending with ideas of womanhood.

However, is this something that Bronte references throughout the poem? Arguably not.

Therefore, we need to have an interpretation of the unstressed syllable that fits our overall argument.

So we might change Laura's ideas too.

Bronte's use of rhyme and rhythm also feeds into the idea of nature, trying to connect the listener through emotions.

The rhythm of the poem is largely iambic trimeter, but there's an extra unstressed syllable on every other line.

Unstressed syllables create a softer sound and therefore could link the idea of nature trying to soothe the listener through its voice.

Now I'd like you to check your own answer and make sure your interpretation fits the topic sentence.

So pause the video and check your answer now.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It's great to see people reading back through their answer and really making sure it created a cohesive argument.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Arguably, Bronte personifies nature in order to encourage the reader to form a connection with nature.

Bronte largely uses a regular rhyme of A, B, A, B, which may reflect the calm voice of the speaker.

The deviation to A, A, A in the final stanza could signify the speaker and the listener are connecting.

The poem has an extra unstressed syllable in the first and third lines, which could add the soothing nature of the speaker.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson everyone, and hopefully it helped you see how analysing a poem is a little bit like detective work to bring all the small details and ideas together to create a whole picture of the poet's intentions.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.