Hello, welcome.

Thanks for joining me for today's lesson.

I'm Mrs. Butterworth, and I'll be guiding you through the learning.

Now, this lesson is all about comparing experiences of war in poetry.

So we will be looking at war as a key theme in poems from the Edexcel poetry anthology.

So hopefully, you've got those copies ready to go.

And then we are ready to start the lesson.

Let's go.

So in this lesson, you will explore reasons why poets write about war and begin to make connections between the poems in the Edexcel "Conflict" anthology.

So before we get started in this lesson, let's just look at some key words that are gonna really help with our understanding.

So these words are honour, propaganda, brutal, sensationalise, and cynicism.

Now, what do these words mean? Let's just look at this together.

So, honour is to behave with integrity and moral dignity, and it's to show respect or admiration for someone.

So you may have heard people talk about honouring the legacy of people.

So, or you can behave with honour.

So you behave in a moralistic way with integrity.

Then we have the word propaganda.

Now, propaganda is manipulative information disseminated to influence opinions, often biassed or misleading.

So very often we hear about the world wars and the propaganda that was disseminated that encouraged people to sign up for a war that they didn't really understand.

So that would be an example of propaganda.

Now, brutal means extremely cruel, harsh, or violent in action or manner.

So if something is brutal, it's really harsh or cruel.

So to sensationalise or sensationalise is to present information in an exaggerated or attention-grabbing way to evoke shock or excitement.

So very often, people will say things like the headlines of a newspaper, sensationalise the events of something.

And then cynicism is a sceptical or distrustful attitudes towards motives, sincerity, or the goodness of human nature.

So cynicism is linked to the idea of being cynical.

Okay, that's sceptical or distrustful attitude.

Okay, so the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to start by making connections, so looking at some of the connections in the anthology, and then we're gonna move on to think about the idea of war poetry and the concept of war as a key theme.

So let's get started with that making connections.

So today we're going to be exploring the Edexcel poetry anthology.

So I hope you have your copies ready to go, and you will 'cause you will definitely need them.

So a poetry anthology is chosen with connecting themes and big ideas in mind.

The poems within the anthologies relate to those overall themes.

So these overall themes and big ideas can form connections between the poems that you can then explore in your analysis.

And also when you're thinking about commenting on a poem, you want to think about how it fits in relation to those other poems. What are those kind of sub themes happening? So the Edexcel poetry anthology contains poems from as early as 1794 to the present day.

Now, why do you think it is useful and important to study poetry from multiple centuries? What insight might this give us? So pause the video so you can think about this idea, discuss your ideas, and come up with some answers to those questions.

Off you go.

Great, some really interesting, thoughtful answers there.

So absolutely.

Lucas has said that reading poetry from across multiple centuries allows us to understand how the world we know today has been shaped by humanity's past experiences, our history.

Absolutely, it gives us a real understanding of that.

So that's a really good answer.

And then Andeep says reading poetry can help us to better understand ourselves and our behaviour, but also the world around us too.

And that's a really good point as well.

So poetry can really help us not understand just ourselves and our behaviour, but those of the world around us too.

And also it's interesting to explore those different historical perspectives and in relation to where we are now.

So here are some of the events that happened during the time periods that influenced the writing of many of the poems in the Edexcel anthology.

So are you ready for this? It is a big list.

Here we go.

The Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, the First World War, the Second World War, the Crimean War, the Industrial Revolution, the Late Enlightenment period, the Vietnam War, the Troubles, the Romantic Period, wars in the Middle East, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Miner's Strike.

Now, discuss which of these significant historical events are you familiar with? What do you know about them? Can you give their dates or explain how they may have shaped society? So I'm sure all of you have some knowledge of some of these, if not all of them.

So you can discuss those now.

Okay, pause the video, off you go.

Well done, everyone.

It was great to hear so many of you drawing on knowledge that you already have from various different sources and experiences.

It's really great to be drawing on that knowledge.

And likewise, for any of the events that you don't know, just keep them in mind.

And hopefully, as you progress through the anthology, you'll get to know a bit more about these.

Here is a list of the titles in the Edexcel anthology.

Let's read them together.

"A Poison Tree," "The Destruction of Sennacherib," "Extract from the Prelude," "The Man He Killed," "Cousin Kate," "Half-caste," "Exposure," "The charge of the Light Brigade," "Catrin," "War Photographer," "Belfast Confetti," "The Class Game," "Poppies," "No Problem," "What were they like?" Now, let's look at those titles and discuss.

Could any of these link to the conflicts we've just discussed? So pause the video and see if you can find some clues in those titles that link to those events.

Off you go.

Fabulous, loved seeing how some of you were using some detective work there to have a look at the titles.

So here's some connections here.

So Sennacherib, the site of the Assyrian siege, is depicted in the Bible.

"Poppies" perhaps linked to World War I and "Belfast Confetti" linked to the Troubles.

Words such as killed, war, charge, and brigade obviously linked to war.

So the following poems can all be described as war poems. So here is the list.

So these are the ones that are focused on war.

So I'd like you to discuss, looking at these titles, what aspects of war and conflict do you think these poems will draw on? So you'll need to use your detective skills to find some clues about what aspects of war and conflict they potentially draw on.

Okay, are you ready to go? Pause the video so you've got plenty of time to discuss your answers, or you may just wish to think quietly to yourself.

Okay, off you go.

Okay, so let's just share some of our ideas.

So the word, you can see the words highlighted and in some of the ideas associated with that.

So things like danger, destruction, fighting, and loss.

Remembrance and honour, so that idea of "Poppies" is really key, isn't it? In terms of remembrance and honour.

Okay, so it's time for you to select A, B, C, or D.

Why might we study poetry from centuries ago? Which answer are you going for? Off you go.

Are we ready for the answer? Feeling confident? Yes, it's B.

It can help us to understand how our world today has been shaped by our history.

Fantastic work so far, everyone.

Let's keep going.

So we have reached our first practise task.

So what I would like you to do is I would like you to choose three of the titles from the list of war poems. So these are the ones we've just looked at and they're also on the screen.

And I would like you to make predictions about what you think will happen in the poems. So think about the following.

What might happen in each poem, what key themes or ideas it will explore, and how the poet and speaker may present war and conflict.

So this is really about using the information or keywords in the title, your own pre prior knowledge to really make some intelligent guesses, some intelligent speculation about these titles.

Okay, I know you can do this.

So get ready to pause that video to complete this task.

Are you ready to go? Brilliant, pause the video.

Well done, everyone, on your hard work.

It's so interesting, isn't it? How just the titles can tell us so much about the poems. So well done for drawing all of those excellent predictions out.

So I'm gonna give you an example of three options to what things that you could have written.

You may have something different, which is absolutely fine.

You may just want to take the opportunity to use the examples to add to your own predictions.

So the first one is this.

I predict "The Man He Killed" will focus on the destruction and loss associated with war since the word killed links to murder and death.

Perhaps this poem will be from the perspective of a soldier who has killed an enemy soldier and will reflect on the negative impact war has on those who fight in it.

Another example, I predict "The Charge of the Light Brigade" will describe a historical military event fought by the light brigade, drawing on themes of conflict and possibly death if the charge isn't successful.

The definite article the suggests that this charge was a significant event worthy of our attention and remembrance.

And finally, I predict "War Photographer" will describe the life or experiences of someone who works in the media, photographing war zones.

The word photographer implies that the poem may have a neutral perspective on war since here it is someone's job.

So they may have become desensitised to the destruction that they witness.

So again, you may have something totally different, which is fine.

You may want to just use this as an opportunity to add to your own predictions.

Great work, everyone.

So you can now just check, are your predictions valid? Did you use your contextual knowledge of wars conflicts to inform your predictions? You may also just want to check this now.

And did you use key words or phrases from the titles to make inferences? Again, use this time to check that.

Okay, well done, everyone.

We are on the second part of our lesson and this is all about looking at war poetry.

So I want to think about writing about war and conflict.

So why do you think people write about wars? Because it is such a prominent theme in poetry.

So let's just take a moment to discuss why do people write about wars? So pause the video so you can discuss your ideas or you may just wish to think quietly to yourself.

Either is fine.

I can't wait to share our responses.

Off you go.

Wow, some really interesting ideas there and thoughts as to why people choose to write about wars.

Let's just share some of those.

So it might be to remember those who have died or who have lost their lives.

Maybe to share personal experiences.

And we know that some of the war poems in the anthology do justice.

It may be to raise awareness about the impact of conflict, maybe as recruitment propaganda.

That's an interesting idea that actually poetry is part of the conflict.

Maybe to persuade, to criticise, to honour, to teach, to process feelings maybe.

So different perspectives on war.

So war and conflict have many different perspectives.

And it's important to remember the different voices we will hear from this anthology as this will infect how we interpret key ideas.

So we need to think about contextual information and how this impacts the writing of those poems. So I want you to discuss now, how might these people have different views about war? So a mother of a World War II soldier who was killed, what might their view of war be? A young person who was just joined the army.

How might they feel about war? A soldier fighting on the frontline in World War I and a news photographer who photographs war zones.

Okay, so I want you to consider these different perspectives and how these people have different views about war.

So you'll need to pause video.

You've got plenty of time to discuss these ideas.

You may wish to jot down a few ideas or just think quietly to yourself.

Okay? Can't wait to hear what you come up with.

So pause the video, off you go.

Thank you, everyone.

It's really interesting, isn't it? When you start to consider different perspectives and how war and conflict can be viewed in so many different ways.

So if we think about a mother of a World War II soldier who was killed, their views might be that they are angry, there might be heartbreak, or even nostalgia, remembering those that have been lost.

And a young person who has just joined the army may have a mixture of emotions.

So there may be fear, there may be honour and pride.

And a soldier fighting on the front line in World War I, there may be some grief, there may be some hopelessness, and this idea of cynicism.

So when we start to think about ideas of propaganda, especially in World War I, soldiers may start to feel cynical about the war and how it was presented to them.

And obviously, a war photographer is gonna have a different perspective.

So they may also be numb to the conflict they're seeing because it's their job, they have to do it.

They may also feel guilty about their role in war and conflict.

They may also feel horror at some of the atrocities that they see.

I'd now like us to think about the conventions of war poetry.

Now, some war poems actually functioned as propaganda, influencing people's opinions of the war and raising morale for soldiers and their family.

So it's really interesting to think of this idea of poetry actually being part of the conflict and actually being an active part of it.

So we're going to look at a poem called "Who's for the Game?" by Jessie Pope.

And maybe start thinking about this idea of propaganda as we read it through together.

Who's for the game, the biggest that's played, the red crushing game of a fight? Who'll grip and tackle the job unafraid? And who thinks he'd rather sit tight? Who'll toe the line for the signal to go? Who'll give his country a hand? Who wants a turn to himself in the show? And who wants a seat in the stand? Okay, so I'd like you to just discuss, please.

How could we interpret this poem as propaganda? So you may just wish to reread the poem just to get some ideas for that question.

Okay, you ready to go? Brilliant.

So pause the video so you've got time to come up with an answer to that question.

Off you go, Right, let's feed back some ideas.

So I've highlighted some key ideas here because what you may have noticed, even just by the title alone, "Who is For the Game?" it really sensationalises war as a game, but also kind of downplays the seriousness of war by comparing it to a game.

You know, this idea that it's the biggest possible game that you could play.

And that word tackle gives a nod to football or rugby or that kind of game.

And then who wants a seat in the stand? It's kind of suggesting that you're either playing the game or you're just watching.

And it's really challenging people to make that choice, to get involved, to be involved in this game, if you like, when really we know that war isn't like that.

And it's also presenting soldiers as brave and loyal heroes.

You know, this idea of them being unafraid, that they're gonna give the country a hand.

It really represents soldiers as these brave and loyal heroes.

And also this idea of winning.

So if we think of war as, there are winners and losers in war.

If we simplify war as this idea and compare it to a game, this is really emphasising that there's this thrill of winning.

So come and be in the show, come and be part of this game.

It really gives this sense of winning, this thrill of being part of this game.

And it kind of suggests this idea of personal honour and glory that if you want to tackle this job, give the country a hand, see yourself in the show, this idea that you personally can have all of this honour and glory is really being worked here in terms of trying to persuade young people to join up for the army or be part of it.

So we've thought about propaganda.

So on the other hand, poems written by soldiers with firsthand experience often depict the brutality of war.

So let's look at this extract by Wilfred Owen, who was a really famous World War I poet, and he was all about presenting the brutality of war.

Now this poem is called "Dulce et Decorum Est." So let's read it through together first.

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge 'til on the haunting flares, we turned our backs.

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep.

Many had lost their boots, but limped on blood-shod.

All went lame, all blind, drunk with fatigue, deaf even to the hoots of gas shells dropping softly behind Pretty powerful poem.

So I'd like you to discuss now.

How does this poem emphasise the brutality of war? So again, pause the video because you may wish to reread that extract again and come up with some ideas to that question.

Okay, pause the video.

Off you go.

Excellent stuff, everyone.

Let's just share some answers.

So I have picked out this idea.

So we've got this idea of destruction.

So words like coughing, limped on, fatigue, death.

There's a real sense of destruction, not just of the land and through war, but of physical destruction of the soldiers.

Horror as well.

This idea of men just marching silently to their deaths.

They are sort of blind, drunk fatigue to all of the gas shells.

There's a real sense of horror to this.

Exhaustion as well.

It talks about fatigue and this real image of those soldiers.

Those young men are actually bent double and they're coughing.

So they're exhausted, they're physically broken.

We also get references to loss and death and dying too.

Almost there's this sense that these soldiers are walking blindly and deathly to their deaths.

Okay, so what is propaganda? Are you going to pick A, B, C, or D? Okay, who thinks they've got the right answer? Shall we see? It's C, manipulative information disseminated to influence opinions, often biassed or misleading is our definition for propaganda.

Okay, so excellent work so far.

We have reached the second and final practise task.

So what you are going to do is you're going to compare how the poets present war in the opening lines of "Who's For the Game?" and "Dulce et Decorum Est." So you may want to consider the following things.

So think about how does each poet present war? Why do you think that is? What is their attitude towards war? And can you identify any key themes in each poet? I'm going to give you some quotes to help you, but you may choose some other quotes yourself.

So "Who's For the Game?" Who's for the game, the biggest that's played? And "Dulce et Decorum Est." We have bent double, like old beggars under sacks.

So we've had some wonderful discussions about the openings of these poems. So you've got plenty to draw on and you've got the quotes there to help us.

So pause the video.

So you've got plenty of time to complete this task and we'll share some responses in a moment.

Okay, pause video, off you go.

Excellent.

I loved how some of you have gone back to the poems and started finding some of your own quotes.

That's a really great thing to be doing and shows great independence.

So well done.

Okay, so I'm going to share a response here.

Now, this is a great opportunity for you to check through your own work, you may wish to add to it.

So this will be a good opportunity to do that.

So let's read this through together.

Pope and Owen express very different attitudes towards war.

Pope's poem depicts war as something positive.

That it is brave and noble to be a part of.

She describes it as a game, emphasising this with the superlative biggest to give the impression it is exciting and something someone wouldn't want to miss out on.

Whereas Owen, who was a soldier during World War I, depicts the brutal realities of life on the front line.

He describes the soldiers as bent double, suggesting they are weak and tired, using a simile to compare them to old beggars, which further emphasises how war has aged and weakened them.

This contrast with Pope's view of war as a challenge to be won or lost.

Here, Owen's descriptions are focused very much on the impact a war has on the individuals fighting it.

So we've looked at that model.

So now I would like you please to self-assess your work.

So did you identify similarities and differences between the poems, consider each poet's attitude to war, use evidence from the poems, identify writer's methods, explore the writer's intentions, and/or links to the wider context? And I'd like you please to set yourself on what went well and an even better if using those bullet points.

So pause the video so you've got time to do that.

Off you go.

So well done, everyone.

We have reached the end of the lesson.

And thank you so much for all of your hard work.

I found it really interesting thinking about that theme of war and conflict and how it is such a prominent theme in poetry and why that is.

And I hope you've got something from that too.

So let's just remind ourselves of everything.

So poets have been writing about wars for hundreds of years.

Sometimes poets sensationalise dying for your country as a form of propaganda.

So that who is for the games very much like that, isn't it? Poets who have firsthand experience of combat often depict the brutal reality of war.

So we're thinking of Wilfred Owen here.

And some of the poems in the Edexcel "Conflict" anthology reflect on experiences of particular wars in history.

Again, thank you so much for your hard work, and I cannot wait to do this all again.

But until then, goodbye.