Hello there.

My name is Ms. Keller and I'm so glad that you could join me in today's lesson.

During this session, we are going to be analysing how Lord Byron uses language and structure in his poem, "The Destruction of Sennacherib." So by the end of today's lesson, we will be able to explain how Lord Byron uses language form and structure to express his viewpoint.

So let's have a look at today's key words.

So feel free to pause the video here and take a good look at each of the meanings before we carry on with the rest of the lesson.

But I would just like to draw your attention to two specific words that you may not have come across before.

So the first one is stressed syllables.

So syllables are parts of a word.

For example, the word rhythm has two syllables.

And a stressed syllable is a syllable in a word that is emphasised or pronounced with greater force.

So if we take that word rhythm, we can hear that there's a lot more emphasis on that first syllable.

So the pattern of syllables in the word rhythm would be a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.

And that takes me on to the next term I would just like to zoom in on, which is anapestic tetrameter, which sounds a lot more complicated than it's.

So it's a poetic rhythm that consists of four groups of three syllables, and each of these groups of three syllables contains two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.

So that might be quite hard to imagine in your mind, but thankfully we've got a really good way to remember it, and that is that the word anapest actually follows that pattern because we've got ana, which are unstressed syllables, and pest, which has that stressed syllable at the end.

So if you're unsure how rhythm sounds out loud, anapest is a great word to say aloud to help you remember it.

So how is today's lesson going to look? Well, we're going to start by focusing on Byron's use of a language.

And then when we've done that, we are going to move on to Byron's use of form and structure.

So I'd like to start off by thinking about Byron's use of imagery.

And in particular, I would like to start by exploring the first line of the poem.

The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold.

And that word fold there at the end of the line means a pen that's used to protect sheep from predators.

So here we've got that image that the Assyrian army are descending on Jerusalem, like a wolf onto a pen of sheep, which the wolf would consider to be prey.

So my question to you is this, what connotations do we associate with sheep and wolves? So take a moment to have a think to yourself and discuss this with the people around you or make some notes if you're working on your own.

Pause the video here and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Lots of interesting connotations that people were picking out there.

So let's just run through a couple of great responses I overheard.

So starting with wolves.

First of all, a lot of people are picking up on the idea that they're quite cunning, which definitely links to that perhaps fairytale depiction of wolves in stories like "Little Red Riding Hood." They're ferocious, aggressive, and they're predators.

Whereas sheep, we heard things like obedient, herd mentality, this idea that they move as a flock, they think as one, they're vulnerable, they're not easily able to defend themselves, and they prey.

And we've got that predators and pray here.

So now I'd like you to think a little bit more clearly about the poem.

So what impression do these connotations of wolves and sheep give us of the Assyrians and the Israelites? Who are the people that were living in Jerusalem? So remember, the Assyrians are described like the wolves, and the Israelites are described like the sheep.

So pause the video here while you take some time to think and discuss this or make your notes and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Again, lots of fantastic ideas there in that discussion.

So well done for giving that a really good go.

So we could argue that Byron presents the Assyrian army as powerful predators attacking the loyal and vulnerable Israelites.

And we got that word loyal from the idea, herd mentality.

The Israelites perhaps all tend to think as one, perhaps, in this depiction of them.

So this wolf sheep metaphor is actually a common image in the Bible.

We see it in lots of different places in the Bible and also in other types of literature.

So for example, the common phrase, the wolf in sheep's clothing.

That's another really common way that we like to think of this metaphor.

So throughout the poem, Byron uses language to reinforce this depiction of the Assyrian army as powerful and predatory.

So I'd like to hand over to you again.

So grab your copies of the poem if you haven't already, and take some time to read through again seeing if you can identify any other examples of Byron using language to present the Assyrian army as powerful and predatory.

So pause the video here while you take some time to have another look over the poem.

And when you are ready to be back together, click play and we'll continue.

Okay, welcome back.

It was so great to hear so many of you coming up with such a variety of different responses to that challenge task there.

So well done.

So let's just pick up on a few key methods that Byron uses in order to depict the Assyrian army in this way.

So I'd like to start off, first of all, with the use of a simile and sibilance.

And sibilance is one of those key words from today's lesson, which is like literation, when we have lots of different words that begin with the same sound, except sibilance is when those words all begin with a hissing sound.

So do bear that in mind.

A really good way to remember that is that the word sibilance begins with that very sound.

So in the poem then, where can we spot this idea? Well, we can spot it in this line.

The sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea.

So we can hear lots of those S sounds there.

So over to you for a discussion of this particular quote.

Then I'd like to zoom in on the language.

So we've got these two methods working together here, the simile and the sibilance.

And my question to you is, what is the significant of each individual method and what effect does it create? So pause the video while you have a think and discuss it.

And when you're ready to feedback together, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's start by looking at the simile then, like stars on the Sea.

So we could argue that this simile draws attention to the soldier's weapons because it's the spears that are being compared to the stars on the sea.

So what connotations or ideas, inferences can we draw from this simile? Well, first of all, we could argue that perhaps it suggests the weapons are well tended to, which could suggest that the army are perhaps powerful and that these weapons are used quite a lot.

They rely on them because the sheen of the spears, they suggest that they're very well looked after or particularly high quality weapons perhaps.

But also this word sheen suggests that they're glinting in the light.

And a really creative interpretation of this word sheen could be that they might resemble the eyes of a predator and how they might glint in the dark.

So we're getting this idea of that flash of light there.

So onto Byron's use of sibilance then.

So we've got quite a lot of those S sounds here in that line.

So what's significant about that? Well, this also helps to foreground their weapons because these sounds help this particular image to really stand out in our minds as we're reading the poem.

But it also works with the beat of the poem to emphasise the sheen.

The sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea.

It does actually follow that anapestic tetrameter that we were talking about earlier, and that we're gonna come onto later in the lesson in a bit more detail.

Because all of those S sounds actually fall on those stressed syllables, so he is really adding emphasis to the particular parts of the line and he's helping to really drive that rhythm forward.

So now let's move on to Byron's use of natural imagery.

So how does Byron use natural imagery to depict the downfall of the Assyrians in stanza two? Pause the video while you have a think, discuss it, make your notes.

And when you're ready to go through it together, click play and we'll continue.

Okay, welcome back.

I could certainly hear lots of people picking up on a similar idea to my interpretation.

So let's have a look at it in a bit more detail.

So here is stanza two, and I've highlighted all of the natural imagery in this stanza.

So we've got leaves of the forest when summer is green, like the leaves of the forest when autumn has blown, that host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

We've got these two seasonal descriptions here.

So what inferences can we make about these particular descriptions? Well, first of all, if we look at summer, what do we associate with summer? Well, perhaps it's a time in the year of vitality and growth, happiness, the peak of life.

The natural world is at its most vibrant, colourful, and thriving in the summertime.

So this is usually what we associate with this season.

Whereas, in autumn, it tends to be a season that we associate with a decline, with things starting to die off, this transition towards the winter and the end of the year before life springs back together in the springtime.

So we've got these two contrasting images of vitality versus death and decline.

So why does Byron do this? Well, we could argue that it emphasises how the army was strong and full of energy when they first arrived.

They're like the leaves of the forest in summer.

They are at their physical peak when they arrive.

However, the very next day after God's divine intervention, now they are weak and dying.

So it really emphasises how they have fallen from that peak right down to this description of them now as withered and strown.

So now let's have a look at Byron's use of extended metaphor.

So I have a challenge for you Which extended metaphor does Byron use to emphasise the decline of the Assyrian army? So pauses the video while you have another look at the poem.

And when you think you found it, click play and we'll discuss it together.

Okay, welcome back.

So I could overhear lots of you had spotted the extended metaphor, and that is that Byron compares the Assyrian army to the sea throughout the poem.

So I have another question, enabling us to unpick this idea a bit further.

So what connotations do we associate with the sea? So have a think.

You've got that image there, but also I'm sure many of you have been to the seaside in your life.

What connotations do we associate with the sea? Pause the video here while you have a think and click play when you are ready for us to be back together.

Okay, welcome back.

Lots of interesting descriptions there.

So some of the key ideas that came out of those discussions, people saying that the sea was majestic, huge, wild, cold, and dangerous.

So let's see if we can draw out any of these ideas in Byron's use of this extended metaphor.

So first of all then, we've got the sheen of their spears.

It was like stars on the sea, when the blue wave rolls nightly on the deep Galilee.

So we've got a lot of links here to how perhaps the army are majestic and huge just like the sea.

First of all, the Sea of Galilee was a sea that was located close to Jerusalem.

So we've got this idea that that is linking to the geographical location of the poem, but also the sheen of their spears being like stars on the sea.

The thing with stars is there are millions of them.

So comparing these spears to stars and how they're reflected on the sea really gives us that impression that this army is huge.

There are so many spears and the size of this army is so expansive that it is like the sea in that regard.

We've also got this roll'd, not the breath of his pride.

We've got this idea.

Roll'd is usually perhaps a word we would use to describe rolling waves.

So again, we've got this idea perhaps that it might be quite powerful because we've got that link there between the blue wave rolls nightly on the deep Galilee and roll'd not the breath of his pride.

So here, Byron's using negated language, saying what didn't happen, in order to emphasise perhaps how powerless they are now.

And then we've also got some quotations that link this idea of the sea being wild and cold.

So foam of his gasping lay white, cold as the spray of the rock-beaten surf.

So we've got this idea.

These are both descriptions of the steed as it is dying after the army has been wiped out.

So we've got this idea that perhaps it is foaming maybe at the mouth as it's gasping for air.

So that gives us a really vivid image.

And I think drawing on that idea of the sea's foaming waves really helps to imagine that vivid image.

And also this cold as the spray of the rock-beaten surf.

Again, the coldness of the sea is something that is a really visceral image that most people can conjure up in their minds.

So here it's emphasising that coldness of the death that has suddenly befall this army.

So another discussion question for you here then.

What is the effect of this extended metaphor? Why do we think that Byron is choosing to describe the Assyrian army in this way? Pause the video here while you have a think and discuss it with the people around you.

And when you're ready to be back together, click play and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

Some really interesting interpretations there.

So well done for really getting to grips with the use of language here.

So we could have said that Byron's use of extended metaphor emphasises how powerful and majestic the army are initially.

But later in the poem, Byron uses the same metaphor to emphasise how the mighty have fallen because we've got those really two quite contrasting images there.

They are huge and perhaps majestic versus this idea that they are wild and cold.

So let's pause here and take our understanding so far.

So Byron presents these Assyrian army as powerful and predatory by comparing them to which animal? So take a look at the options and have a think.

And when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Okay, welcome back and well done to those of you who said B, wolves.

He describes how they descended on Jerusalem like the wolf on the fold.

And here the army are presented as violent aggressors and the Israelites of Jerusalem are presented as loyal yet vulnerable followers.

So now it is time for the first practise task of today's lesson.

And we've been doing some absolutely fantastic discussion work so far.

So I would like to carry on with that here.

So I'd like you to discuss the following questions with the people around you and make some notes on your responses.

Don't worry if you're working on your own.

Just take some time to think to yourself, and then you can also make some notes in your book or on your paper.

So the questions I'd like you to think about then, number one, which do you think is the most powerful description of the Assyrian army and why did you choose that particular quote? And number two, why do you think Byron emphasises the power of the Assyrian army, and how is it significant to the overall message of the poem? So I'd like you to challenge yourself to support your ideas with evidence from the text and also your knowledge of the wider context, so thinking about what you know perhaps about the world that this poem was brought into.

So we're thinking early 1800s here.

So pause the video while you give this a really good go.

And when you are ready for us to feedback together, click play and we'll continue.

Okay, welcome back.

And can I just take a moment to say a massive well done for how well we all just approached that task.

It was so great to see so many of you having really respectful discussions, listening really carefully to each other's responses, and even asking some questions to encourage people to develop their ideas.

So that was really, really fantastic work.

So here are some of our Oak students and how they responded to these questions.

So we've got Laura and Izzy here.

So let's have a look at their responses.

So Laura says, "I think the most powerful description of the Assyrians is the description of how they're spears shone like stars since this draws attention to their lethal weapons." Whereas Izzy says, "I think the most powerful description of the Assyrians is the simile comparing them to the wolf as this presents them as powerful and cunning predators." So I'd like to hand over to you for a quick-fire discussion.

Whose opinion do you most agree with and why? So pause the video here while you take some time to discuss this and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, and then let's have a look at number two.

So why do you think Byron emphasises the power of the Assyrian army and how is it significant to the overall message of the poem? So Laura says, "I think Byron emphasises the power of the Assyrian army to imply they're undefeatable.

This helps to emphasise God's power since he defeats them so easily." Whereas Izzy says, "I think Byron emphasises the power of the Assyrian army to build tension in the poem and make the reader want to know what happens.

It makes us feel sorry for the Israelites." So again, take a moment to discuss it.

Who do you most agree with and why? Pause the video for a minute and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Again, some fantastic debates taking place there.

In this case, I think I might inclined to argue that Laura's response was a bit more detailed than Izzy, 'cause I think, unfortunately, Izzy fell into the trap of suggesting that it makes the reader want to know what happens.

Now, this is a common effect in literature, and it's something that writers do a lot because it does make a reader want to know what happens.

It makes a text exciting, but we really need to explain that in a bit more detail.

She starts to do that in that last bit by saying it makes us feel sorry for the Israelites, but a bit more detail about why a reader might feel sympathetic perhaps would've been a bit more useful there.

Whereas I think Laura's response, quite succinctly, shows how the Assyrian army perhaps are presented as undefeatable and then what effect this has on the poem.

It helps to emphasise God's power since he defeats them so easily.

Okay, so now we've made it to the halfway point of today's lesson, and we've spent some time exploring Byron's use of language, and now it's time to explore Byron use of form and structure.

So I would still like to stick with this idea of how Byron depicts the Assyrian army.

So earlier in the lesson, we were talking about how Byron used language to present them as powerful and predatory.

Remember the simile of the wolves and the sheep.

So arguably, Byron's use of form and structure also supports this interpretation.

So I'd like you to have another look at the poem and see if you can identify any examples of Byron using form and/or structure to come up with this same depiction of the army as powerful and predatory.

So I've just put a list down at the bottom of the screen there.

a few things that you might want to consider.

So rhyme, rhythm, organisation of ideas, and the poetic form.

So pause a video here while you have another look over the poem and discuss this with the people around you or make some notes if you are working on your own.

Click pause and then click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Some really fantastic discussions taking place there, and I can hear people talking about different aspects of form and structure.

So well done.

So let's just go through some key ideas together.

So first of all then, every aspect of the form and structure of this poem is regular, and that is something that's really important to remember.

For example, the lines and the stanzas, we have six stanzas of four lines, and these lines are all of equal length.

So we've got a lot of regularity going on here.

Even numbers, even numbers of lines, equal lengths of lines.

We can also discuss the idea that the rhyme scheme is regular as well.

It has a regular AABB rhyme scheme.

So if we have a look here at that first stanza, we can see those first two lines, fold and gold rhyme with each other, and also sea and Galilee.

And this is a pattern that continues throughout the poem.

And then we've also got a regular rhythm.

It is mostly regular anapestic tetrameter.

So that's that rhythm we were talking about earlier.

So each line mostly has four groups of those three syllables and each group of three syllables has the two unstressed followed by the one stressed syllable.

And remember that word anapest should tell us how that rhythm sounds aloud.

So let's explore this rhythm then in a bit more detail.

So if we have a look, what I've done is, in a second, I'll show you, but I've broken down how this rhythm looks onto the lines.

So I've represented the two unstressed syllables with that straight line there and the stressed syllable with that cross.

Okay.

So if we have a look then, the Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.

Now I know if we read the poem, usually, we wouldn't emphasise the sounds in that way, but I hope that you were able to hear those stressed syllables with me emphasising them.

So now we've picked out some regular aspects to this poem's form and structure.

I would like to ask you a question.

Why do you think Byron is focused so intently on regularity here? Why it's structured, this poem, in such a regular way with every aspect of it being so regular? So pause the video here where you have a think and discuss it and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

So I could hear lots of really fantastic interpretations there, and they were quite varied.

And actually, there isn't really one concrete correct answer as to why Byron did this because we can never know why Byron chose to focus so much on regularity.

So let's just have a look at some really important interpretations from our Oak students.

So first of all, we had Aisha who said, "We could argue that the regularity of the poem structure could symbolise the rigid order of the military." So we have that link there between this regular structure and the idea of regularity and order in the military.

And this poem is obviously about an army.

And actually, in a lot of war poems, we do often see quite a regular structure.

Jun said, "we could interpret the regularity as a storytelling device, driving the action and adding drama to the narrative." So we've got this idea that this rhythm really drives the poem forward.

So it's adding drama because it's really pushing that pace of the poem forward.

And Sam said, "We could infer that the regular rhythm echoes the sound of the oncoming army because it could link to the sound of hooves." So we've really got that rhythm, that anapest, anapest, anapest is driving it forward, but also perhaps having that clip clopping sound that could link to that oncoming army.

So three really fantastic and quite nuanced interpretations there.

So my challenge to you is this.

Which one do you most agree with and why? So take some time to debate with the people around you, or if you're working on your own, select which one you agree with and maybe make some notes about why that is.

So pause the video here while you take some time to discuss it and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Lots of spirited debate there.

We definitely did not all agree on which interpretation we most identified with there.

It's really important to remember that all three of these interpretations are valid.

So we could actually use any one of them in our analysis.

However, what is important is that we are then able to back up this interpretation with evidence and analysis of Byron's use of form and structure.

So let's pause here and check our understanding.

How does Byron use structure to help build tension and add drama to his retelling of this biblical narrative? Pause the video while you have a think and click play when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer.

Okay, welcome back, and well done to those of you who said D.

He uses a regular rhyme scheme and rhythmic metre.

Remember, every aspect of this form and structure is regular.

So now it's time for the final practise task of today's lesson.

And I would like to return to these three interpretations we were discussing a moment ago.

So I would like you to write a paragraph responding to the statement that you most agreed with.

So have another look.

Doesn't matter if you change your mind at this point, but definitely decide for sure which of these interpretations you most identify with, and then write your paragraph responding to it.

Now I'd like you to challenge yourself to support your interpretations with evidence and analysis from the poem.

So pause the video here while you take some time to give this a really good go.

And when you are ready to feedback together, click play, and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope that you feel a lot more confident when it comes to thinking about Byron's use of form and structure.

Now you've had a chance to really get to grips with analysing it yourselves.

So here's an example of how you could have responded.

I strongly agree with the interpretation of Byron's regular structure as a dramatic storytelling device.

Both the regular AABB rhyme and the use of regular anapestic tetrameter helped to give the poem a driving pace, helping to build anticipation for the climax of the action when God intervenes to save Jerusalem.

Also, the use of the AABB rhyme scheme could link to the archetypal poetic form of the ballad, which was historically used to tell heroic tales of military victories among other common themes.

Here, Byron could be drawing on this traditional form of poetic storytelling in his retelling of a historical story of victory and good overcoming evil.

Remember, as I was saying earlier, all three of those interpretations were valid.

So you could have chosen any one of them as long as you supported your ideas with evidence and analysis.

So let's just have a look at how this answer used evidence and analysis.

Well, we had lots of methods in here, so talking about the rhyme scheme and the regular rhythm, and also linking this idea to things we know about the poem and perhaps about the context.

So there was a lot of discussion about the effect of the rhyme and the rhythm, giving it a driving pace, building anticipation, linking to other poetic forms. So we did have a lot of analysis in there.

However, I would argue that we don't have any evidence from the poem, so it might have been a good idea perhaps to have included a line from the poem or perhaps two lines from the poem so we could see those rhyming words or we could see that rhythm and hear it for ourselves.

Okay, so we've made it to the end of today's lesson and a really big well done for all your hard work today.

I hope you feel a bit more confident when it comes to analysing this poem.

So let's just summarise what we've covered in today's lesson.

The regular rhyming couplets could reflect the rigidity of the army or could be used as a dramatic storytelling device.

Byron's use of sibilance arguably illustrates the power of these Assyrian army.

The biblical image of the wolf attacking sheep connotes the battle between good and evil.

Anapestic tetrameter could echo the sound of the forces advancing.

And finally, Byron uses an extended metaphor comparing the Assyrians to the sea, which could emphasise how the mighty army fell.

So thank you very much for joining me in today's lesson.

I hope you have a fantastic day, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon.