Lesson video

Semantic Fields.

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young and it is lovely to be teaching you on this lesson all about semantic fields.

So personally I love to use semantic fields.

I think they are a great way to elevate our writing in quite a quick way to be honest.

And this lesson is gonna be all about using them as effectively as possible so let's get started.

So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome.

So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to do the following, which is I can use semantic fields effectively in my creative writing.

And just like in any lesson we have some important words, our keywords.

I strongly encourage you to make a note of these or jot down their definitions, particularly if these words are new to you.

So our words are semantic field, a group of words related in some way.

Nuance, a subtle difference in meaning.

Characterization, the process of creating a fictional character.

Villainous, wicked or immoral behaviour, typical of a villain and science fiction, fiction based on imagined scientific or technological advances or major social or environmental changes.

So today's lesson is going to be all about semantic fields.

I mentioned in the introduction just how much I enjoy writing about semantic fields.

I think they are a fantastic way to really elevate our writing and today's lesson is structured around them.

So our first learning cycle is all about what is a semantic field.

So we're gonna look at some famous examples in literature and unpick exactly what makes something a semantic field.

And then learning cycle two, we're really gonna sharpen that up and focus it a little bit more and look at what makes a semantic field as effective as possible.

It's really gonna be all over to you to create a fantastic piece of writing with a really nice semantic field within it.

So I'm super excited to see how you go on with that.

But before we get there, let's crack on with learning cycle one.

So in this lesson we are going to focus on semantic fields.

So we are going to understand what they are and how a writer can use them effectively.

I always find it's really helpful when looking at semantic fields to look at some examples from literature so let's do that.

So what we have on the board in front of us now is an extract from a soliloquy from Lady Macbeth, which is said early in the play "Macbeth." I'm sure if you've studied Macbeth before you've come across this.

And if you haven't studied it yet, then you will focus on this quite a lot because it's a really interesting piece of writing.

So Lady Macbeth says, "come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell that my keen knife see not the wound it makes nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry 'hold, hold!'" So quick question for you, what do you notice about this? Do you notice any similarities with any of the words? So pause the video, have a discussion if you're in a class, or jot down some ideas if you're working independently and then hit play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, fantastic discussions taking place.

They're really enthusiastic, great energy.

Let's keep that going throughout the entirety of today's lesson.

Everybody almost said it that there is this idea of words associated with night and darkness.

So Lady Macbeth says words like night, pall thee, smoke, see not, peep through, dark.

It's only a couple of lines, but we've got a lot of instances of words associated with nights and darkness.

So we would say this is a semantic field of darkness or night because all of these words are related to the same thing, which is nighttime or darkness.

Let's look at another example.

So again, from "Macbeth" we have this interaction between Duncan and Banquo.

Duncan is king of Scotland at this part of the play and he is speaking with one of his kind of lieutenants in Banquo and he says, "Welcome hither: I have begun to plant thee and will labour to make thee full of growing." To which Banquo replies, "there if I grow, the harvest is your own." Again, pause the video, have a quick discussion.

Do you notice any similarities with any of these words? And if so, what are they? Okay, once again, some fantastic discussions taking place and I totally agree, this is actually harder, this one isn't it? It's much harder to see what the connection is, but we can see there are lots of words here from both characters that are associated with nourishment and new life.

We've got planting, growing, growing, harvest, all of these kind of words that are typically associated with new life growing, development and nourishment.

So we would say there is a semantic field here of growing used between these two characters.

Well done if you were able to pick up on that.

Okay, so the examples we have looked at all contains words that are closely related and this then makes them a semantic field.

So a semantic field is a group of words related in some way they can be related by meaning or in a more abstract way.

That means they could be related a little bit more loosely.

They don't all have to mean the same thing for example.

So let's look at an example of a piece of student work.

So Lucas wrote the following introduction to his story.

He said "the waves bounced us ever higher as the sails filled with wind.

The green sea below will be our home for the next six months.

Our craft jolted upwards and then made its dash for the ocean floor." So really a adventurous start to a story there from Lucas.

Really keen to see how that one progresses but let's bring it back to semantic fields.

So my question for you is, Lucas wrote the following paragraph, what semantic field has Lucas used here? So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Yep, you're absolutely right.

And everyone identified that.

It's really clear, isn't it? That Lucas has used this semantic field of sailing and the sea.

So we've got waves and sails and wind and the green sea and our craft and the ocean.

You know, this really situates it very quickly as a kind of adventure story at sea and that semantic field of the sea is really effective at achieving that from Lucas.

Okay, check for understanding then over to you.

So which of the below would not be appropriate for a semantic field of war? And those words are barrage, assault, darkness, and artillery.

So hit pause, complete the task and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Great job if you identified it as C, darkness.

All of the other words are kind of explicitly linked to war, aren't they? Like a barrage, assault, artillery, these are all words that are totally associated with war.

So they could definitely be in a semantic field of war, although darkness may be kind of hints at kind of battles or wars.

Certainly some of them do take place at night.

It isn't explicitly about war.

So we would say isn't totally within the semantic field of war.

So well done if you were able to pick up on that.

Okay, so we know what semantic fields are, but why use them? Why would you choose to use a semantic field? What purpose does it serve? So let's take a look at those examples once again.

So let's look at the example from Lady Macbeth.

So Lady Macbeth remember said, "come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell that might keen knife sees not the wound it makes nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry, 'hold, hold!'" So fantastic piece of writing there and we picked up on that semantic field of darkness and night.

But why would Shakespeare do this? Why would he introduce this character with such a semantic field? Well, we could say the use of the semantic field of darkness and night is great at characterising Lady Macbeth as a malevolent character.

If someone is malevolent, they have bad intentions.

So the links to darkness accentuate her capacity to commit evil deeds.

So that's semantic field really kind of goes hand in hand with the characterization of Lady Macbeth and it's used really, really effectively there by Shakespeare.

Again, let's look at the exchange between Duncan and Banquo.

So Duncan says, "welcome hither: I have begun to plant thee and will labour to make thee full of growing." To which Banquo replies, "there if I grow, the harvest is your own." So really lovely exchange there of that semantic field of nourishment, new life and growing that we identified.

So again, why would Shakespeare do this? Well, I'm gonna ask you, that question is over to you.

What does the semantic field of nurturing or growth suggest about Duncan here? It's a really challenging question, but keen to see how you get on with this.

So pause the video, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback back.

Okay, what a tough question, but I wasn't disappointed in your answers.

I think you approached that really well.

I heard some fantastic answers that really picked out the spirit of this semantic field.

So we would say that the semantic field is great at characterising Duncan as a nurturing force for Scotland.

And if you studied the play "Macbeth" you will immediately see those parallels of Duncan being such a great ruler who develops others in that semantic field.

So the use of this semantic field really draws out his leadership traits based on helping others flourish.

The complete contrast to Macbeth.

So just like in Lady Macbeth, this semantic field is used to really develop a character and I think it's really effective at doing that, so well done if you picked up on that in your own discussions.

Okay, let's use one more final example.

Let's go back to Lucas's example of his adventure story set at sea.

Remember Lucas said "the waves bounced us ever higher as the sails filled with wind.

The green sea below will be our home for the next six months.

Our craft jolted upwards and then made its dash for the ocean floor." So we picked up on that really fantastic semantic field that Lucas is using here of kind of sailing in the sea.

But why? Why do it? Why would Lucas do that? So my question is, what does Lucas's semantic field of the sea and sailing achieve here? Again, another really challenging question, keen to see how you approach this one.

So pause the video, have a discussion, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, great job on that.

And I'm super impressed that you were able to draw out that distinction from our earlier examples.

So whereas they kind of spoke about the idea that the semantic field is being used to characterise somebody, here, Lucas is all about setting.

So the use of this semantic field helps Lucas develop the setting really quickly.

As a reader, we understand that this is likely to be an adventure story with elements of science fiction.

You know, the craft is going down to the ocean floor that kind of puts it in a kind of fantastical element.

So what Lucas has done here is use that semantic field to create a really effective setting in his reader's mind.

So great job.

Okay, over to you then, check for understanding for me.

So Shakespeare's use of a semantic field of darkness helps characterise Lady Macbeth as a.

malevolent character, strong character, supernatural character, or a nurturing character.

So pause the video, complete the task, and then push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Yep, you've absolutely got it.

It is a malevolent character.

Remember, a malevolent character is a character with bad intentions and we definitely say that about Lady Macbeth because the kind of darkness and the hints at nighttime in that semantic field really accentuate those aspects of her malevolent character.

You know, it's definitely true to say that she's also a strong character and to some extent a supernatural character, but that doesn't really come out much in the semantic field, we would say it's definitely hinting at her malevolent nature.

So great spot if you were able to pick up on that.

Okay, so let's just recap what we've learned then.

So why do writers use semantic fields? Well, there are two main reasons really.

Writers use semantic fields to keep an idea persistent in a reader's head.

For example, a romantic sequence may contain a semantic field of love.

And we saw that really nicely in Lucas's opening to his story.

He wants us to have the idea in our head that this is a kind of swashbuckling adventure story at sea and his semantic field is really good at achieving that.

Another reason is because writers also use semantic fields to develop their characters.

For example, a villainous character may be accompanied by a semantic field of darkness or chaos.

And we kind of saw that in the Lady Macbeth example that we looked at earlier in this learning cycle.

Okay, so your practise task is as follows.

So I really enjoyed Lucas's opening, I hope you did too.

And you are going to be taking Lucas's work and making it even better.

So Lucas is continuing his adventure story set at sea.

Complete the following table with adjectives, verbs, and nouns that would add to Lucas's semantic field.

Remember, Lucas's semantic field is all about sea and the sailing, is sea and sailing.

So what words could compliment that? So Lucas himself says, "I'm writing an adventure story about a journey to the bottom of the ocean.

Can you help me plan my writing by coming up with words that could develop my semantic field of the sea? Thanks." So we've got this here.

We've got nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

So I would like you to complete this table with other words that could really help out Lucas.

So excited to see how you get on.

Hit pause, complete the task, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, let's see how you could have approached that task.

I'm sure Lucas will be super grateful for all of your hard work helping him with that semantic field of the sea.

So we could have said the following for nouns.

Horizon, galleon, mainmast, cove, tide, compass, all of these things fit really nicely into a semantic field of the sea.

Again, with our verbs, we have navigating, billowing, plunging, casting, drifting.

Again, that conjure up these really nice ideas of a kind of adventure set on the high seas, which would be great for Lucas's semantic field.

And finally adjectives, briny, tempestuous, azure, nautical glistening.

Again, all words that would really compliment that semantic field.

And remember that semantic field is made up of all different word types.

It doesn't just have to be noun or verbs or adjectives.

It can take a whole range of words to be as effective as possible.

Great job on that task.

Not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination, but great, great effort on that.

Well done.

Okay, we have reached learning cycle two, so we know what semantic fields are now, now is all about using them as effectively as possible.

So let's get cracking.

So semantic fields aren't just pieces of writing that include lots of words about the same thing.

The best writing will use semantic fields effectively to develop character, theme, or plot.

And this will include a variety of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

And we kind of saw that in the last practise task, didn't we? You know, helping Lucas out with a variety of different words really brought that semantic field to life.

So they also tend to have nuance.

And remember, nuance is a shade of meaning.

So a small shade of meaning.

So a good character isn't just accompanied with a semantic field of goodness, nor is an evil character associated with a semantic field of wickedness.

So check for understanding for me then please.

Why might introducing a villain with a semantic field of wickedness not be effective? Is it A, it is too obvious.

The best semantic fields are nuanced.

Is it B, it would not include verbs, nouns and adjectives, or is it C, it would need a character with a semantic field of goodness to contrast with it.

Really challenging this one.

So pause the video, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Yep, you've absolutely got it.

It is A, it is far too obvious.

You know, the best semantic fields are nuanced.

We wouldn't just introduce a villain with a wicked semantic field because that might just be a little bit too obvious.

Think how Shakespeare kind of introduces Lady Macbeth.

There's that nuanced semantic field of darkness and nighttime, which kind of hints at her wickedness, but doesn't confirm it completely.

So well done if you picked up on that.

So let's look at some examples of this in action.

So Andeep has written this piece of writing using a semantic field of war to describe the weather.

So Andeep has written, "the weather was an army, the rain was the infantry, making the first charge.

The residents of Hopetown cowered in their houses, helpless civilians in the face of war.

The thunder cracked like artillery, unleashing a fresh assault on the unsuspecting residence below." Wow, what a fantastic piece of writing.

You know, a really lovely idea to kind of categorise the weather in these kind of hostile terms. I really, really like that.

So my question for you then is what feedback could we give Andeep for this piece of writing? How could Andeep improve this piece of writing? So really tricky one this.

So pause the video and have a discussion or jot down some notes if you're working independently.

And then push play when you would like to continue.

Okay, some lovely discussions taking place there.

And it's a really great skill to get into the habit of peer reviewing other people's work because then you will take that those eyes and that kind of evaluative skill on your own work, which will only make it even better so well done for applying that.

So what could we say to Andeep? What we could say, Andeep has made a good start with his semantic field, which portrays the hostility of the weather.

And I think that really, really comes across.

However, we could say his semantic field only includes nouns and he could vary this to make it even more engaging.

He could add verbs and adjectives to really bring his semantic field to life even more.

So we can see examples of that in his work.

Army, infantry, charge, civilians, artillery, assault, all of these are nouns which he's using, which are great to use, but there is no kind of variation in his word type.

So we could change it to this.

Andeep's description could now read "the approaching storm launched its assault on the town.

Raindrops like a barrage of artillery pummelling the streets, turning them into muddy battlegrounds.

Gale-force winds march through alleys, rattling windows and tearing at the town's defences.

Lightning painting the skies with flashes illuminated the chaotic scenes." So we've taken what is a great piece of writing and made it just a little bit better by varying that semantic field.

So now Andeep's description includes a semantic field made up of verbs, nouns, and adjectives, which really brings his description to life.

So well done, Andeep.

Okay, let's look at another example.

So Aisha has written this piece of writing using a semantic field of evilness to introduce her villain and she has said "the villain walked mysteriously out of the shadows.

He wore a sinister frown on his face and possessed an evil grimace, a grimace that hinted at his bad deeds.

He was the living embodiment of evil, a man who had committed wicked deeds and was ready to commit even more." So really nice piece of writing there and clearly articulating this character as villainous to us as an audience.

So quick discussion question, same question to you then please.

So really good to get into that habit of peer review.

So what feedback could we give Aisha for this piece of writing? So pause the video, have a discussion, and then hit play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, once again, some really lovely discussions there.

Kind of really picking at the nuance of Aisha's writing and giving some really specific things of how she could improve, which is great.

So what feedback could we give her? Well, I would say the following, I would say Aisha's description creates a malevolent character effectively.

You know, we really get that impression coming through here with words like villain, sinister, evil, bad, evil, wicked.

However, I would also say this is a little bit too obvious.

You know, this is clearly a villain and words like wicked and evil really show that.

So what we could suggest is that Aisha includes a more ambiguous semantic field to give her character more mystery.

So potentially, you know, introduce this idea that this character might be villainous but not confirming it entirely as she does currently.

So a semantic field of darkness might be a really good way of doing that.

So Aisha's description now reads, "from the heart of the shadows, he emerged wrapped in an obsidian cloak.

He moved with an unsettling grace.

The very air thickened in his presence and his obscured features hinted at malevolence.

As he advanced the darkness clung to him, lights could not disturb the shadows that eagerly sought him out." So now this character is introduced with this semantic field of light and dark.

So we've got words like shadows and obsidian and obscured features and darkness and shadows.

So this suggests the character may be evil but doesn't confirm it entirely.

So it allows for much more nuance in Aisha's characterization.

And I would say it's much more kind of high level and engaging as a result.

So well done, Aisha.

Okay, so over to you.

I am super excited to see how you apply all of the fantastic things that we have looked at in today's lesson.

So you have Lucas's story once again all in front of you.

So that fantastic opening about this kind of adventurous story set at sea.

So let's remind ourselves of what Lucas wrote.

So Lucas wrote, "the waves bounced us ever higher as the sails filled with wind.

The green sea below will be our home for the next six months.

I looked out at the nothingness beyond, the taste of salty sea air in my mouth." So really interesting opening.

So what I would like you to do, you have two things.

So Lucas was asked to write the opening to a sci-fi story set at sea.

I would like you to take Lucas's opening and do the following.

I would like you to continue his semantic field of the sea and sailing, being sure to include nouns, adjectives, and verbs as part of that semantic field.

And you've already done some fantastic work on that in learning cycle one.

So feel free to use all of those fantastic words in your next practise task.

And finally, I would also like you to introduce a villainous character.

Remember, a villainous character is someone immoral or wicked accompanied by a semantic field of darkness.

So introducing that character with a semantic field of darkness.

So this is a lovely task and I think this is a great opportunity for you to really apply all of your fantastic work and I am super excited to see how you get on.

So good luck with it.

All the best and push play when you'd like to continue and see some feedback.

Okay, my goodness, that is a tricky task, isn't it? And I'm super impressed to see how well you have all done.

So I've got an example on the board in front of us now.

This is not the be all and the end all.

Yours does not have to be identical to this, but this is just an example of how you could have approached that task so let's read it.

"The waves bounced us ever higher as the sails filled with wind.

The green sea below will be our home for the next six months.

Our craft jolted upwards and made its dash for the ocean floor.

I peered through the reinforced glass, the metallic tang of the ocean's depths lingering in my breath.

The vessel, a state-of-the-art submersible known as the 'Abyss Explorer' descended, propelled by advanced thrusters as the underwater currents danced around it.

The undulating waves became our guide and the azure depths, a labyrinth of mysteries unfolded beneath us.

The symphony of the ocean depths, punctuated by the creaking of the submarine and the quiet hum of the engines accompanied us as we descended ever deeper." So that's the first part of the model answer.

And I think you really see that semantic field of the sea being continued.

That's a really great example.

But what about that villainous character? Let's read on.

"As the darkness grew, it seemed a different kind of darkness was upon us.

The seasoned submariners exchanged uneasy glances, sensing an unsettling malevolence emanating from this mysterious presence.

A cloaked doctor known only as Dr.

Umbrage traversed the submarine with a stealth that mirrored the inky blackness enveloping us.

His silent footsteps echoed with an ominous cadence, and his darkened silhouette seemed to absorb the ambient light.

Whispers among the crew were a soundtrack to his arrival.

His arrival cast a shadow far deeper than the black nothingness of the ocean's depths." So really effective there at introducing this character with a semantic field of darkness.

So I hope you enjoyed that task.

I hope you were able to really apply your fantastic knowledge, and it is lovely to see how hard you are working in these lessons so well done.

Okay, we've made it once again, we have worked incredibly hard throughout today's lesson and we have learned an awful lot so let's recap exactly what we have learned.

So a semantic field is a group of words related in some way.

They can be related by meaning or in a more abstract way.

Writers deliberately used semantic fields to develop their characters in certain ways.

Writers deliberately use semantic fields to keep an idea present in a reader's head.

And effective semantic fields will include a variety of word types, including nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

As always, it has been a great pleasure to teach you today.

I'm super proud of all you've achieved and all you've learned, and I really look forward to teaching you again on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.