Hello there.

Fantastic to see you today.

My name is Mr. Barnsley.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Today we're gonna continue to explore some poetry from the Eduqas Poetry Anthology, and today we are gonna be planning a written response.

Okay? Make sure you have your copy of the anthology and then it is time for us to get started.

So let's have a look at our outcome then today, shall we? So by the end of today's lesson, you are gonna be able to plan a successful comparison and select evidence judiciously.

There are three key words in today's lesson: adversity, legacy, and judicious.

Okay.

I want you to look out for each of these words because they're gonna either link to the skills that we're gonna be practising.

So for example, judicious means exercising good judgement in a thoughtful and careful manner.

So we're gonna be trying to do that, use that good judgement when we select quotations.

But adversity might be really useful for thinking about some of the links between our poems. So adversity means a challenge or difficulty one might face.

So keep an eye out for those words.

Alright, there are gonna be two learning cycles in today's lesson.

Firstly, we're gonna be considering comparison, thinking about it, how it works, and then we'll move on to planning.

So let's get started with our first learning cycle.

So sometimes when you are comparing poetry, you might be given a named poem, but you can compare it to a poem of your choice.

How exciting, you can choose from anything in the anthology, but you really should try and choose a theme that matches the poem you've been given thematically.

It makes a lot more sense to do that.

So let's have a think then.

If you were given the poem, "Sonnet 43," which other poems do you think explore similar themes in the anthology? Pause video.

Have a think.

You can discuss with a partner if you have one.

And then press play when you think you've got a few ideas.

Great job.

You might have said something like "She walks in Beauty." Well done to those of you who said "Valentine" and some of you may have said "Cosy Apologia." So well done.

If you said any of those poems on the screen, they feel the most closely linked thematically to "Sonnet 43." So when studying the anthology, we organise the poems into clusters that we cluster them together by theme.

I want you to think then, what four themes could you organise the poems in the Eduqas Anthology into? Again, over to you now for this one.

So pause the video, have a think, have a discuss if you've got a partner, and press play when you think you've got four distinct themes.

Alright, over to you.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

I heard some fantastic discussions there, people going back and forth.

Well done.

If you said any of the following: war, power, nature and relationships, they were the four clearest themes I could see.

Maybe you saw things that were slightly different, but I think we could definitely categorise all of the poems in the anthology into at least one of these four themes.

But you may have struggled with this 'cause you might have thought actually some poems in this anthology could belong to more than one cluster, more than one theme.

Why don't you ever think, which poems stand out to you as maybe belonging to more than one of these clusters? Alright, pause the video, have a quick think and press play when you are ready to continue.

I heard some really interesting ideas.

Well done.

I heard some of you talking about "A Wife in London" and arguably this could sit within the war cluster, but also the relationships one.

We know that it explores the impact of war upon people's relationship.

So yes, we do have these four explicit themes, but let's remember that some of the poems might overlap into more than one of them.

So I said at the beginning that it might be easier to compare two poems from the same cluster.

That is the case, but actually you can compare any of the poems from the anthology.

So for example, why don't you have a think about how you might compare "Cosy Apologia" and "A Wife in London?" Why don't you have a quick thing, pause video, think to yourself and press play when you are ready to continue.

Great.

Now you've done some independent thinking.

It's time to discuss what similar themes and ideas to both of these poems explore.

But let's also think about how these poems are different.

Okay.

If you've got a partner, you can start taking your independent thoughts now and expanding on these together.

Don't worry if you're working by yourself, you can just make a few notes and develop your ideas further.

Okay, pause the video and let's discuss those questions on the screen now.

Welcome back.

Now one of our Oak pupils gave this discussion a go as well, and Sophia said this: "These poems, though they're from different clusters or subgroups within the anthology, explore similar themes: marriage and love in the face of adversity, in the face of challenge.

In "A Wife in London," the adversity is war.

And then of course the tragic death of the husband.

In "Cosy Apologia," the adversity is the approaching hurricane.

But both poems could be about the strength of love in difficult times." Over to you now, if this is how Sophia approached her answer, what might the question be about? So I said at the beginning, you might get a question where you have to compare a given poem, a named poem, to a poem of your choice.

If Sophia is thinking like this, what kind of question might she have been asked? Why don't you pause, have a think through this, either independently or in a pair and press play when you think you have an idea.

Over to you.

Some really interesting deliberations there.

Well done if you said something similar to this: That the question might have been about conflict and relationships or about the difficulties in relationships, or it might be about the strength of love.

So you can see, depending on the wording of the question, it might give us these opportunities to look at poems which are not necessarily in the same cluster, but have similarities beyond theme as well.

Alright, over to you for some more discussion now.

When choosing your poems for comparison, what kind of questions do you think you might ask yourself to help you select two poems, which will make for a really convincing and interesting comparison? Time for you to pause the video.

And you can either discuss this in pairs or if you're working by yourself, you can just make a few notes.

But what questions might you ask yourself when you are deciding which two poems to compare? Alright, pause the video, give this a go and press play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back.

I can hear some great examples of really self-reflective questions we should be asking ourselves to think about, are these poems suited? So you might have said things like, do these poems explore a similar subject matter? A really sensible and logical first question to ask yourself.

Do the poems share any similar themes or ideas? And if they're exploring similar ideas, do they present the same perspective on the similar subject matter? Do I have enough evidence to support my comparison of these two poems? That's a great question.

You might be able to think, oh, I can see a similarity here.

But if you're looking at the poems and think, I don't know how much evidence, how many quotations I could use to justify that comparison, then is this a sensible comparison for me to be making? Maybe you want to think about the context of when the poem was written or why the poet wrote the poems. Are they similar or are they different? And you might start to think about the tones or other methods that the writers use.

Can you see any similarities there? So here are plenty of questions you should be asking yourselves whenever you approach poetry comparison because we do want to make sure, whilst the poems don't need to have exactly the same message or have exactly the same theme, you do want to make sure there are enough interesting similarities or differences so you can make some really interesting comparisons.

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

Which of the following would be a useful question to ask yourself when considering which poems to compare? Is it A, which of the poems do I feel most confident analysing? Is it B, do the poems present the same perspective on any similar subject matter? Is it C, how are the context similar or different? Or is it D, which poems use similar language devices? Pause the video, have a think and press play when you've got the right answer.

Warning, there may be more than one correct answer here.

Alright, over to you.

Great work if you said B or C.

Of course, you know, we want to pick poems that we feel confident analysing, but that shouldn't be our main choice.

We should really be thinking about what's gonna make a good comparison here.

And do you know what, if there are similar themes, ideas, it can be absolutely fine if the language devices are different because that might be a really interesting difference to look at.

So yeah, I would definitely say B or C would be sensible questions to be asking yourself when you're picking poems to compare.

So then let's have a think about this one.

True or false, you could compare "Hawk Roosting" and "She Walks in Beauty." Think about this one carefully, you could compare.

Alright, pause video, have a think, press play when you think you have an answer.

Okay, well done if you said true there.

Let's justify this then.

Is it in theory, you could compare these poems as you're allowed to compare any two poems from the anthology.

However, it's often more convincing to compare poems with similar themes or ideas.

Or as it B, in theory, you could compare these poems as you're allowed to compare any two poems from the anthology.

These two share many similarities, which would make a great comparison.

Pause the video, have a think and press play when you are ready to move on.

Yes, well done if you said A.

You might have picked false originally, 'cause you may have said, look, I can't see "Hawk Roosting" and "She Walks in Beauty" having loads and loads of things in common.

Although you know, you will definitely be able to find a few similarities.

But yes, you can compare any two poems. So of course in theory you can compare "Hawk Roosting" and "She Walks in Beauty," but it's often more convincing to compare poems with similar themes or ideas.

Alright, over to our first task of today's lesson.

I want us to explore some of the maybe less obvious comparisons between poems. So here are some pairs of poems for you, "The Manhunt" and "Sonnet 43," "Ozymandias" and "The Soldier," and "Hawk Roosting" and "Dulce et Decorum Est." What I'd like you to do for each pair is consider what the common themes may be.

For example, if we are comparing "Cosy Apologia" and "A Wife in London," we may choose to focus on conflict and relationships, or the difficulties in relationships, or the strength of love.

Alright, if you've got a partner, you can do this as a verbal discussion.

If you're working by yourself, you might want to just make a few notes.

All right, time for you to pause the video and think about what these pairs of poems might have in common.

Alright? Remember that they're less obvious, so you're have to think really carefully here.

Alright, over to you.

Pause the video, give this a go.

Welcome back.

Some fantastic work there and well done for really battling through when some of those might have felt not the most obvious.

Alright, should we compare our ideas to some of the ideas that the other pupils had then? Well, Jun said, "The Manhunt" and "Sonnet 43" are arguably both about the transformative power of love in illness.

Love is presented as a healer.

Laura said, "Ozymandias" and "The Soldier" both arguably explored the idea of legacy.

Both "Ozymandias" and the speaker in "The Soldier" tried to create legacies for themselves through their creative work.

Have a little bit to think then, which of these comparisons do you find more interesting and why? Okay, have a quick discussion and press play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back.

It's time for us to start planning our comparison.

So here is the question that you are gonna be planning.

In "London," the poet explores ideas about power.

Choose one other poem from the anthology that also explores power.

Compare the presentation of power in "London" to the presentation of power in your chosen poem.

Which other poems then, in the anthology, are about power? Why don't you pause the video and have a think.

If you've got a partner you can discuss with them.

Otherwise you can just think through this independently.

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

Welcome back.

So you might have thought about "Hawk Roosting." You might have thought about "Living Space," or you might have thought about "Ozymandias." Which of these poems, or any of the others in the anthology that also explores power, are you gonna choose to compare to "London" and why? Again, pause the video and have a think through this either independently or with a partner and press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Which one are you gonna compare to "London?" Over to you.

I heard some really interesting discussions and debates going on there.

Well done.

So it can be helpful to think of comparing two poems as a conversation between the poems or the two poets.

So you could imagine that the two poets are sitting together and debating their poems. What would they agree with and what would they disagree with? So for example, if you were comparing "London" and "Hawk Roosting," you can consider the following questions: Who does the hawk think should have power? Who does Blake think should have power? What might the hawk and Blake disagree on? So once you've got those ideas, once you've thought through this as a discussion, it's time to start refining your argument.

And you're gonna do that by writing a thesis statement.

So let's just remind ourselves what is a thesis statement and why might it be useful to plan your thesis statement before you begin writing? Pause the video, have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well, none of you said that your thesis statement is your overarching argument.

It's what you'll be illustrating or trying to prove in your essay.

So you want to make sure you are being really specific.

So it's important that you plan your thesis statement before you begin writing.

It allows you to keep referring back to it and it makes sure that your essay is really cohesive, it's really clear throughout.

Here are two thesis statements then.

I want you to think about which is the better thesis statement.

Is it a both "London" and "Living Space" explore ideas about power.

"London" explores the dangers and limitations of power whilst "Living Space" explores the idea of power as well.

Both Dharker and Blake explore the theme of power in their poems. Or is it B? Both "London" and "Ozymandias" explore ideas about power.

Both poems explore the dangers of institutional or political power on individuals' minds and autonomy.

Both Shelly and Blake illustrate the oppressive nature of abused power.

Pause the video.

Which of those do you think is the most successful thesis statement? Pause the video.

Have a think and press play when you have an idea.

Well done if you said B.

Can you then explain why our A is unsuccessful or certainly less successful than B? Why don't you pause the video, have a think and press play when you are ready to move on.

Yeah, well done if you said thesis sustainment A is just a bit too vague.

It doesn't really explain the types of power or the nature of power that's gonna be explored in the response.

Whereas we can see B is so much more specific.

We know we're gonna be talking about institutional or political power.

We're gonna be talking about that nature of abused power.

It gives me a really, really, really clear focus to keep me and my argument cohesive throughout.

Alright, let's think about how you might finish this thesis.

Both "London" and "Hawk Roosting" explore ideas about power.

However, the two poems present different views on individual versus group power.

"London" explores the dangers and limitations of institutional power on the individual's mind and autonomy.

Whilst "Hawk Roosting.

." okay, now let's try and finish this with a really specific comment on power.

Why don't you pause the video, have a think and press play when you have an idea.

So you might have said something similar to this: Whilst "Hawk Roosting" explores the power of one individual specifically, arguably showing how instinctive humans thirst for power really is.

A really nice specific comment about the type of power I'll be looking at in my response.

Now over to you to complete your own thesis statement using the ideas for the poem that you've selected for comparison.

I want you to make sure you're being as specific about your ideas as you can be.

Really think about being specific so you've got really clear and cohesive argument throughout your essay.

So here's a framework to get you started.

Both "London" and "Poem X" explore ideas about power.

"London" explores the dangers and limitations of institutional power on the individual's mind and autonomy.

Whilst "Poem X" explores.

Over to you, give this a go and see if you can write your own thesis statement.

Best of luck, press play when you're ready to continue.

Alright, welcome back.

I saw some great thesis statements there.

Well done to all of you who wrote a really specific statement about power in that second poem.

Now I want us to think about using evidence or finding evidence from the text to support our writing.

Effective analytical writing includes a range of evidence throughout.

Jun said, evidence from the poem should be precise, accurate, and judiciously chosen.

That's one of our key words.

I want and see if you can remind yourselves what do these words mean? Pause the video, have a quick think and press play when you're ready to continue.

So let's look at these then.

Precise, only look at the words that you want to analyse.

Aim for no more than kind of two lines.

Keep these short.

Accurate, copy the quotation accurately as appears in the text.

Use square brackets if you need to to modify or square brackets with ellipsis in to cut out extra words.

And judiciously, well selected.

Don't settle for the first relevant quotation you find.

Find the one which best suits your argument.

Alright, over to you for our task of today's lesson then.

I want you to find evidence to support the thesis statement you wrote earlier in the lesson.

If you didn't write one, you can use mine.

Both "London" and "Hawk Roosting" explore ideas about power.

However, the two poems present different views on individual versus group power.

"London" explore the dangers and limitations of institutional power on the individual's mind and autonomy, whilst "Hawk Roosting" explores the power of one individual, specifically, arguably showing how instinctive humans thirst for power really is.

Remember, your evidence needs to be precise, accurate, and judiciously chosen.

Alright, over to you.

Pause the video, give this a go and press play when you think you have got all the evidence that you need.

Welcome back, really great effort on that and I was really pleased to see so many of you not just settling for the first relevant quotation and really asking yourself, am I being judicious here? Am I really weighing up if this is the best quote for my argument? So let's do a little bit of feedback.

Let's check and review our work.

So I want you to check the quotations you have chosen, do the following: They aren't just the first ones that you came across.

They are the ones which best suit your argument.

Use only what you need to analyse.

There are no more than two lines and they've been copied exactly as they appear in the text.

Alright, over to you.

Review those quotations and see how you've done.

Alright, welcome back.

That's it, we've reached the end of today's lesson.

What a fantastic job you have done comparing poems and really thinking about the art of making great comparison.

So we've learned that when comparing poems, you should choose the poem you've been given thematically.

We also know that you can compare any of the poems in the anthology, that the poems ideally should have some similarities for comparison.

We learnt how important thesis statements are to help us really refine our argument and give us a point of reference to return to as we write.

And we learn that evidence should be selected judiciously.

It's important to choose the quotation that best supports your argument.

Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope you can join me for more lessons as we explore the Eduqas poetry.

I've been Mr. Barnsley, wishing you a great day with the rest of your day, however you choose to spend it and I hope see you in one of our lessons soon.

Goodbye.