Hello there.

Welcome to your lesson today on aiming high in written poetry analysis.

I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

In this lesson, we're going to be going over how to really uplevel your written responses to poems in the power and conflict anthology.

And I'm really looking forward to our lesson today.

Our learning outcome for today is to be able to explore nuanced similarities and differences between poems in the power and conflict anthology.

And we're going to be trying to support those ideas with evidence and analysis.

Our key terms for today are as follows.

We have marginalised.

Marginalised means treated as if less important.

Thesis.

Thesis is the primary argument or central idea presented in a piece of academic writing.

Topic sentence, a sentence that introduces the main idea or theme of a paragraph, guiding its content.

Embedded.

Embedded means information or objects that are firmly and deeply fixed within something else.

Whilst that may not stick out to you immediately as something that's relevant to our written analysis, we can think about embedding our quotes and embedding our context within our paragraph.

That means our context and our quotes are firmly and deeply fixed inside a whole paragraph and not stuck on the beginning, not stuck on the end.

And our last key term is tentative language.

Tentative language refers to words or phrases that express a lack of certainty when presenting ideas, and tentative language is really, really important when we begin to talk about a poet's intentions.

Because we cannot be sure of a poet's intention or purpose, therefore we have to use tentative language to express possibility rather than certainty.

I hope throughout the lesson we are going to become more and more confident with those key terms. Here are our two learning cycles for today's lesson.

We are going to start off with preparing for an effective comparison.

So we'll be looking at two poems and I'll be asking you to come up with some really interesting nuanced comparisons between those poems. And in the second learning cycle, we're going to use all those notes we prepared in the first learning cycle to write a comparative response.

So let's start off with preparing for an effective comparison.

Today we'll be exploring this question: how do poets present their ideas about power in "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History"? Now, the reason we are going to be looking at those two poems is because the comparison that can be made between "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" may not be the most obvious comparison, but we can definitely get a very complex and nuanced comparison between those two poems, which allows us to uplevel our analysis.

Let's go through some top tips for a comparative response.

Firstly, gather ideas for both texts before planning so you know which evidence you can use.

Next, ensure your comparative thesis statement is strong.

It is the spine of your essay that all single paragraph outlines should link to.

Next, each analytical paragraph should be led by a key idea supported by relevant language, form, structure, and context from both texts.

Let's first explore how to do the following.

Let's explore how we should gather ideas for both texts before planning.

So which ideas initially come to mind when considering similarities between "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History"? You could look at ideas that relate to power and conflict in both of those poems. Pause the video and discuss.

So in terms of power, both "Checking Out Me History" and "My Last Duchess" explore oppressive forms of power.

"My Last Duchess" looks at patriarchal power as oppressive, and "Checking Out Me History" explores colonial power as oppressive.

And remember, oppressive means inflicting unfair or cruel treatment.

Now let's explore how conflict is relevant in both of those poems. Both poems explore the battle or conflict between marginalised groups and those given more power.

So both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" explore how there is a conflict between groups with less power, groups considered less important, and groups that are given a lot more power and groups that are considered very much important.

So let's look at those examples then.

In "My Last Duchess", the marginalised group is women, and we see that through how the duchess in that poem is treated unfairly and is not given a voice.

And we could say women as a marginalised group in that poem are in conflict with the patriarchy represented by the duke's character.

And in Agard's poem, the colonised countries are presented as the marginalised groups and they are in conflict with the colonisers.

So we see that through the way in which Agard, in his native country, Guyana, was taught a British education due to Guyana being a British colony.

And Agard comments in the poem how that was very much unfair.

So his education in his native country was impacted by colonisation, and therefore he presents himself very much in conflict with colonisers.

We can also explore those two poems in terms of the triumph of power too.

So in both "Checking Out Me History" and "My Last Duchess", marginalised groups are shown to triumph over oppressors.

So marginalised groups are shown to have more power by the end of those poems than the oppressors.

So in "My Last Duchess", the duchess is shown to be more powerful than the duke.

And we see that through the way in which he constantly talks about her through the poem, so her memory of her controls his narrative, and how her portrait is very much defiant.

And in "Checking Out Me History", we see the marginalised group have more power because Agard, who's part of that colonised country, he reclaims his identity, and the knowledge of who he truly is triumphs over the tedious knowledge that he was taught.

Well done if you said any of that.

Let's check your understanding of what we've just discussed.

Both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" explore how marginalised groups cannot reclaim control, colonial power oppresses identity, or marginalised groups triumph over oppressors.

Pause the video, complete that sentence to check your understanding of what we've talked about.

Off you go.

Both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" explore how marginalised groups triumph over oppressors.

And we've just talked about how that is true.

We've talked about how in "My Last Duchess", the duchess triumphs over the duke because of how we see her power inadvertently shown.

And we see in "Checking Out Me History", Agard triumphs over his oppressive history because he finds out his identity for himself and he feels very much empowered by that.

So in this lesson, we'll be exploring a comparison between "Checking Out Me History" and "My Last Duchess".

And we've talked about these three themes that we could discuss in a comparison: oppressive power, the battle between marginalised groups and those with more power, and how marginalised groups triumph over oppressors.

So here are some ideas about each of those topics for the poem "My Last Duchess".

So in terms of oppressive power, we see that through the duke and the way in which he seeks to control his wife, and we see his oppressive power through the way he abuses his power as a husband, which leads to her tragic death.

We could argue that the duke had a responsibility to love and care and protect his wife, and he abused that power.

He abused the power he had as a man in a patriarchal society and he had his wife killed.

Let's look at how we see a battle between marginalised groups and those with more power in "My Last Duchess".

We see this through the conflict between the duke and his wife.

So the duke accuses the duchess of infidelity.

So we see conflict in their relationship immediately and his jealousy reflects the supposed transgression of her gender role.

So the conflict basically, so what we're saying there is the conflict stems from how he perceives her as stepping out the boundary of being a woman.

And finally, marginalised groups triumph over oppressors.

So how do we see the duchess triumph over the duke? We see that because despite the duke's arrogance, the duchess is revealed as more powerful.

And as we've said, we see that through the way in which memory of her controls his narrative, and we see that through the way in which her portrait shows her defiance.

So it's now your turn.

You are going to answer the questions to discuss those same topics in the poem "Checking Out Me History".

So to explore oppressive power, I want you to answer the question, how is oppression shown in this poem? So how is cruel and unfair treatment shown in that poem? And who is cruel and unfair to who? To explore the battle between the marginalised groups and those with more power, I want you to answer the question, who is the marginalised community and where is the conflict? And for the topic marginalised groups triumph over oppressors, I want you to answer the question, how do we see the power of the marginalised triumph in this poem? So there are your three questions to help you consider those three topics in the poem "Checking Out Me History".

Pause the video and answer those questions now.

Great job on collecting all those impressive ideas for the poem "Checking Out Me History".

So for oppressive power, you probably considered how Agard's education is the oppressive presence in the poem and it's oppressive through the way in which it neglects to teach him about who he really is in his native country.

Next, who is the marginalised community and where is the conflict in "Checking Out Me History"? The marginalised community in "Checking Out Me History" seems to be the colonised country and those children that live in that colonised country receiving the biassed education or very narrow education.

And the conflict in this poem is very much between Agard and his education, also between Agard and the colonisers that impose the education.

But the conflict in that poem is also between the knowledge.

We could say that knowledge about Black history and Caribbean history was not given the same importance and power that British history was.

And so the two forms of knowledge are in conflict in that poem too.

And lastly, how do we see the power of the marginalised triumph in this poem? We see Agard triumph in this poem.

By the end, he knows exactly who he is.

He feels very much empowered by his true identity and his heritage.

So we see Agard's identity and the Black history very much triumph over his oppressive education that he received and knowledge that he considered to be very tedious.

Well done on answering those questions to consider those three topics in "Checking Out Me History".

Now we have notes for three key themes in "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History".

So we're well on our way to creating very, very effective comparisons between those two poems. Let's revisit our tips for effective analysis.

We've already gathered ideas for both texts, we've just done that.

So now we are going to ensure our thesis statement is strong and make sure all our analytical paragraphs are led by a key idea.

So let's begin looking at that now.

Let's use our notes and your discussion to write an effective thesis statement comparing "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History".

The first thing I want you to consider is which thesis statement is more effective in answering the question, how do poets present their ideas about power in "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History"? So when you are looking at which thesis statement is effective, I want you to be referring to this success criteria on the right.

Effective thesis statements link specifically to the focus of the question, they introduce both poems and summarise their key ideas, and they are supported by ideas linked to the entire text.

So let's have a look at the two thesis statements here.

Firstly, both Browning and Agard criticise oppressive power.

The former explores this through the lens of patriarchal power, whilst the latter through colonial power.

Ultimately, both poets use their poems to show how marginalised voices reclaim power.

That's your first thesis statement.

The second one is: "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" explore the theme of power, offering perspectives influenced by their sociopolitical landscape.

Despite cultural differences, both poems show the relationship between power, identity, and history.

Pause the video and have a think about which thesis statement is more effective.

Remember to refer to the success criteria as you are judging those two thesis statements.

Off you go.

Perhaps you said that the first thesis statement is more effective.

Let's go through the reasons for that.

The first thesis statement is linked specifically to the focus of the question.

Remember, we are responding to ideas about power in both of those poems. And the first sentence in that first response is linked directly to oppressive power, meaning we're answering the question from our very opening line, which is very important.

You want to signpost to your reader that you understand the question.

The first thesis statement also introduces both poems and summarises their key ideas.

So it talks about how "My Last Duchess" looks at patriarchal power and how "Checking Out Me History" looks at colonial power.

So that's introduced both of the poems and the key ideas.

And finally, the first thesis statement is supported by ideas linked to the entire text.

We know that by the end of both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History", marginalised voices are shown to reclaim their power.

So that last sentence in the first thesis statement is very much tied to both poems as a whole.

And whilst the second thesis statement is linked to the question, it does talk about power, it is too general to meet the success criteria.

It talks generally about how both poems are influenced by their sociopolitical landscape, but it doesn't talk about what those sociopolitical landscapes are.

Now let's check your understanding of what we've talked about.

A thesis statement should.

Pause the video and complete that sentence.

Off you go.

Well done if you said, a thesis statement should introduce both poems and summarise their key ideas.

That's very important to show that your essay will be tackling a comparison.

A comparison by nature has to explore two poems in equal detail.

So in this part of the learning cycle, we are going to move on to look at how we can use evidence to support our topic sentences.

So take this topic sentence: both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" show how dominant power can lead to oppression.

Here is evidence from "My Last Duchess" that we could link to the topic sentence.

For language, we could say the quotes, "None puts by the curtain but I" and "I gave commands." Those two quotes show how dominant power can lead to oppression.

And those two quotes are very much relevant in that topic sentence because we see there in the first quote how the duke seeks to control his wife even after death.

And "I gave commands" shows his abuse of power, shows how he takes advantage of the sheer vast amount of power he has as a man and a husband and uses that to inflict pain and violence on his wife.

For form, we could talk about the dramatic monologue, and that links to dominant power and oppression because in a dramatic monologue, only one voice is heard.

And in this poem it's the duke's voice.

So only the duke is given power in this poem, and the duchess is therefore silenced, which is a form of oppression.

For structure, we could talk about how the beginning and end of the poem reference artwork, and artwork in this poem are symbols of the duke's ownership over his wife and how he seeks to control her.

And finally, for our context in relation to this topic sentence, we could talk about how patriarchal power in the Victorian era meant that women were seen as property of their husbands.

That climate fuels the oppression of the duchess in the poem and allows for the duke to treat his wife in the way that he does.

Now I want you to collect a range of evidence from the poem "Checking Out Me History" that could be also used to support the topic sentence above.

Because remember, for each topic sentence, you need to have evidence from both poems to ensure an effective comparison.

So collect ideas about language, form, structure, and context from "Checking Out Me History" to support how both of those poems show how dominant power can lead to oppression.

Pause the video and get started now.

Off you go.

Great effort there.

Here are some ideas.

So both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" show how dominant power can lead to oppression.

We see that in "Checking Out Me History" through the word dem.

If you look at all the lines that start with dem, you'll see how that word is used to represent the power of the colonizer's voice.

So dem is referring to the colonisers in the poem who control the education and the knowledge that Agard is taught.

And blind.

Blind is the impact of the colonisation.

Agard feels blinded by his narrow education that he received.

So that word blind is very powerful in showing us the harsh impact of oppression.

For form, the dramatic monologue form of "Checking Out Me History" allows us to see the personal impact of oppression.

So the form of dramatic monologue allows Agard's voice to be heard in "Checking Out Me History".

And that allows us to see the direct impact of what that narrow oppressive education had, which is very important for us to understand exactly how oppressive it was and exactly how it can fracture one's identity.

In terms of structure, we could talk about the repetition of the opening line, which reflects the rigidity and persistence of colonial control.

And in that sense, we see how the colonial control was very much oppressive because it was rigid and persistent.

And in terms of context, Agard was denied an opportunity to connect with his own heritage due to the colonisation of Guyana.

That context is very important in helping us to support the topic sentence because through this context we learn how colonisation is oppressive in the way it disrupts native people and their sense of identity and community.

We are now going to move on to using all your fantastic ideas about power in "Checking Out Me History" and "My Last Duchess" to write an effective comparative response between those two poems. So how can we write detailed, relevant, and nuanced analytical paragraphs? We are going to have a look at how to turn our single paragraph outline regarding dominant power and oppression into a comparative analytical paragraph.

And here are your top tips in order to do that.

Firstly, begin with a clear, relevant topic sentence linked to your thesis statement.

And we've got that on the left there already.

Our topic sentence is: both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" show how dominant power can lead to oppression.

Next, we need to embed our evidence into our analytical sentences.

Remember that keyword embed means to firmly place our evidence within our paragraph and within our analytical sentences.

Meaning we haven't just thrown it at the beginning or thrown it at the end and we haven't just given it a sentence on its own.

We've firmly rooted it in our analysis.

That's what we want to do with our evidence.

Next, in your analytical writing, analyse one poem, identifying methods and writer's intentions before analysing the other.

This will ensure your analysis of both poems is thorough.

You don't just want to skim through two poems throughout a paragraph.

You want to deal with both of them in great detail.

And lastly, use tentative language for personal interpretations, especially when you're considering the writer's possible intentions for a poem.

Remember, tentative language is language that expresses possibility.

So language such as may, could, perhaps, those are examples of tentative language that you'll want to be using.

Great.

So we've gone through the tips for great analysis writing.

Let's look at an example response.

We are gonna look at what Jun wrote for this single paragraph outline.

Both "My Last Duchess" and "Checking Out Me History" show how dominant power can lead to oppression.

"My Last Duchess" presents patriarchal power through the character of the duke who seeks to control his wife in life and death.

While she was alive, his jealousy consumed their relationship.

He states "I gave commands", and the abrupt declaration demonstrates the total power he had over his wife as an aristocratic man, having her killed with little consequence.

The euphemism also reflects the control he continues to exert over the narrative of their marriage.

The duke's power does not end there.

He seeks to exert more control over his wife via her portrait, boasting, "None puts by the curtain I've drawn for you but I".

This reflects how the duke has reduced his wife to a piece of artwork he can objectify and own, supposedly symbolising the epitome of his patriarchal power.

The reference to the curtain and use of dramatic monologue form reflects how the duke controls the identity of his wife, not allowing her voice to be heard, and thus she is denied the chance to tell her narrative.

Similarly, in "Checking Out Me History", Agard experienced an impressive education system due to colonial power in Guyana.

He creates a disparity between dem and me; making dem the subject and me the object of his opening line immediately establishes the power imbalance between Agard and authority figures.

He accuses them of blinding him to who he truly was, in the same way that the duke attempts to blind us to the reality of his marriage and true character of his late wife.

Jun has done a really good job there of turning that single paragraph outline into a really detailed and nuanced analytical paragraph.

I want you to now give Jun feedback though.

So where does Jun's response meet the success criteria on the screen and where could it be improved? You're going to find Jun's complete response in the additional materials.

So make sure you open that up before approaching this task.

Also, when you are discussing this question, make sure you are referring to those very specific success criteria points on the screen.

So pause the video and discuss, where does Jun's response meet the success criteria and where could it be improved? Off you go.

I heard some really great discussions.

Well done for being so critical and looking into the detail of Jun's response.

So here is some feedback that you may have given Jun.

What went well? Jun had great knowledge of the texts and he had a great use of evidence.

He was also beginning to explore the relationship between the two poems. Very impressive.

To make Jun's work even better, he could have used tentative language to explore the writer's intentions in more detail.

Let's take a look at that now.

So for example, Jun wrote, "The abrupt declaration demonstrates the total power he had over his wife as an aristocratic man, having her killed with little consequence." Jun could really uplevel that statement to further talk about Browning's purpose or intentions.

For example, Jun could have written, "The abrupt declaration demonstrates the total power he had over his wife as an aristocratic man, seemingly having her killed with little consequence." Remember, that piece of tentative language, seemingly, is really important there because we are not told that the duke has killed his wife.

We are just led to believe that.

And Browning heightens the tension here, perhaps in order to criticise the despotic power associated with male aristocracy in Victorian England.

So here you've seen how tentative language can actually help you extend an idea in order to talk about the writer's intention, and that is a great way for Jun to improve his work.

Now I want you to check your understanding of what we've talked about so far.

We've discussed four top tips for writing an effective comparative analysis.

Can you fill in the missing words to make sure you understand those four top tips? Pause the video and complete those four sentences now.

Firstly, begin with a clear, relevant topic sentence linked to your thesis statement.

That's how every paragraph should start.

You need to make sure your essay is coherent.

Therefore, every topic sentence must be linked to the thesis statement.

You should embed evidence into analysis sentences.

C, analyse one poem, identifying methods and writer's intentions before analysing the other.

Remember, you want to go into detail about both poems, not skimming over either poem.

And finally, use tentative language for personal interpretations, especially when you are talking about the writer's intentions.

Great job there.

Let's try and apply these principles in practise.

I want you to complete this paragraph to write about how marginalised communities triumph over oppression in "Checking Out Me History".

So in the paragraph so far, you've got the example of marginalised communities triumphing over oppression in "My Last Duchess".

Your job is to add ideas from "Checking Out Me History" to make this a full comparative response.

So pause the video and complete the paragraph now.

Off you go.

Brilliant work.

Here's what you could have written about.

You could have written about how Agard reclaims his power through his use of Creole.

You could have written about the defiant end to the poem, the memorable celebration of Caribbean figures versus Agard's blunt reference to European history, and the use of light imagery to represent hope.

Those are all ideas you could have used to support how marginalised communities triumph over oppression in "Checking Out Me History".

Very well done on that writing task and very well done on aiming high in that written response.

Here's what we've learned in today's lesson.

Identifying nuances in theme and perspective will construct a purposeful comparison.

Gather ideas for both texts before planning so you know which evidence you can use.

Ensure your thesis statement summarises both poems, links to the question, and focuses on the entirety of both texts.

Topic sentences should be specific, precise, and express duality, and evidence should be embedded into analytical paragraphs.

Thank you so much for joining me today in our lesson on aiming high in written poetry analysis.

I hope to see you in another lesson very soon.