Understanding the poem "Tissue".

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young and it is lovely to see you again on another lesson in this power and conflict poetry series.

So in today's lesson, we're gonna be looking at one of my favourite poems in the anthology, which is "Tissue" by Imtiaz Dharker.

So just a reminder, you will need your copy of the anthology throughout today's lesson.

So make sure you got it in front of you.

So shall we get started? So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome related to the poem "Tissue" itself.

So our learning outcome for today is I can explain how Dharker presents her attitude towards power and conflict in "Tissue".

And we have some very important words, our keywords for today's lesson.

So I do encourage you just to pause the video, jot these down and their definitions, particularly the ones that are new to you.

Because we're gonna be using them quite a bit in today's lesson.

Let's take a look at what they are.

Poet Laureate, an honorary position given by the monarch.

The poet is tasked with writing poems about state occasions.

So they might be asked to write a poem about a royal wedding, or a coronation perhaps.

Displacement, a situation where people are forced to leave the place they normally live.

Connotations, the ideas and feelings a word evokes in addition to its literal meaning.

So we often associate a heart with love for example.

This is an example of a connotation.

Extended metaphor, we're gonna see some really fantastic extended metaphors in today's lesson, is a version of a metaphor that is developed throughout a piece of writing.

And finally, a homonym is a word that is spelled and sounds the same as another that has a different meaning.

So bat is a good example of this.

So we have bats in sports, for example, cricket bats, but there is also bat, the creature that kind of lives in caves.

That is an example of a homonym.

So today's lesson has two very clear learning cycles and I'm super excited for both.

So the first one is all about exploring the poem's background.

So we're gonna explore all of those fantastic pieces of contextual information that can really help us understand the poem itself.

And then we're gonna move on to learning cycle two where we're gonna explore this really wonderful poem in detail.

You're gonna get your very first opportunity to read it.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

So in today's lesson, we are going to focus on a poem called "Tissue" by Imtiaz Dharker.

And this poem explores paper and how it intertwines with our lives, how it can make us simultaneously powerful but also fragile.

And you might also be thinking straight away about that title of "Tissue".

And it really links to paper, doesn't it? So my first discussion question for you is as follows.

So Dharker wrote this poem, whilst her partner was terminally ill.

What might we expect some of the poem's themes to be, given this contextual information? 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'd like to proceed.

Okay, a fantastic start to this lesson! Let's keep that wonderful energy going throughout today's learning.

And I totally agree with you.

You kind of learn a lot, don't you? If her partner is terminally ill, ultimately dies, that kind of indicates quite a lot about the potential tone of the poem.

And some things that really stuck out to me, you don't have to be exactly the same, are life and death, the nature of life and death, memory potentially, power and powerlessness, identity and human nature.

I think all of these could be reasonable things to assume that Dharker might be writing about in the poem if her partner is terminally ill when she's writing it.

So let's look at a bit more information about Dharker.

So Dharker is a Pakistani-born British poet.

And she was born in Pakistan, but moved to Glasgow when she was a baby.

In 2019, she was offered the role of Poet Laureate.

However, she turned this role down.

And remember, the role of Poet Laureate is somebody, who is given that role by the King or Queen and they have to write about important state occasions.

So after looking at this contextual information, Aisha and Jun said the following things.

Aisha said, "I think her poems reflect the deeply personal." Whereas Jen said, "I think her poems reflect displacement." And remember, displacement is where you are forced to go away from the place you typically reside.

So quick-discussion question for me then please.

"Using the contextual information above, why do you think the Oak pupils may have said these things?" Why did Aisha talk about the deeply personal side and why did Jun talk about the displacement side? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, or jot down some ideas and then push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, some wonderful ideas there, some really, really nice conversations taking place.

And well done for linking that contextual information to the pupils' statements.

So let's unpick these in a little bit more detail.

So we could have said the following things.

So Aisha has said, "I think her poems reflect the deeply personal." Well, we could have said that the "Poet Laureate is a nationally-significant role, often celebrating large national occasions.

The fact that Dharker refused this role, could suggest that she felt her poetry was more personal and specific to her as an individual." So she simply felt that her kind of words, her writing would not connect well with a national event in this way and it's better kept to a personal reflection.

And I think that's a really, really interesting piece of evidence, we could use to support Aisha's comment.

Let's look at Jun's comment.

"I think her poems reflect displacement." What we could say, "Dharker has first-hand experience of moving from place to place, including moving between two very different cultures." Remember, she went from Pakistan to Glasgow as a young child.

"She also has experience of doing this as a young child, meaning she had no choice in the matter.

As such, it is reasonable to expect displacement to be a key part of her writing." So really good examples there of how we can link key contextual information to wider ideas about the nature potentially of Dharker's work.

Okay, quick, true or false, check-for-understanding time for me then please.

"Dharker's poetry can be described as personal." Is that true or false? Hit that pause button, complete the task and then push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Okay, great job if you identified it as true.

Absolutely! We've spoken a lot haven't we about the personal nature of her work? So let's make that a bit difficult.

I think that was a little bit easier.

Let's make that a bit difficult.

How could we justify that? Is it a, Dharker turned down roles like Poet Laureate to keep the personal nature of her work, or is it b, Dharker's poetry is almost exclusively about her childhood in Glasgow and Pakistan? So hit that pause button, complete the task and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, well done to everybody who identified it as a.

We could say turning down roles like Poet Laureate, kind of highlights her desire to keep the personal nature of her work.

She certainly does write about her childhood, but it is not exclusively what she writes about.

There's just not enough evidence to include b as the correct answer there.

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

So super excited to see how you get on with this one.

So after learning a little bit more about Imtiaz Dharker's background, Jacob said the following.

And Jacob said, "Dharker's poetry is intensely personal, drawing heavily on her own experiences." So really interesting statement there from Jacob.

Your task is as follows, I would like you to complete a mind map for me please and mind-map any evidence that could support this statement.

So what have we spoken about in today's lesson? What have we spoken about so far contextually that could really support Jacob's comment? So really excited to see how you approach this one.

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

Okay, fantastic effort on that task.

It is a really, really important skill when looking at poetry to understand the contextual information, or the relevant contextual information and how that can link to a poet's ideas.

So here's how we could have approached this task, some things we could have said.

Well, we could say, "Dharker's poetry is personal, because she turned down the Poet Laureate, which suggests she wants to keep the personal nature of her work." We could also talk about her own experiences, particularly as a young child.

"She moved from Pakistan to Glasgow at a very young age.

As such, themes of displacement and home are key parts of her work." We could've also spoke about the content of her poetry.

"The content of her poetry is also deeply personal." For example, she talks about the nature and fragility of human life.

We know that is going to be one of the key parts of "Tissue" for example.

And finally, "Her work is influenced by personal events in her own life, for example, the terminal illness and death of her partner." So all of these things we could say, work together to really kind of support that comment from Jacob about Dharker's poetry being personal.

So great job for identifying all these things in your own work.

Okay, we've now moved on to learning cycle two and I'm super excited for this learning cycle.

'Cause we are going to get our first look at this wonderful poem, our first chance to read this wonderful poem.

So let's get started.

So the poem is called "Tissue".

So what are connotations of the word tissue? And remember, connotations are things we think of in addition to something's literal meaning.

So it's ideas, concepts or words we think of in addition to it.

So what are some of those connotations for the word tissue? So hit that pause button, complete the task and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, as always, a really fantastic start to your learning cycle two and some really wonderful conversations taking place there.

So some things that really struck out to me were as follows.

We could talk about the idea of tissue having the connotation of life.

For example, people talk about human tissue, don't they? That's something that really kind of leapt out to me when I was doing this task.

Again, we've got the idea of sadness or crying.

If we think of tissues, they are usually used when people are shedding tears, because they are sad or because they are crying.

Again, paper and documents, tissue is a word for paper and we could certainly link that to documents, which are really a pivotal part of life, aren't they? And finally, also this idea of weakness and fragility.

If you were to take a piece of tissue paper now, it's not very strong, is it? It could be kind of torn apart quite quickly.

It's quite fragile, it's quite weak.

And I certainly think we could develop that as a connotation of tissue.

So "Tissue can mean both paper, but also human tissue.

And as such, it is a homonym.

And Dharker uses this as an opportunity to compare paper to human life, focusing on the fragility of both." Both are really fragile.

Human life is very precious and very fragile, as is tissue paper.

And Dharker kind of explores that idea throughout the poem.

So "In fact, throughout the entire poem, Dharker uses the extended metaphor of tissue for human life, emphasising human powerlessness in relation to the passage of time." So remember, we are here for a very, very short time, particularly in relation to the vastness of time.

And again, that idea is explored throughout the poem.

So I would now like you to turn to your copy of the poem in your anthology.

And I would like you to complete the following tasks as you read this great poem.

So your first task is to highlight all examples of paper or tissue that Dharker makes reference to in the poem.

And your second task is to discuss why do you think she does this, why do you think she makes all these references? So open your copy of the anthology, read through that poem and then complete tasks one and two.

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

Okay, fantastic work on that.

And I certainly hope that you enjoyed that poem and enjoyed it as much as I do.

And it really is a lovely read and I really, really enjoy the ideas that Dharker presents throughout it.

So let's look at some feedback for these tasks.

So task one, what do we have? What examples of tissue are there, or paper? We've got the example of paper, she speaks about books, she speaks about the Koran, she speaks about maps, she talks about slips and she talks about script as well.

There's all these different kind of variations of how we use paper in our lives.

And then let's look at task two.

Why does she do this? Well, we could have said, "This poem is a commentary on how human lives are mapped by pieces of paper.

These trace the journeys we take, for example maps, the things we buy, the slips and the records we keep, as well as forming the basis of many of our beliefs," for example, she references the Koran in there as well.

So really, really powerful use of that by Dharker.

Okay, so I would like you to read the beginning of the poem.

We're gonna focus in a little bit more detail on the very beginning of the poem.

So quick-discussion question for me then please.

"In the opening two stanzas, how does Dharker show paper as powerful?" How does she show it as something powerful? She shows it as fragile definitely, but she also shows it as powerful.

How does she do that? Hit that pause button, look at those opening two stanzas and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, great job on that! It is a really, really important skill with poetry to make those annotations, to do that close-reading and really, really kind of focus in on really, really key points in the poem.

So things we could have said are as follows.

So "In stanza one, Dharker notes paper can let light shine, perhaps highlighting its ability to reveal hidden truths." It shines through.

"We also learn that paper can alter things, the first hint at its power." Paper has the power to alter things, alter human lives.

If it can alter human life, then it's certainly very powerful, isn't it? And again, "In stanza two, Dharker then gives us specific examples of how paper can be powerful.

She references the Koran with a specific link to the power of paper in a religious context, but also to paper as a way to record births, something much more personal." So it's really, really interesting presentation there by Dharker.

She's kind of speaking that paper can be powerful in a religious context, but also powerful in the context of somebody's life, 'cause it records their birth and it records their death as well.

Great job if you picked up any similar ideas in your own discussions.

Now I would like you to read the rest of the poem.

Okay, I hope you found that second reading of the poem really useful.

As we move through this anthology, we want to develop our understanding of these poems as much as possible.

And they certainly benefit from a second and a third reading.

So I hope you found that useful.

So let's move on to a quick check for understanding.

So "In the poem, Dharker links paper to power.

Which documents does she directly reference to emphasise this?" Is it a, the Koran, is it b, a passport? Is it c, a record of births and deaths, or is it d, the Bible? And I'll give you a clue, there's more than one correct answer here.

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

Okay, fantastic work to everybody who identified a and c! It is the Koran and a record of births and deaths.

And what Dharker is doing here is emphasising how paper can be powerful in different contexts.

It forms the basis of our religious texts, but also documents that are central to a person's life, for example, the record of their birth and the record of their death.

Great job for picking up on that.

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

And I'm really looking forward to how you approach this one.

So after reading the poem, the Oak pupils said the following things.

So Andeep said, "The poem 'Tissue' shows how important but fragile paper is." We've got this second comment.

"The poem 'Tissue' reveals both the fragility and power of humanity, because human flesh is compared with paper." And our final comment, "The poem 'Tissue' shows that grand memorials don't paint a realistic picture of the past." So my task for you, is to choose one of these statements above.

"Read the poem again and annotate it with evidence that supports it." So read that poem, choose one of the statements we've got here and annotate it with any evidence that supports it.

Really, really great task, this one that will really, really help you develop your understanding of the poem's key ideas.

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

Okay, my goodness! What fantastic effort you are showing throughout this lesson! You are going to be an absolute expert in the poem "Tissue" by the end of today's lesson.

So let's take a look at how we could have approached this task.

So we've got this Oak people comment here.

"The poem 'Tissue' reveals both the fragility and power of humanity, because human flesh is compared with paper." So how could we have annotated that comment to support it with evidence from the text? Well, we could have said, "Metaphorical comparison, the poem compares human flesh to tissue paper, suggesting a parallel between the fragility of tissue paper and the vulnerability of human existence." We could also speak about the symbolism of tissue paper.

"Tissue paper symbolises the delicate nature of human life and emotions, emphasising the ephemeral quality of both." If something is ephemeral, it lasts for a very short time.

And finally, "The poem suggests that despite human efforts to create lasting structures, ultimately, the fragility of humanity prevails as represented by the fragile nature of tissue paper." So these are some really fantastic annotations, some really fantastic kind of high-level points we can make to support this statement.

So really well done if you picked up on anything similar in your own work.

Okay, thank you for such a wonderful lesson! It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today on one of my favourite poems in the anthology.

So let's take a look back and recap all of those great things that we've learned today.

So firstly, this poem is part of Dharker's collection, "Terrorist at My Table", written at a time when her partner was terminally ill.

The speaker in this poem uses tissue as an extended metaphor for life.

Dharker uses the homonym tissue to draw parallels to the fragility of both paper and human life.

Imtiaz Dharker was born in Pakistan, but moved to Glasgow when she was under a year of age.

And finally, Dharker turned down the Poet Laureate role in 2019 in order to maintain the personal nature of her work.

Thank you very much for such a great lesson and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.