Hello there.

Welcome to your lesson today on looking at themes, message and intent in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology.

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

In today's lesson, we are going to explore common themes, messages, and intent throughout the 'Power and Conflict' anthology.

So we'll look at how some poets may have similar messages and intents for their poems and also what themes overlap between the different poems. Let's go through our four key words for today's lesson.

The first one is theme.

A theme is the main subject or ideas in a piece of writing.

Key themes in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology are indeed power and conflict as well as oppression, war, identity.

Message; a message is an important idea in a text that the writer wants to tell people about.

Intent; intent is the reason someone has for writing a text.

We're going to see how message and intent are closely linked later in stage lesson, and evaluative verb.

An evaluative verb is a verb that demonstrates an opinion on something.

We are going to get really good at using evaluative verbs to describe writer's intense later in today's lesson.

I'll give you a moment to pause the video, reflect upon and maybe write down those key words.

Off you go.

Brilliant, so in today's lesson we have two learning cycles.

We're going to start with exploring the common themes across 'Power and Conflict', and then we're going to explore message and intent across the anthology.

So let's start with looking at themes across this anthology.

Here is a list of all the poems you've studied in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology.

That is a lot of poems and it's a huge achievement to have got through them all, well done.

I wonder which one's your favourite.

My favourite is definitely 'Checking Out Me History'.

Now let's move on to talking about the common themes across the anthology.

So I've given you four poems on the screen there, you've got 'Ozymandias', 'Kamikaze', 'Storm on the Island' and 'Extract From the Prelude'.

Your job is to think about which theme could link all of those poems. Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said 'The Power of Nature' connects all of those poems on the screen there.

'Ozymandias' shows the power of nature through how the Desert Sands overpower The statue of Ramesses II.

'Kamikaze' shows the power of nature through how the pilot is lured back home and chooses to survive because of what he sees upon the sea as he looks down from the aeroplane.

'Storm on the Island' also shows the power of nature because we are shown the brutality and the sheer force of the storm in that poem.

An 'Extract From the Prelude', of course, shows the power of nature through the huge mountain peak that Wordsworth meets on his journey and how it intimidates him, causing him to reflect and be in a really serious mood for days after the discovery.

Well done if you've got any of that.

Now, which theme could link all of these poems? You've got 'Exposure', 'Charge of the Light Brigade' and 'Bayonet Charge'.

Pause the video and have a think.

The 'Horrors of War' is a common theme across those three poems. All three of those poems show how war has really damaging physical and mental effects.

And all poems explore how war is often much more horrific than we are told.

Next 'War photographer', 'Poppies' and 'Remains'.

Which theme could link all of these poems? Pause the video and have a little think.

'The aftermath of War' is a common theme in those three poems. 'War photographer' looks at how a photographer is affected by the photos he takes in war zones.

'Poppies' is about a mother's grief on sending her son off to war and potentially realising he has died.

And 'Remains' explores the PTSD of an ex-soldier.

So we could also say that trauma links all three poems as well.

Now, which theme could link these two poems? 'My Last Duchess', and 'London'.

Pause the video and have a think.

The theme of 'Oppression' is relevant in 'My Last Duchess' because we see the Duke try to control his wife in her life and her death, and we see how his jealousy leads to him killing her.

In 'London' we see oppression because we see how the people and the nature and the streets are not free.

And we see Blake's depiction of how people are under the control of their mind-forged manacles.

The last one now.

Which theme could link all of these poems? 'Checking Out Me History', 'Tissue' and 'The Emigree'.

Pause the video and have a think.

Well than of you said the theme of 'Identity' could link those three poems. See Agard being denied a chance to learn about his identity whilst he was in school, but later in life actually discovering who he truly is.

In 'The Emigree' we see a speaker that feels connected to her hometown, but then struggles with her sense of identity once she has to immigrate.

And 'Tissue' of course explores identity for the way in which we humans like to present ourselves and remember our lives.

Well done if you said any of that.

Now answer this question to check your understanding of what we've discussed so far.

Which theme links 'Ozymandias', 'Extract From the Prelude', and 'Kamikaze'? Is it 'Oppression', the reality of 'Conflict' or 'The Power of Nature'? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done of you said 'The Power of Nature' links 'Ozymandias', 'Extract From the Prelude', and 'Kamikaze'.

All of those poems show how nature is awe inspiring.

Next, when exploring the theme of 'oppression', which poem could be considered the odd one out? 'Poppies' 'London' or 'My Last Duchess'? Paused the video and answer that question.

Well done if you said 'Poppies' could be considered the odd one out when looking at the theme of 'oppression', the reason being 'Poppies' explores grief and trauma, not at all the theme of 'oppression', which is essentially unfair and cruel treatment.

We don't see unfair and cruel treatment appear in this poem, but we do see that appear in 'London' and 'My Last Duchess'.

Now I want you to write a few sentences about how the poems within each of the themes below are similar and or different.

Let's go for an example together.

So 'Ozymandias', 'Extract From the Prelude', 'Storm on the Island', and 'Kamikaze', all show the power of the natural world.

Whereas the first three poems show the triumph of the physical world over mankind's pride and power.

'Kamikaze' shows how the allure of the natural world triumphs national duty and societal expectations.

So in that response, we've explored a similarity between all four poems and then a difference between 'Kamikaze' versus 'Ozymandias', 'Extract From the Prelude' and 'Storm on the Island'.

And one way in which your sentences are going to be more sophisticated, meaningful, and effective is if you use comparative and correlative conjunctions to indeed explore similarities and differences within the themes.

So remember to use those in your writing.

Pause the video and have a go at that task now.

Off you go.

Let's go through what you could have said.

Here's an example.

'Bayonet Charge', 'Exposure' and 'Charge of the Light Brigade' would describe war as it is happening and use brutal imagery to present the horrors of war.

All three poems also show the dehumanisation of soldiers whilst at war.

'Bayonet Charge' and 'Exposure' both feature rhetorical questions in which soldiers reflect on their purpose.

Thus both poems expose war's futility.

Whilst 'Charge of the Light Brigade' exposes the errors of authority figures in war and the catastrophic loss of life, it retains a sense of glory that 'Bayonet Charge' and 'Exposure' reject.

Now I want you to check your work.

Did you use comparative and correlative conjunctions to make meaningful comparisons between poems in each theme? Pause the video and check your work now.

Brilliant, the more you use comparative and curative conjunctions now, the easier it will be to use them in your essays and comparative and correlative conjunctions make for really sophisticated comparative essays.

Now let's look at exploring message and intent within the 'Power and Conflict' anthology.

A message is an important idea in a text that the writer wants to tell people about.

And intent is the reason someone has for writing a text.

Message and intent are closely related.

Message is what the poet is telling us and intent is why the poet is telling us this.

Let's take a look at 'Extract From the Prelude' as an example.

Discuss what does this poem teach us and why do you think Wordsworth teaches us this? Pause the video and reflect, off you go.

Wordsworth could be teaching us about nature's power.

So the poem's message may be that nature is omnipotent, something that ought to be revered or highly respected and admired.

And why do you, and why do we think Wordsworth teaches us this? What Wordsworth's intent may be to encourage humility in mankind and warn against arrogance.

Evaluative verbs can be very helpful when writing about a poet's intent.

An evaluative verb is a verb that demonstrates a writer's opinion on something.

Here are a few examples of evaluative verbs, criticise, mock, encourage, celebrate, warn, promote.

Pause the video and discuss.

Can you think of any more evaluative verbs? Off you go.

I heard some brilliant evaluative verbs there that I hope you'll be using in your writing.

Now let's practise using evaluative verbs.

"Owen shows how soldiers suffer at war." This sentence explains what Owen does with a simple verb.

Now let's look at this sentence.

"Owen exposes the true horrors of war, subverting the messages of World War I propaganda." This sentence explains Owen's intentions with an evaluative verb.

We can see how the second sentence is more effective in saying something meaningful about why Owen wrote this poem.

Let's have another, let's look at another example.

"Agard presents his education as unfair and shows he's proud of who he is." Again, that sentence shows what Agard does with simple verbs.

I want you now to try to explain Agard's intentions for his poem with an evaluative verb.

Pause the video and practise using an evaluative verb now.

You may have said something like, "Agard criticises the stifling and belittling effects of colonialism, and through the celebration of his heritage, he reclaims his identity." The words in green, there are of evaluative verbs.

They help us say something really meaningful about Agard's intentions for his poem, 'Checking Out Me History', he criticises, he celebrates and he reclaims. Well done on writing your sentence with the evaluative verbs.

Now let's look at message once more.

Which poems contain the message that nature is omnipotent and human power is ephemeral? Pause the video and discuss.

You may have said that 'Ozymandias' and 'Extract From the Prelude' explore that message.

Next, which poems contain the message that each individual can reclaim power over their identity after hardship? Pause the video and discuss that.

Well done if you said 'The Emigree' and 'Checking Out Me History' both contain that message.

Which poems contain the message that the effects of war are long lasting and traumatic? Pause the video and answer that now.

You may have said that 'War photographer' and 'Remains' contain the message that the effects of war are long lasting and traumatic.

And lastly, discuss which two poems contain the message that the presentation of war is often at odds with its reality? Pause the video and discuss.

Well done if you said that 'Exposure' and 'Bayonet Charge' contain the message that the presentation of war is often at odds with its reality.

I hope that's helped you explore some common messages across poems in this anthology.

But now going to use this to help us talk about intent.

Understanding a poet's message can help us unlock their intent of their poem.

So we have four possible messages in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology shown on the screen there.

Your job is to match the following intents below to each message.

Pause the video and match the intent to the message.

Off you go.

So let's look at the first one.

Nature is omnipotent and human power is ephemeral.

Poets with that message may want to mock and warn against human pride.

So potentially Shelley and Wordsworth may have that intent to mock and warn against human pride.

Next, "Each individual can reclaim power over their identity after hardship." Poets with this message may have wanted to encourage self-discovery.

Next, "The effects of war are long-lasting and traumatic." Poets with this message may have wanted to discourage war.

So for example, Simon Armitage and Carol Ann Duffy may have wanted to discourage war.

And lastly, the presentation of war is often at odds with its reality.

Poets that try to show that in their poems may have wanted to criticise propaganda.

So that includes potentially Wilfred Owen and Ted Hughes.

Well done on that task.

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

For a poem that shows nature's omnipotence and human inferiority, the poet's intent might be to; encourage rebellion, criticise authority figures, or mock and warn against human pride? Pause the video and finish that sentence.

For a poem that shows nature's omnipotence and human inferiority, the poet's intent might be to mock and warn against human pride because these poets are trying to show how nature is more important, more significant than humans, so that humans should indeed remain humble.

Now I want you to write a few sentences comparing the message and intent presented by the poets in the following pairs of poems. So you need to write about whether the message and intent of 'Exposure' and 'Bayonet Charge' are similar and or different.

And I want you to do the same for the remaining pairs of poems. Pause the video and have a go at that task now, off you go.

Let's go through some ideas.

Both 'Exposure' and 'Bayonet Charge' have the message that war is horrific and detrimental to soldiers' mental health.

Both poets may have the similar intent of exposing the harsh realities of war through their poems. 'Poppies' and 'War photographer' both have a similar message, the trauma of war does not only affect soldiers.

But we may have wanted to raise awareness of a mother's perspective.

Whereas Duffy criticises the indifference of onlookers of war.

Both 'Kamikaze' and 'Extract From the Prelude' share the message that nature is alluring and omnipotent.

Whereas Garland uses nature to advocate for the preciousness of life.

Wordsworth uses his poem to warn against human pride.

So we see here that poets may have a very similar message, but their intents may be different or poets could have similar messages and intents.

Potentially, for some poems they share similar themes, but their message and intent are very different.

Well done in exploring those pairs of poems and looking at pairs of poems you may not have even grouped together before.

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

There are several overlapping themes in the 'Power and Conflict' anthology.

A message is an important idea in a text that the author wants to tell people about.

A poet's intent is the reason they have for writing a text.

And using a evaluative verbs can help you make meaningful comments about a writer's intent.

I've really enjoyed learning with you today, and I hope you are more confident exploring theme, message and intent across the 'Power and Conflict' anthology.

Thank you so much for joining me.