Hello there, welcome to your lesson today where we are going to look at comparing the poem "Tissue" to other poems in the Power and Conflict anthology.

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

For this lesson you are going to need your copy of the AQA Power and Conflict anthology.

So make sure you go and get your anthology before you continue with this lesson.

Our learning outcome is to evaluate interesting choices of poems to compare with "Tissue" and then create a meaningful comparative plan.

Our four keywords for today are: first of all, ephemeral.

Ephemeral means lasting for a short time.

Many poets in the Power and Conflict anthology present human power as ephemeral.

Futile.

Futile means useless or pointless.

We've looked at the futility, the pointlessness of war throughout this anthology.

Subvert; subvert means to undermine the authority of.

And immortalise; immortalise means to cause something or someone to be remembered forever.

Remember, in "Ozymandias", Rameses II tried to immortalise his power through his statue.

Pause the video and reflect upon those keywords now.

You might want to write them down if they're unfamiliar.

Off you go.

So in today's lesson, we are going to start off by finding poems to compare with "Tissue".

We'll be exploring which poems make meaningful connections with "Tissue", and then we're going to be in the second learning cycle, comparing "Tissue" with "Ozymandias".

So let's start off with looking at how "Tissue" compares to other poems in the anthology.

So first of all, how exactly does "Tissue" present the following ideas? How does "Tissue" present the power of mankind, human pride, nature, and hierarchy and control? Pause the video and reflect upon how "Tissue" presents those key themes now.

Let's go through what you may have said.

So, "Tissue" presents the power of mankind as ephemeral.

So "Tissue" presents mankind's power as lasting a short time and not lasting forever.

"Tissue" presents human pride as futile.

So "Tissue" presents human pride as pointless.

"Tissue" presents nature as more powerful than man.

And lastly, "Tissue" presents hierarchy and control as futile.

So the poem "Tissue" seems to suggest that humans' power is very fragile.

Human power doesn't last, and therefore man has no reason to be prideful.

It also says the same about mankind's attempts to exert control and hierarchy in society.

It suggests that those are meaningless too.

"Tissue" presents nature as more important than mankind.

So which other poems also explore similar ideas to "Tissue"? Which poems also explore the ephemeral power of mankind? Which other poems also show nature's triumph over human pride? And which other poems look at the futility of hierarchy and control? Pause the video now and reflect on that question.

"Ozymandias" also looks at the ephemeral power of mankind through the way in which Rameses II's power succumbs to the desert sands.

"Extract From The Prelude" explores how nature triumphs over human pride in the way in which Wordsworth starts his boating journey confidently, but then is forced back, but then is very much humbled by this huge mountain peak in front of him.

And "London" is another poem that explores the futility of hierarchy and control.

The poem "London" shows how marriage is futile, shows how controlling humans, in any way contrary to their own desire, is futile, in much the same way as "Tissue" shows the futility of hierarchy and control.

So in that sense, "Ozymandias", "Extract From The Prelude" and "London" are potentially very good poems to compare with "Tissue" on the theme of power.

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

"Ozymandias" and "Tissue" could be compared when exploring: the futility of war, trauma, or ephemeral human power? Pause the video and answer that question.

Off you go.

Well done if you said "Ozymandias" and "Tissue" could be compared when exploring ephemeral human power.

Neither of those poems look at war.

So we know option A can't be right, and also neither of those poems explore trauma.

Therefore, we are led to the only right answer being ephemeral human power.

Again, "Ozymandias" explores this through the way in which Rameses II's statue succumbs to the vast desert stands.

And "Tissue" explores this through the way in which manmade structures are shown to be very fragile indeed.

Now, a student said, "I think "Tissue" is most similar to "Extract From The Prelude" because I think both Dharker and Wordsworth mock human pride." To what extent do you agree with the student's statement? You could mention whether you think "Tissue" mocks human pride, how similar you believe "Tissue" is to "Extract From The Prelude", and what makes you think this, whether you think "Tissue" is more similar to another poem and why.

Pause the video and write a paragraph responding to that student's statement.

Off you go.

Let's go through some Oak students' answers to this.

Laura said she agrees with the student.

"Both Dharker and Wordsworth show that humans have no right to be prideful.

Nature is shown to override the pride of man in both poems." However, Sofia says, "I disagree.

I think 'Tissue' is most similar to 'Ozymandias'.

Both poems explore how man attempts to immortalise power through manmade structures, but are ultimately unsuccessful." Now whether you align most with Laura or Sofia, the most important thing is that you manage to justify your answer convincingly.

Well done on exploring which poems make meaningful connections to the poem "Tissue".

We are now going to look at a detailed comparison of "Tissue" and "Ozymandias".

Here is a comparative plan looking at power in "Tissue" and "Ozymandias".

The thesis is: "Tissue" and "Ozymandias" both explore mankind's futile attempts to immortalise their power, ultimately revealing how mankind's power is ephemeral in the face of nature and time.

That thesis statement summarises both poems' attitude to the theme of power.

Let's look at a topic sentence now.

Topic sentence number one: Both poems show how humans attempt to immortalise their power through manmade structures.

Topic sentence number two: Both poems show mankind's attempts at controlling and keeping power as futile.

And lastly: Both poems show mankind's power is threatened by forces that transcend humanity.

Let's look at supporting those three topic sentences now.

I'm going to share some ideas from "Ozymandias" that fit into this plan.

So to support topic sentence number one, in that humans attempt to immortalise their power through man-made structures in both poems, from "Ozymandias" you could use the poem, you could use the quote, "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings." And you could explore Shelley's use of art.

To support the topic sentence that mankind's attempts at keeping power are shown as futile, from "Ozymandias", you could use the quote, "The decay of that colossal wreck." You could also use form and structure in this paragraph.

You could talk about how Shelley subverts the traditional sonnet form, which of course represents how manmade power does not last, much like the power of the sonnet form did not last over time.

And to support the final topic sentence that both poems show mankind's power is threatened by forces that transcend humanity.

For "Ozymandias", you are going to use quotes that talk about the desert sands.

So for example, "Boundless and bare the lone and level sand stretch far away." You could also talk about Shelley's involvement in the romantic movement as a piece of contextual evidence to support that topic sentence.

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

Both "Ozymandias" and "Tissue" explore A: how mankind is humble about their power.

B: how mankind attempts to immortalise their power and control, or C: how the power of mankind is equal to the power of nature.

Pause the video and complete that sentence now.

Off you go.

Well done if you said both "Ozymandias" and "Tissue" explore how mankind attempts to immortalise their power and control.

We see how in "Ozymandias", Rameses II tries to do this through sculpting a statue of himself.

And we see in "Tissue" how this is explored through buildings and other manmade structures that could symbolise power.

Next question to answer is the reference to sands in "Ozymandias", and daylight and wind and "Tissue" may reflect, A: how mankind's power is threatened by forces that transcend humanity.

B: how nature's power is ephemeral.

Or C: how both Shelley and Dharker were Romantic poets.

Pause the video and complete that sentence now, Well done if you said the reference to sands in "Ozymandias" and daylight and wind in "Tissue" may reflect how mankind's power is threatened by forces that transcend humanity.

Well done.

We know that both poems do not present nature's power as ephemeral because ephemeral means lasting for a short time.

And indeed, both poems show how nature's power is long lasting and greater than that of humans.

We also know that C is incorrect because only Shelley was a Romantic poet.

Now I want you to take this comparative plan and add supporting detail from "Tissue" that supports each of the topic sentences.

So let's reread the plan once more.

The thesis is that "Tissue" and "Ozymandias" both present mankind's futile attempts to immortalise their power, ultimately revealing how mankind's power is ephemeral in the face of nature and time.

Topic sentence number one: both poems show how humans attempt to immortalise their power through manmade structures.

I've given you the evidence from "Ozymandias".

I want you to find evidence from "Tissue" that supports man's use of manmade structures to immortalise their own power.

For the second topic sentence, both poems show mankind's attempts are controlling and keeping power as futile.

We've got the evidence from "Ozymandias".

Your job is to find evidence from "Tissue" that shows how mankind's attempts to keep power is pointless, essentially.

And for topic sentence number three, you need to find evidence from "Tissue" to support that mankind's power is threatened by forces that transcend humanity.

Remember to find a range of evidence that span language, form, and structure, as well as contextual information to support your topic sentences.

Pause the video and complete the comparative plan now.

Off you go.

Great effort on that task.

I now want you to reread your plan and ensure you have used a variety of supporting evidence from the poem "Tissue" that covers language analysis, structural analysis, form analysis, and contextual links.

So here are some examples from "Ozymandias" separated into those four categories to help you know what you are looking for as you check your work.

So for language analysis, in "Ozymandias", that might be the analysis of, "Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!" And you might be looking at the imperative.

And we might look at the imperative, which shows the arrogance of Ozymandias.

For structural analysis in "Ozymandias", we might have picked out the caesura on line 12, which emphasises the pitiful state of the statute.

For form analysis, we might have picked out the subversion of the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet that shows that manmade structures do not last.

And for the contextual links, we might be talking about Shelley as a Romantic poet who revered nature and rejected institutional power.

So there we have an example of language, structural, form, and contextual analysis in "Ozymandias".

Check your plan now an ensure you have evidence from all of those categories from the poem "Tissue".

Off you go.

Well done on ensuring you have a thorough, detailed, and meaningful plan to help you with your essay success.

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

"Tissue" and "London" explore the futility of hierarchy and systemic control in society.

Both "Tissue" and "Extract From The Prelude" show the triumph of nature over human pride.

"Tissue" and "Ozymandias" explore the ephemerality of human power, and "Tissue" and "Ozymandias" explore the failed attempts of man to immortalise their power through manmade structures.

Thank you so much for joining me in today's lesson, I hope you are more confident with comparing "Tissue" to other poems in the anthology.

And I hope you've taken away a brilliant, detailed plan that compares "Tissue" and "Ozymandias" that you can use in future work.

I hope to see you in another lesson soon.