Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you today for this lesson on understanding Seneviratne's poem, "A Wider View." My name is Dr.

Clayton and I'm here to guide you through your learning journey today.

Now, I think "A Wider View" is my favourite poem in the anthology, because it has some really interesting metaphysical ideas about time and temporality.

And we're gonna dive into some of those ideas today.

Now, you'll need your copy of the "AQA Worlds and Lives" anthology for this lesson.

So make sure you grab that now.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you're using for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how Seneviratne connects ideas of the past and the present.

So we have five words there we're going to focus on as our keywords.

They've identified in bold throughout the learning material.

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

So our first keyword is metaphorical, and that means something used symbolically to represent something else.

Our second keyword is industrialization, and this is the process of transforming the economy from a focus on agriculture to a reliance on manufacturing.

Our third keyword is perception, and this is a belief or opinion often held by many people and based on how things seem.

Our fourth keyword is echo, and this is the repetition of a sound; to repeat what someone else has said or thought.

Our fifth and final keyword is transcends, and that means to go beyond or rise above a limit or to be greater than something ordinary.

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 two learning cycles in our lesson today, we're going do something a little unusual and split the poem into two in order to understand it today.

So for the first learning cycle, we're going to look at the first three stanzas of the poem and think about what they tell us about the past.

And then for our second learning cycle, we're going to look at the final two stanzas of the poem and think about what they not only tell us about the present, but also about the relationship between the past and the present.

Now, I always find it useful to start by thinking about the title of a poem, because a writer will have constructed it with specific intention in mind.

It's their way of introducing us to some of the key themes or ideas that we'll find in the poem.

So the title of this poem is "A Wider View." Now, let's think about the opposite first.

Now, we might represent a narrow view like this.

So what I'd like to think about is what might having a narrow view represent? So look at the field of vision that Izzy has at the moment and try to think about it metaphorically.

So what might that narrow view symbolise? Now, if you're working with someone else, you might talk about your ideas with them.

If you're working through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the video and think about what a narrow view might represent.

Some lovely thoughts there about how it might link to someone with a narrow perspective.

So perhaps it could represent someone who just sees what's in front of them and doesn't expand their perception to consider other things.

We might consider them to be quite limited, because they don't expand their knowledge or their horizons and try to grow and try to expand themselves.

Now, let's think about how we might represent "A Wider View." We might think about it like this.

So what do you think "A Wider View" might represent? And again, try to think about it metaphorically.

What might it represent about the person and how they see the world? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Some lovely thoughts there.

Now, perhaps it could represent someone who tries to see beyond the normal boundaries placed in front of them, someone who tries to see things from other people's perspectives and they try to use that knowledge to see beyond the usual in order to grow and expand themselves.

Now let's start thinking about the poem itself and how we might link the words in the poem to the title.

So I'd like you to consider these three words from the poem.

We have searched, craved and limits.

What else might that suggest about the title, "A Wider View"? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Some great ideas there.

Now like Sofia, you might have noticed these words perhaps suggest a desire to change their place in the world.

The idea of searching suggests of seeking something out.

Maybe you're not satisfied what you have at the moment.

Crave means to want something.

So again, this feeds in the idea of not being satisfied what you currently have.

And limits means you're constricted in some way.

So perhaps this person's in a place that limits them physically and doesn't allow for emotional or intellectual growth either.

Now, for a quick check for understanding around our ideas about the title.

So to say that you want a wider view, does that suggest to you A, are happy with your place in the world, either literally or metaphorically, B, currently exists within a place that restricts you, either literally or metaphorically, or C, that your desire to broaden your horizons or change your physical place in the world.

So pause the video and make your selections now.

Now, today you want a wider view, suggest by both B and C.

So suggest you currently exist within a place that restricts you, either literally or metaphorically, but it also suggests your desire to broaden your horizons or change your physical place in the world.

So very well done if you got those right.

So now we're gonna start looking at the poem in more detail.

So I'd like you to open your anthologies and read the poem.

So pause the video and read the poem now.

Brilliant.

So now that you've read the poem, I'd like you to think about creating a visual of the place that we see in the first three stanzas, because that will help us situate the subject and think about how we can understand their life.

So I'd like to think about the following four words.

We have smoke-filled, chimney, engines and dust.

And I'd like to think about which of the two images on the screen do you think better represents the setting of the first three stanzas.

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

Now, there is no right or wrong answer to this question.

Both images represent industrial Victorian England.

So both images could be representative of the first three stanzas.

For me personally, I think the first image better represents the first three stanzas, because it zooms in on a particular building.

And to me, that represents the way the first three stanzas zoom in on the great-great grandfather's life, whereas the second image seems more general to me.

So now let's return to ideas about the title and what desiring a wider view might represent.

So I'd like you to read back through the poem and think about which words might compliment the idea that the great-great grandfather wants to change his place in the world.

So which words suggest he's not happy with how he's currently living his life? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Excellent work, everyone.

Now, here are some of the words he might have chosen.

So you might have picked cholera, drowned, din, limits and dust.

Always remember though, there are no right or wrong answers here.

These are just some of the words you might have chosen and you may have different words that to you suggest a feeling of being unsatisfied.

Now, I'd I get to focus on these five words and think about what the connotations of the words are.

So what ideas or feelings they give you and what do they tell us about the great-great grandfather's life? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Some great discussions, everyone.

It was great to see people noting that cholera disease caused by lack of clean water, so that implies poor living conditions.

And that also suggested that words such as din and dust suggest the harsh physical conditions of living in the city, because din suggests a loud and chaotic noise and dust suggests it's an uncomfortable place to live, or words such as limits perhaps suggests a constriction in some way, and drown could suggest the feeling of being overwhelmed or trapped and therefore could represent the metaphorical restrictions placed on people.

Now let's think about locating the poem in its context so it can enhance our understanding of the great-great grandfather's life.

The poem places the great-great grandfather in 1869.

This places him just after the Industrial Revolution, which largely happened between 1760 and 1840.

Now, the Industrial Revolution was a period where society shifted from focus on rural matters and farming to manufacturing factories.

Now, I'd like you to return to the poem once again and think about what inferences about the poet's perception of the Industrial Revolution can we make from the poem.

Now, perception is one of our key words.

It means a belief or opinion.

So what guesses can we make about Seneviratne's opinion about the Industrial Revolution? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Lovely work, everyone.

You might have noticed the lack of natural images in the poem, which suggests that nature doesn't have a place in the world through the shift to industry.

You might perhaps have zoomed in on the image of the sky, a thought that by saying smoke-filled.

This implies Seneviratne believes that nature is being harmed by industrialization.

Now, industrialization is one of our keywords.

It means this process of transforming the economy to a focus on manufacturing industry.

So perhaps this economic shift has caused pollution, which has has in turn harmed nature.

Furthermore, you might have thought about the damage to people that words such as cholera imply, and thought that perhaps this suggests that Seneviratne attributes people's health problems to this process of industrialization and urban living.

Now, for a couple of check for understandings to make sure we're clear on what we've considered so far.

So what I'd like to do is tell me whether it's true or false that Seneviratne arguably depicts a negative perception of working in the Industrial Revolution.

So pause the video and make your selection now Correct answer is true, she does create a negative perception.

Now I'd like you to justify that answer.

So does she create that by A, saying that the speaker's great-great grandfather craved a wider view and therefore implies he wanted to change his world, or B, by saying that the speaker's great-great grandfather has restricted view.

She depicts how limited his life was.

So pause the video and make a selection now.

The correct answer is A.

She says that he craves a wider view and therefore that implies he wanted to change his world.

So very well done if you got that right.

Now for a second check for understanding about the first three stanzas as a whole.

So what I'd like you to do is tell me which Oak pupil summary accurately represents the first three stanzas in the poem.

So Laura said, "The poem shows the great-great grandfather proudly walking through Leeds and reminiscing about how much the place has widened his horizons." And Izzy said, "The poem shows how the industrialization of the city has affected the great-great grandfather and how it's restricted his horizons." So pause the video and select which of those summaries most accurate represents the first three stanzas.

The correct answer is Izzy's summary that the poem shows how the industrialization of the city has affected the great-great grandfather and how it restricted his horizons is the accurate summary of the first three stanzas.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

We're now at the first task of the lesson where we're going to bring everything from this first learning cycle together.

So I'd like you to consider the following images, the reference to great-great grandfather's dreams in line three, the reference to great-great grandfather's eyes in line six, the repetition of back in line one, and the reference to great-great grandfather searching in line two.

Then I'd like you to answer the question, "What do you think Seneviratne is saying about the connection between place and identity for the speaker's great-great grandfather?" And I'd like you to write a short answer explaining your ideas and make sure you evidence your ideas with quotations from the poem.

So pause the video and write your answer now.

Wonderful work, everyone.

It was great to see people considering the metaphorical nature of some of these images and perhaps how we might see a stack, for example.

It's creating a sense of compression and representing life's pressures building up on the grandfather.

Now, we're going to read Sofia's response and then I'd like you to give it a what-went-well and an even-better-if.

So Sofia wrote, "The repetition of back creates a sense of monotony that implies the great-great grandfather felt bored in the place he was living.

Furthermore, the idea of the sky being smoke-filled suggests it was an unhealthy place to live." So pause the video and give Sofia's answer a what-went-well and an even-better-if.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now for the what-went-well.

You might have said that Sofia has used quotations to make inferences about where the great-great grandfather lived.

So she has used evidence from the text in order to explain her ideas.

The even-better-if, you might have said she hasn't really considered how the great-great grandfather's identity is affected by living in this place.

She says he felt bored, it was an unhealthy place.

But it also doesn't really connect those ideas to how the great-great grandfather would have felt and how it would've affected him.

So we might rewrite Sofia's answer to this, "The notion of her great-great grandfather searching creates a sense he felt trapped within the place.

Furthermore, the reference to his dreams in line three implies his dreams are piling up, but never being realised.

Moreover, the notion of dust in his eyes could represent the physical manifestation of the place limiting his vision and therefore, metaphorically limiting his view of the world." Fantastic work, everyone.

We're now at the second learning cycle, but we're going to consider how the present is represented in the poem and think about what that tells us about concepts of identity and time.

So what I'd like you to do now is return to the poem and read the final two stanzas.

So pause the video and read the final two stanzas now.

Now, you might have noticed the distinct time shift in the poem.

We start off with a repetition of "back" in the first line, but then the fourth stanza starts with the word "today." What do you think that might indicate? As ever, if you're working with someone else, you might talk about your ideas with them.

If you're working through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the video and consider what the contrast between back and today indicates.

Some great discussions there.

You might have said, "The repetition of 'back' in the first line of the poem creates a sense the speaker's looking back in time, and that these events are in the past.

The shift to 'today,' the start of the fourth stanza, shows we've shifted forward in time.

We're now in the present." So the first three stanzas were considering the speaker's great-great grandfather.

We now presume we're going to focus on the speaker, since time has shifted into the present moment.

Now we're gonna start thinking about some of my favourite imagery in the poem.

I think the imagery around time in the poem is so evocative and thought provoking and it really makes you question the nature of time itself.

So the speaker begins a shift to the present moment with the image of an echo.

Now, echoes are our keywords.

It means the repetition of a sound to repeat what someone else has said or thought.

Now, we might represent an echo like this.

You have the original sound and then the sound waves coming off it are getting small and dimmer as they're creating the echo sound.

Now, if we imagine the past is the original sound, then what might an echo represent? So how might the image of the waves coming up from the past and getting smaller and dimmer connect to the present? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Amazing work, everyone.

Now we might think that because the waves in the past are reaching the present, although they're smaller and dimmer than the original, then the echo might represent how events from the past impact the future.

Faint echoes can be heard across generations.

Let's focus on the image of footsteps now.

Now, you might have heard the phrase, "Following in someone's footsteps," and I'd like you to consider what that might mean.

So what does it mean to literally follow in someone's footsteps, but what might it metaphorically mean and how might we connect it to ideas of the past in the present? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Amazing work, everyone.

Now, you might have thought that if you walk in someone's footsteps, that literally suggests you're physically walking the same place.

And if we think about what that metaphorically might represent, that suggests you're imitating those who came before you.

I'd say we most typically use the phrase to refer to our children of following in the footsteps of their parents.

So the present generation are imitating those who came before them.

Now let's think about the image at the end of the fourth stanza.

Now, I think this is possibly one of the most complex images in the poem.

So we're gonna break it down and talk it through together.

Now, if we think about our traditional understanding of the past and the present, we might imagine it's something like this.

The great-great grandfather is in 1869.

Time is passing to the speaker in the present.

They're both on either end of a timeline with time passing in a linear fashion from the past to the present.

However, the speaker talks about time collapsing and meeting her great-great grandfather.

So now we might imagine that both the past and the present are existing at the same time.

So I'd like you to think about what the implications are of this.

So think about what it suggests about the connection between the speaker and her great-great grandfather.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Amazing discussions, everyone about a really complex idea.

Now, perhaps you might have thought that the idea of time collapsing and bringing them together implies that the link between their identities transcends time.

So it goes beyond our traditional understanding of time.

It means they're connected and they influence each other even though they're from different times.

So now let's consider how these ideas of time and place can be connected.

Throughout the poem, several real places from Leeds are mentioned.

These places are mentioned in both the past and the present.

In the moment of time collapsing, the speaker and her great-great grandfather meet on the Granary Wharf.

Now, what I'd like you to think about is what might that suggest about the importance of place, specifically the connection between time and place.

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

Some amazing discussions, everyone.

Now, you might have thought back to the image of the footsteps earlier, and consider that the notion of physically and metaphorically following in someone's footsteps links these ideas and could suggest that what connects us through the generations is a sense of place, and therefore that place is essential to our heritage and our identity.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

So what does Seneviratne imply about time through ideas of echoes and time collapsing? Is it Laura's idea that she implies that time exists in a linear motion where the past, present and future are all separate entities? Or is it Alex's idea that she implies that reflections of the past exist in the present and therefore suggests the past impacts the present? So pause the video and select which Oak pupil's interpretation is correct.

Now, through the ideas of echoes and time collapsing, Alex's idea that she implies that reflections of the past exist in the present and therefore suggests the past impacts the present is the correct interpretation.

So very well done if you got that right.

Amazing work, everyone.

We're now at the final task of the lesson, but we're going to consider what the final image that Seneviratne leaves us with is, and think about what that might mean for ideas around identity.

So in the final lines of the poem, Seneviratne talks of a curve between generations.

I'd like you to answer the following questions using that image.

So number one, why do you think Seneviratne describes the line between the generations as a curve? So think about what we've discussed around ideas of time in this learning cycle.

What do you think she's saying about identity through that image? What about the links between generations? Number three, how might it link to the title of "A Wider View?" So we talked earlier about how desiring a wider view might mean you want to expand your ideas of the world.

How might this fit into ideas around time and identity? So pause the video and answer the questions now.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It was great to see people sharing ideas, 'cause these concepts of time are complex and it's good to consider how other people see an idea or an image in order to enhance your own understanding.

So you might have said for question one, why do you think Seneviratne describes the link between the generations as a curve? Now you might have thought that potentially, she's saying that time does not exist in a linear fashion, but rather that the past affects the present.

The present contains echoes of the past.

So time does not simply move from the past to the present.

Remnants of the past are carried through to the present and they continue to impact the present.

Now, for question two, what do you think she's saying about identity through this image? And perhaps you might have thought that she could be saying we do not exist as a sole individual, but rather our identity is made up of place and family history.

So if we think of the image of the footsteps and of the speaker and the great-great grandfather collapsing into one another.

It implies their connections between us that we're influenced by who came before us and we're still connected to them.

For question three then, how might it link to the title, "A Wider View?" You might have thought that these ideas could suggest we need to widen our perspective and consider ourselves as more than simply our narrow and immediate existence.

In doing so, we'll widen our horizons, be able to see how those came before us have influenced who we are today.

Fantastic work today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

"A Wider View" begins in the past and considers the life of the speaker's great-great grandfather.

Arguably, the Industrial Revolution has made his life physically harsh and metaphorically restricted it.

When shifting to the present time, the poem implies that the past echoes and impacts the present.

Seneviratne arguably reminds the reader of the importance of place when considering identity and heritage.

Now, as I said earlier, this is one of my favourite poems in the anthology, and I hope that by unravelling some of these ideas about time and identity have meant that some of you see it in the same light.

I hope to see you again for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.