<v Mr. Young>Key themes from "Power and Conflict." Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young, and it is great to see you again on another lesson in this sequence about "Power and Conflict" poetry.

Today's lesson is a really important revision lesson where we're gonna be revising some key ideas in the poems. So shall we get started? So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome.

So should we take a look at what it is? So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to identify and compare themes across poems from the "Power and Conflict" anthology.

And just as in any lesson, we have some very important words, our keywords.

So I do encourage you as always, just to pause the video, jot these words down and their definitions, particularly if they are new to you, because we're gonna be using them quite a bit.

So theme, the main subject that is being discussed in a piece of writing.

So we could talk about a theme being love or war or isolation, potentially.

Omnipotence, having very great or unlimited power.

So we could speak about a leader or a ruler having omnipotence, or we could potentially talk about something like nature having omnipotence as well.

Ephemeral.

If something is ephemeral, then it is very short lasting.

And finally, futility, which means pointlessness or uselessness.

So sometimes people describe war, the futility of war, basically saying it's pointless or useless.

So today's lesson has two very clear learning cycles and they are as follows.

So our first learning cycle is all about revising themes across the anthology.

We're gonna look at those fantastic poems in that anthology again and start linking them thematically, how separate poems can be linked with individual poems. And finally, our second learning cycle is going to be all about exploring common themes in more detail.

So once we've identified what some of those common themes are, we're gonna unpick that in a little bit more detail and do a little bit of writing about it.

Super excited to get started with this lesson.

So let's get cracking.

So how many key themes can you think of from the "Power and Conflict" anthology? And remember if something is key, it means it is very, very important.

So what are important themes across those poems in the "Power and Conflict" anthology? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently.

And then do push play when you like to see some examples.

Okay, my goodness, what a fantastic start to this lesson.

So let's keep that going as we move through learning cycle one.

And yeah, I totally agree with you, there are lots of different themes that we could be focusing on across that anthology, isn't there? Some ones that really jumped out to me are as follows.

So we've got the idea of nature, the idea of nature that really comes across in poems like "Ozymandias" for example.

Also got the idea of abuse of power comes across, maybe "My Last Duchess," that kind of links to it, doesn't it? We've got the idea of pride, which I think we could talk about across many of the poems. We've got identity, again, I heard lots of people speaking about this one, but a sense of self, a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, they really come across.

We've got this idea of duty versus instinct.

And again, the the poem "Kamikaze" really jumps out to me as a really good example of that theme.

Memory, we've got the idea of memory, which I think really comes out nicely in the poem "Tissue." Trauma, we've got lots of traumatic events in these poems, some of them linked to war.

And finally we've got the reality of war.

Lots of the poets kind of present a really unvarnished, realistic portrayal of war.

And I think that could certainly be one of our key themes.

So my question for you is, and I've given you a few clues here, is which poems do these themes link to? And I've given you some sentence starters there to help you.

The first one is I think that the theme of blank is most prevalent in, name of poem, because.

Furthermore, the writer shows that.

And also this also links with the poem blank in which the writer explores.

So what I'd really like you to do is to develop your understanding of the themes in these poems using that sentence structure you have on the board.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

It's really nice to hear your incredible knowledge of these poems and how you can link kind of details, language, vocabulary choices to your understanding of the themes on the board.

Really, really well done for doing that.

Okay, then quick check for understanding for me then please.

So which of these is not a key theme in the "Power and Conflict" anthology? Is it pride, nature, or love? Hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see which is correct.

Okay, excellent work to everybody who identified it as love.

I would say love isn't really a key theme across the anthology.

It certainly features in some of the poems in a kind of oblique way, maybe in "Poppies," the mum really kind of loves her son who was lost in war, but we wouldn't say it's a key theme across the entire anthology, not in the way that pride and nature are.

So pride features quite a bit in poems like "Ozymandias" and "My Last Duchess" and nature as well in poems like "Storm on the Island." So well done if you picked up on that.

Okay, so I would now like you to take a look at your additional materials.

So this is some information about themes which overlap across the anthology.

And referring to this group throughout your comparison lessons can help you immediately see which poems make for the most effective comparisons.

And I've got some discussion questions here to help you.

So the first one is, are there any ideas on the table that you disagree with or had not considered before? What seems to be the most versatile poem? And by versatile we mean could be used to apply to lots of different themes.

And finally, which themes seem most common across the anthology? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

Really well done.

I'm really enjoying those kind of high level discussions.

Being able to link these poems thematically is a really, really important skill.

And we're gonna apply that in a minute in the practise task.

Okay, another check for understanding then for me please.

So which poem does not present the omnipotence of nature? And remember if something is omnipotent, it has lots of power, lots and lots of power.

So is it "Extract from the Prelude?" Is it "Exposure," or is it "Bayonet Charge?" So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see which is correct.

Okay, fantastic job to everybody who identified it as C, "Bayonet Charge." So we don't really get a huge amount of presentation of the omnipotence of nature in that one, not like we do in answers A and B.

Great job for picking up on that.

Okay, we have reached the first practise task of today's lesson.

So let's take a look at what it is.

So I would like you to write down the two poems you would choose to compare if you were asked about how two poets present the following themes.

And then I would like you to justify your choices.

What I mean by that is tell me why you have come to that conclusion, why you have compared those two poems. So the ideas we have are the ephemeral nature of power.

So the idea that power is not lasting very long.

The omnipotence of nature, remember all powerful.

The effect of conflict.

Regret.

Trauma, and the futility of war.

Remember, if something is futile, it is pointless or useless.

So really, really excited to see how you go on with this and how you can link your existing knowledge of these poems to these key ideas.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, fantastic effort on that.

Really, really well done.

I'm hearing some fantastic comparisons and some really good justifications of why you are comparing those two poems. So we've got some examples on the board here now, and I won't read out all of them, but you can see how some of these poems could be compared in really interesting ways.

So for example, if we're talking about the ephemeral nature of power, we could talk about "Ozymandias" and "Extract from the Prelude." If we're talking about regret, "Remains" and "Kamikaze" link together really nicely.

And if we are looking at the futility of war, then "Bayonet Charge" and "Exposure" can compare it really nicely.

And I heard lots of people talking about these.

So really well done for picking up on these in your own analysis.

So Izzy begins to justify one of her pairings and she says, "I paired 'Remains' and 'Kamikaze' on the theme of regrets because in 'Kamikaze,' the pilot seems to regret his decision to embark on a one-way journey into history.

However, the ending is poignant as it seems he may regret aborting the mission after all, since his family shun him," they ignore him.

And he "wondered what had been the better way to die." So this is a fantastic piece of writing by Izzy.

She's identified two really nice poems to compare on the theme of regret, and she has justified her answer with really, really key details from the poems. So my task for you is to answer the question on the board, what evidence could Izzy now use from "Remains" to show the theme of regret? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, once again, fantastic work to bring learning cycle one to a close.

And you are right, there are lots of really interesting things in remains that we could pick up on, isn't there? To make a really nice comparison with "Kamikaze," so well on for doing so.

Okay, fantastic work in this lesson so far.

Let's keep that effort and that energy going as we move through learning cycle two, which is all about exploring common themes in more detail.

So let's get started.

So consider this question.

Compare how poets present ideas about nature in "Ozymandias" and one other poem from the anthology? A really standard question.

So we've got this comment here from an Oak pupil, they say, "I'm going to compare 'Ozymandias' with 'London' as they are both romantic poems." So quick discussion question for me then please to kick us off in learning cycle two.

What do you think about Sofia's approach here? Is this a good way to do it? Is this a bad way to do it? What are your initial thoughts? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, jot down some ideas, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, really well done, really fantastic discussions and I totally agree.

It kind of does seem initially like a good comparison, doesn't it? Because they are both romantic poems, however, there are some issues with that.

So "Ozymandias" and "London" are both romantic poems, so it may initially seem suitable for comparison, but they may not compliment each other for the question you are being asked.

So for example, the question is all about nature.

So we might struggle to find enough examples of nature in "London," for example.

It is not really a focus of that poem, isn't it? Even though both of those poems can certainly be described as romantic poems. So my next question then is, what might a better pairing be for this question? What might a better two poems be for Sofia to answer this question? So once again, hit that pause button, complete the task, and in do push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, really well done to everybody who identified the comparison between "Ozymandias" and "Extract from the Prelude." So this might be a better pairing as they both show the kind of power of the natural world over over man.

And I think that would be a really, really nice entry point for a question like this.

Okay, let's take a look at another question.

So compare how poets present ideas about conflict in "Ozymandias," and one other poem from the anthology.

Which poem would you choose? So "Ozymandias" and "London" are perhaps better paired for a comparison on the theme of conflict as they both look at oppression and inequality.

They both look at kind of how people can be treated quite negatively, which I think is a really good way to compare these two poems. So top tips, pay attention to the specific theme within the question and be open to comparing poems across different eras, movement styles and content areas.

So just because two poems are from the Victorian era, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to make for a good comparison.

Let's take a look at another question.

So compare how poets present ideas about nature in "Kamikaze" and one other poem from the "Power and Conflict" anthology.

So my question for you, which poems compare well with "Kamikaze" on the theme of nature? It's a really interesting question, this one.

Really keen to see your feedback.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

And I totally agree, there are lots of different ways you could interpret this, isn't there? Ones that really jumped out to me, were as followed.

So I really think that "Extract from the Prelude" could be a really nice comparison with "Kamikaze" because they both show the sheer omnipotence of nature that really comes across from Wordsworth in "Extract from the Prelude" and in "Kamikaze" as well, these kind of vivid, rich and powerful descriptions of nature I think could be a really nice point of comparison.

So this comparison demonstrates that you do not have to compare one war poem with another war poem all of the time.

Your choice of comparison poem all depends on what the question is asking you.

So do make sure you are always led by the key themes of the question as to which poems would be best to compare.

Okay, check for understanding time for me then please.

Looking at the theme of trauma, which poem from the following list might you compare "Remains" with? "Charge of the Light Brigade." "Poppies," or "War Photographer?" Hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic work on that one and well done to everybody who identified "War Photographer." It's a bit of a trick question, that one, isn't it? Because all of those poems are about war in some way.

So it seems natural that we could compare "Remains" with any of them really.

'Cause they're all about war.

However, the specific trauma spoken about in "Remains" and the specific trauma spoken about by the photographer in "War Photographer" can make a really, really nice comparison.

There just aren't similar moments in "Charge of the Light Brigade" or "Poppies" that could really work well with "Remains." And really well done if you picked up on that in your own discussions.

Okay, second check for understanding for me then please.

You must compare poems from the same grouping, i.

e.

, war poems. Is that true or false? Hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see which is correct.

Okay, really well done if you identified it as false, we do not need to compare poems just because they are both about war.

But why should we not do that? Let's justify that then.

Is it A, or is it B? Is it A, it is better to compare poems written by poets with similar forms? Or is it better to compare poems based on their presentation of key themes? Once again, hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, jot down some ideas, and then do push play when you'd like to see which is correct.

Okay, great job to everybody who identified it as B, it is much better to compare poems based on their presentation of key themes.

So whatever the theme is, if it's nature, conflict, isolation, that is a much better way to compare the poems rather than just comparing two poems just because they happen to be about war.

Okay, we have reached our final practise task of today's lesson.

So let's take a look at what it is.

So we have a discussion question here.

The following statements we are gonna see.

I would like you to tell me, do you agree or do you disagree with them? So we have number one, "overall, the poets in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology present inner conflict as more harrowing than physical conflict." Number two, "overall, the poets in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology present pride as a dangerous emotion." Number three, "overall, the poets in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology present nature as omnipotence.

Or four, "overall, the poets in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology condemn human power.

So I would like you to tell me which of these you agree with, which you disagree with, and crucially why.

Tell me why you have come to the conclusion that you have.

So really excited to see how you go on with this really kind of high level challenging task.

Pause the video and then do push play when you'd like to move on to some feedback.

Okay, fantastic work on that task.

That is a very challenging task, but it is really, really great to see you working so hard and producing such fantastic work.

So the Oak pupils are discussing the following statement, and that statement is, "overall the poets in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology present pride as a dangerous emotion.

So we've got this first comment here from Jun who says, "young Wordsworth is the only figure in all of the poems whose pride seems to put him in a dangerous position.

And then we've got this one from Sam who says, "I disagree.

Look at it in a different way.

The Duke of 'My Last Duchess' commits a heinous crime due to his pride.

And the speaker in 'Kamikaze' misses out on a childhood with her father due to the importance her family places on pride.

So are there any questions that you could look at with a slightly different lens to get to more thorough and nuanced understanding of the thematic links between poems? So effectively what Sam and Jun have done there.

So kind of looking at it in different interpretations to maybe interpret the theme in a different way.

So pause the video, complete that task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, we have reached the end of today's lesson.

It has been an absolute pleasure to teach you today.

So let's just recap all of the fantastic things that we have looked at.

So firstly, when comparing poems, pay attention to the specific theme within the question.

Number two, be open to comparing poems across different eras, movement, styles and content areas.

Three, memory is a key theme across many of the 'Power and Conflict' poems. And finally, poets from the anthology often explore the damaging effects of pride, the power of nature, and the harrowing inner conflicts.

It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today, and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.