Hello, welcome to today's lesson.

My name's Mr. Barnsley and it's great to see you today as we continue to explore the AQA World and Lives poetry anthology.

Today we're gonna be analysing Caleb Femi's poem "Thirteen" in more detail.

So before this lesson, you should have already read and made sure you understand the poem, what it's about, some of the main themes.

Okay, you are gonna need your copy of the AQA World and Lives Poetry anthology for today's lesson because you're gonna need to be able to see a version of the poem.

All right, make sure you've got that and then it's time for us to begin.

Okay, so the outcome of today's lesson.

By the end of the lesson, you are gonna be able to explain how Femi, the poet, uses language and structure to express his viewpoint.

So there are four key words today.

They are prejudice, caesura, symbolise and extended metaphor.

Prejudice then is an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or a group of people because of what are they maybe protected characteristics like race, sex, religion.

A caesura is a pause or a break in a line, a verse often marked by punctuation.

Symbolise means to represent, to express or identify by a symbol.

And extended metaphor is a metaphor that unfolds across multiple lines or stanzas of a poem.

Alright, so let's keep an eye out for those.

We're gonna be trying to use those in our own work.

We're gonna explore how Femi uses these in his poetry.

So it's really important that we are really clear what each of these mean.

So today we're gonna be analysing the poem of "Thirteen", looking deeper, diving deeper into the kind of the methods and techniques that Femi has used to explore the really powerful message behind his poem.

So we're gonna start by looking at some language and thinking about the imagery of the star that appears across the poem.

We're then gonna look at structure before building up to doing some writing of our own.

Let's start by looking at the star imagery, shall we? So the image of the star appears throughout the poem.

Let's start with a discussion then.

What are the connotations of stars? Why don't you pause the video, if you've got a partner, you can discuss this with them.

Otherwise you can think through independently.

Try and get as many different ideas what comes to mind when you think of stars.

Pause the video, over to you and press play when you're ready to continue.

I heard lots of great ideas there.

Let's shine a spotlight on some of the fantastic things some of you said then.

I heard hope, stars might represent hope.

Thinking all the way back to the Bible and the following of the North Star.

We've got aspirations that links to the word hope.

Positivity, they're often seen, you know, we think of them shining brightly in the sky and that can often be an inspiration, happiness, guidance, kind of lots and lots of ideas there, but all of them seem to be really positive on the surface and lots of things I heard you folks saying sounded really positive.

But let's consider the effects of the star imagery in "Thirteen".

I want you to answer the following questions to do that.

Firstly, what might the progression of the imagery from a star to a supernova to a black hole indicate? You're gonna need to use some of your science knowledge here.

What might that indicate that the fact that changes from a star to a supernova to a black hole? And secondly, what might the use of this extended metaphor, because this is a metaphor the boy has been compared to all of these things, but they are, it's been across the poem.

What might it suggest for the boy in general? Why might, you know, what's it saying about the boy, that he's being compared to these three things? And I, to help you with that question, really think about the fact that a metaphor suggests that you are something else.

You know, when you use a metaphor, you're not, you're saying you are and something else.

Alright, so work through those two questions on the screen.

You can do this in pairs, you can do this independently.

Pause the video, over to you, and press play when you are ready to share some of your responses and find out some potential answers, over to you.

Okay, some really interesting ideas there.

Let's have a look at some of the things that you might have said.

So I think it could really intra etch kind of this movement from stars to a supernova, which is kind of a bright, but feels very dangerous kind of on a, a supernova feels like a star that's about to burn out.

And kind of all the way to a black hole really suggests an implosion of the boy's hopes for his future.

What once seemed really bright, ending up as a black hole kind of actually feels like his future feels quite hopeless.

And I think this, the fact that this, being an extended metaphor, throughout the poem, I think perhaps, and I really liked it when people said something similar to this could indicate that everyone, in this case the officers, but maybe lots of other people, always are seeing the boy as something other than who he is.

They're always trying to, they're looking beyond who he truly is and always looking at something, comparing him to something that he is not.

He doesn't get a chance to just be himself, be a young person.

Instead he's compared to a star, the supernova, the black hole.

So some really interesting ideas to get us thinking about why Femi might be using this imagery.

So now I want us to think about the placement of the star imagery.

What do you notice about where the star imagery appears in the poem? Pause the video and if you need to, open your anthology and have another look, where does the star imagery appear in the poem? Pause the video, have a think and press play when you're ready to move on.

Really well done if you, like Izzy, notice that the images are always the last word of a line.

So actually we might visualise it like this.

If that purple line is is the full line of the poem that star imagery is always on the edge.

What might that symbolise? The fact that the star imagery is at kind of at the end of the line on the edge of the line, what might that symbolise? Pause the video.

Have a think if you've got a partner that you can share ideas together, otherwise you can just think through this independently.

What might that symbolise? Over to you.

Some really interesting ideas there.

I think perhaps some of you were talking about the importance of this imagery and how important it is in representing the boy's journey and how the boy is perceived by others.

I really liked though, I heard this interesting idea from some of you the other hand of it being the edge of the line could indicate just how precarious the boy's position is and how easy it would be for him to fall and like a star turning into a black hole, implode at any moment.

It feels like the boy's future is very precarious, very on the edge.

Some really nice ideas there.

I really love it when we kind of can combine language and structure as part of our analytical thinking.

That's great.

Alright, let's check to see how we're getting on then.

Which of these interpretations of the extended metaphor of stars do you think is the most relevant to the poem? Is it Lucas who says, "I think the extended metaphor of stars throughout the poem shows the constant hope and positivity the boy feels." Or is it Alex who says, "I think the extended metaphor of stars throughout the poem shows that the boy is never perceived as who he truly is." Pause the video, have a think, and when you've got the right, when you think you've got the right answer, press play.

Alright, well done if you said Alex's.

I don't think Lucas' can be a valid interpretation because I don't think this is a hopeful and positive poem.

I think this is much more about a young man, a boy, who is not being allowed to be the child he is.

He's being, always being perceived as as something else.

Well done if you selected Alex's answer.

Alright, so over to our first task then today.

Arguably, Femi presents the following ideas in the poem "Thirteen." One that the boy was seen as really promising in his youth.

Two, that the boy is now seen as threatening in his adolescence.

And three, that Femi implies that there is a lack of hope and opportunities for young boys from a similar background to the speaker.

What I want you to do is think about which quotation involving the image of a star would you use for each idea and why.

So you're gonna need your anthologies open to do this.

You want to find three quotations, one for each of those statements, but try and make sure they are all linked to that star imagery.

Alright, pause the video, over to you.

Give this a go.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Alright, so Sofia gave this a go and she selected some quotations.

She picked the quotations on line nine for the first one, line 15 for the second, and line 24 for the third.

Do you agree that Sofia made the best choices to depict the notion of the boy being promising in his youth? Okay, so let's look at that first one.

Do you think Sofia picked the best line here at line nine? Have a think, pause video.

Have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Izzy said she wasn't sure she agreed.

She thinks the two words at the end of line 13 would be better as brightest implies a promising future whilst little in the quotation that Sofia picked really just shows the boys youth.

Alright, now let's move on to thinking about structure then, shall we? So I want us to, if we imagine the poet is structuring the poem in order to take us on a journey, then we might imagine "Thirteen" to look something like this.

Really showing the four stanzas.

We're going kind of following that line through the stanzas on this journey with the speaker.

Now let's think about the journey that Femi takes us through the poem and consider the significance.

So let's start with the opening word of each stanza.

What might be the significance of the starting word of each stanza? You can see they are you, you, you and don't.

How might we link this to the message of the poem? Why don't you pause the video, have a think and press play when you think you have some ideas.

Some interesting discussions there.

I wonder if you said something similar to Izzy who said, "The repetition of you could indicate that it applies to many individuals and could speak to Femi's wider message about the lack of hope and opportunities for young boys from a similar background." I think it's really driving home this idea that this is not one isolated incident that has just happened to the speaker in the poem or has just happened to Femi.

We know Caleb Femi himself experienced something like this, but this is something that happens up and down the country to young people.

And you know, he might be really trying to drive home this message.

What about the, what do we think the significance is of the final word of each stanza? How might we link it to the message of the poem? So it goes thirteen, stars, organs, black holes.

What do we think the significance, thinking about that journey that Femi is taking us on? Why don't you pause the video, have a bit of a think, discuss with a partner if you have one, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Some really interesting ideas there.

What I really liked is those of you who are highlighting, unlike the first lines, where there seems to be a real connection between them, here, there seems to be a real change from the first to the last.

I wonder if you said something similar to Izzy who said that perhaps it links the boy's journey from being someone with a really bright future, 13, this kind of exciting age where you begin to to progress into adolescence, into adulthood and you're seen as a star to the boy almost not being seen as a human and just kind of just organs to finally this black hole where it feels like all of his hope for his future has been taken away from him.

Alright, true or false then.

Let's check, see how we're getting on.

The final words of each stanza offer a message of hope.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done if you said that was false.

Let's justify that.

The final word, don't, gives the impression of the boy coming up against an immovable barrier and not being able to progress.

Or is it B, the final word black holes gives the impression of emptiness that implies the boy's future now offers nothing but disappointment.

Pause, have a think and press play when you think you've got the answer.

Yeah, well done if you said B there.

Okay, over to you for another task.

So Femi utilises caesuras, remember they are kind of breaks using punctuation in the poetry throughout "Thirteen".

Using this template, I want you to complete the following tasks.

First I want you to add to the template where you think the three most significant caesuras are.

Okay, so I want you to find three moments or I want you to find all the moments of caesuras and I want you to pick which of three moments.

And so if one appears in stanza one for example, you will place that approximately on the diagram in that top box whereabouts it appears.

So we'll get a visual representation of the caesuras in the poem and the three that you find the most significant.

I also want you to think about why Femi might have chosen to encourage the audience to pause throughout the poem and at those specific moments.

And I also want you to think about what does the progression of the caesuras perhaps indicate? Okay, over to you for this one.

Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Alright, welcome back.

Great job on that.

Let's consider Alex's template.

So Alex gave this a go.

He selected man from stanza one, which was kind of broken up with that question mark.

Powerless from the third stanza, which was broken up by the dash and me in the final stanza, which again used a question mark.

So let's think about, we're gonna think about why Alex chose these three caesuras.

Did you pick the same ones? Why or why not? So Alex said these, why he selected them and what the message he believed or the intentions he believed behind them were.

He said he thinks perhaps Femi wants us to keep pausing and considering what is happening to the boy.

The movement from man to powerless to me perhaps indicates how the boy is powerless to control perceptions that other people have on him.

What do you think? Did you have similar ideas to Alex? Why don't you pause the video, have a think, compare your work to his.

Alright, pause the video, do a bit of reflecting and press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, we have had some fantastic discussions and lots of thinking going on so far.

Now it's time for us to write about the poem.

So we are gonna consider this question, how does Femi present prejudice in "Thirteen?" So I want us to mind map some ideas around the title.

When, where do we see prejudice occurring in the poem? So you can do this verbally.

If you've got a partner, you can share some ideas, you can just think through this.

But if you have, if you're working from your exercise book or you've got a bit of paper, you might even wish to turn this into a physical mind map.

Okay, so plenty of ways to do this activity.

Why don't you pause for a minute now and think about how does prejudice show up in the poem "Thirteen".

Alright, pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready to move on.

Alright, let's share some of the great things that you might have said.

So you might have talked about how the star imagery, and it shows how the boy who was once perceived to having this bright future ahead of him is now perceived as being dangerous.

Caesuras show how Femi wants to pause and consider the consequences, the impact of prejudice.

The extended metaphor of star, so the fact that we use this extended metaphor to describe the boy shows the boy is never truly seen for who he is.

The caesuras after man and me could represent the boy has no power.

He's questioning his own perceptions of himself because he realises that he has no power how other people see him, over how other people see him.

And we can talk about the progression of the poem shows how prejudice is causing him to lose hope and opportunity.

So loads of great ideas there.

So I want us to think now about what contextual information do we know about Femi's "Thirteen" that could help us consider ideas of prejudice? Pause the video and have a think if you know any contextual information about this poem.

Okay, you might have remembered like Laura did, that Femi himself was stopped by the police and he was falsely accused of a crime when he was 13.

Like Alex, you might have remembered that "Thirteen" was part of a collection of poems written by Femi called "Poor." And they explored the experiences of young black men in London.

So let's have a think then.

How do you think Femi's own experience might have influenced the poem? Pause the video, have a little think and then press play when you're ready to continue.

Yeah, you might have said that actually perhaps there kind of, there is a deeper purpose behind Femi's writing.

That he wants the reader to understand what he's been through and he wants to try and stop it happening in future to other young boys and young people.

Alright, which of the following statements do you think is true? Is it A, the use of Caesuras throughout could imply that Femi wants the reader to really pause and consider the implications of the poem.

Is it B, the lack of caesuras could indicate how the boy's thoughts are running away from him in a chaotic manner? Or is it C, the star imagery suggests that the boy is a beacon of hope for other young black men? What do you think? Pause the video, have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Yeah, well done if you said A.

Alright, over to you now for our final task in today's lesson.

I would like you to write a paragraph in response to the question, how does Femi present prejudice in "Thirteen"? You can see a checklist on the screen of everything that I want you to include.

Everything we want to include in a detailed, analytical paragraph.

Things you might want to focus on is how the transformation of the star imagery might represent the effects of prejudice.

You might want to talk about the use of an extended metaphor in the poem and what it tells us about how the boy is perceived.

You might want to think about the structural progression of the poem and you might also want to think about the use of caesuras.

Alright, over to you now.

We've had some really great discussions and you've shown a fantastic understanding of the poem.

Now is your opportunity to prove how much you've learned.

Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're ready to do some reflecting.

Really, really great job there.

It was so pleasing to see you writing with such confidence.

Really well done.

Alright, let's have a look at an extract from Sofia's paragraph.

She wrote, "Femi describes the boy through an extended metaphor of a star.

He writes that he's first seen as a star, but that later he's seen as a supernova and finally as a black hole." Why don't we pause and think about what feedback we might give to Sofia here? Alright, pause the video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to move on.

Yeah, you might have said something like this.

Rather than analysing the connotations and the implications of the star imagery, all Sofia is really doing here is listing quotations to the reader.

So let's think about how much better Sofia's response will be if she analyses rather than simply just writes down the quotation.

So let's look at this.

Femi describes the impact of prejudice on the boy's life through the extended metaphor of a star.

In his youth, the star represents the hope and positivity for his future.

However, as he grows into adolescence, his star becomes a supernova, which perhaps indicates how people's perceptions of him have now changed to perceive him as volatile and dangerous.

The final image of the poem is a black hole, which represents how, through prejudice, the boy's future now lacks hope and opportunities.

I want you to now check your own answer to ensure that you've analysed the quotations really thoroughly rather than just simply describing what's happening in the poem.

Pause the video and take some time to reflect and if you need to, improve your response using some of Sofia's ideas.

Alright, over to you.

Really great work today everybody.

Before we say goodbye, let's have a look, a quick summary of everything that we've learned today.

On the screen, you can see a four key learning points that we have covered in today's lesson.

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

Okay, great job today.

It was a pleasure learning with you.

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

Have a great day with the rest of your day, however you are choosing to spend it.

And I hope to see you all again soon.

Goodbye.