Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton.

I'm to guide you through your learning journey today.

Today's lesson is called Understanding the Poem "Like an Heiress." We're going to think about how Nichols is presenting ideas around climate change as well as ideas, perhaps even fears around migration.

Now, I really like Nichols as a poet, and I think this poem is particularly evocative.

So I'm really looking forward to exploring it with you today.

Now you'll need a copy of the AQA Worlds and Lives Anthology with you for today's lesson.

So make sure you have that with you.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you use for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain how Nichols presents ideas of inheritance and identity in the poem.

So we have four words today we're going to focus on as our keywords.

They've be identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to point 'em out to you as well, so you'll see them being used in context.

Our first keyword is heiress, and this means a woman who inherits considerable wealth.

We're going to consider what the image of an heiress represents, and what it is that the speaker might be inheriting.

Our second keyword is inherit, and this means to receive money, property, or possessions from someone after that person has died.

Our third keyword is "small-days," and this is a Guyanese folk song.

We're going to consider how this might connect Nichol's own life and identity.

Finally, our fourth keyword is tourist, and this means a person who's travelling or visiting a place for pleasure.

We're going to consider how this might relate to ideas and even fears around migration.

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and their definitions.

So pause the video and write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to consider the image of an heiress and why the speaker might compare herself to an heiress.

What does that suggest about her and what might it suggest about what she's inheriting? We're gonna specifically think about the fact that speaker does not say she is an heiress, mainly that she's like an heiress.

We're going to think about what that distinction might mean.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to take a similar approach, but look specifically at why the speaker might compare herself to a tourist.

We're going to think about why the word tourist can be quite a negatively loaded term, and what it might mean in terms of the impact of tourism, but also how it might link to ideas of migration.

Now, we're going to start at the beginning of the poem and consider the image that appears in both the title and the opening line.

It's always a good idea to start your analysis by looking at the title and the first line, because it gives you an idea of what the poet wanted you to have as the first impression, and then you can consider how that might link to the meaning of the poem.

So the title and the opening line of the poem uses simile, that compares the speaker to an heiress.

Now, this is one of our key words and it means a woman who inherits considerable wealth.

So what I'd like you to consider are the following three words in the first two lines: jewels; Atlantic; and oceanic, and consider what you think the speaker is going to inherit and how is that inheritance presented.

Now if you're working through this with someone else, you might talk about ideas together.

If you're working through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the video, consider the connection between those three words and an inheritance.

Some fantastic ideas there.

It was great to see people making a connection between jewels that imply wealth and the natural imagery of the ocean.

We might interpret this as suggesting the speaker stands to inherit the natural world through these connections to the ocean.

Furthermore, the specific word jewels implies the wealth and beauty of the natural world, because we think of jewels as expensive, beautiful things, and they might even take this one step further and think about the fact this appears the first thing in the poem.

Perhaps we might take this to suggest some sort of entitlement on behalf of the speaker, perhaps meaning that they assume they're going to inherit the Earth because of the first thing on their mind.

Now, I'd like you to open your anthology and read the poem.

So pause the video and read Nichols' "Like an Heiress" now.

Now, in the opening two lines, we have this connection between the ocean and jewels.

We thought about how this might suggest the natural world is a beautiful, valuable place.

What I'd like you to think about is with a depiction of the natural world and the rest of the poem is what you expected, given the connections to beauty and wealth in the first two lines.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It's great to see people picking out certain phrases, such as plastic and rubbish, and how that creates the opposite view of the natural world, the opening two lines, like Sofia.

You might have thought you expected the imagery of beauty to continue, but actually, the imagery we see is just manmade items in nature, and it hints at the destruction these items have caused.

Now, before we look deeper into the poem, let's just do a quick check for understanding about the overall meaning of the poem.

So I'd like you to tell me which Oak pupil summary of the poem is accurate.

So Sam says, 'The poem initially suggests the value and beauty of the natural world, and then it implies that humans have undervalued the natural world." And Sofia says, "The poem shows the speaker's connection to nature and demonstrates the respect humanity has for the natural world." So pause the video, think about which of those summaries is accurate.

Now, if we were just talking about the first two lines of the poem, then Sofia's summary would be more accurate.

However, if we take the whole poem into account, and the imagery of litter and the abandonment, then Sam's summary that the poem initially suggests the value and beauty of the natural world, but then implies that humans have undervalued the natural world is more accurate.

So very well done if you got that right.

So now let's think about how the natural world is portrayed in the poem.

I'd like you to read through the poem again and choose three words from the poem, the particularly evocative descriptions of the natural world, and I'd like you to think about what the implications of those words are.

So pause the video and choose your three words now.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Now, everyone might have had different words that seem particularly evocative to them, and I'll just share three words from Oak pupil, Sam, and you can see if your views align with them.

It's always good to share impressions or ideas when you're thinking about texts because they help us deepen and develop our understanding.

So Sam chose deserted, rubbish, and plastic, and said that to them, "The implications of those words are that humans haven't valued the natural world.

We're destroying it through pollution." Thinking about the natural world, we generally think of it as teeming with life from insects to animals to plants, but the idea of this beach being deserted, it's just as something toxic or unnatural about this place.

The words rubbish and plastic then suggest why the beach is deserted.

Life can not survive in this place because it's been polluted and damaged.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

I'd like you to tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false that "Like an Heiress" celebrates the beauty of the natural world? Pause the video, make your selection now.

The correct answer is false.

The poem does suggest the beauty of the natural world in the first two lines, but not in the rest of the poem.

Now I'd like you to justify that answer.

So is it, A, that the poem arguably laments the negative effects of overpopulation on the environment, or B, that the poem arguably laments humanity's treatment of the planet? So pause the video and make a selection now.

Now, overpopulation is arguably an issue that affects the natural world.

However, it's not one that's mentioned in the poem, so the correct answer is B, that the poem arguably laments humanity's treatment of the planet through the references to pollution and littering.

So very well done if you got that right.

Fantastic work, everyone.

We're done with the first task of the lesson, but we're going to consider the nature of the simile like an heiress, and what the implications are.

When you're looking at similes as literary devices, it's always useful to keep in mind the writer is making a comparison by saying something is like something else.

They aren't saying that something has actually become something else and that's an important distinction.

Now the title in the first line of the poem uses simile rather than saying the speaker is actually an heiress.

So in actuality, the speaker is not a woman who inherits considerable wealth, and what might that suggest in terms of the relationship between the speaker and the natural world? Now, I'd like you to write a short answer and they might consider the specific connections to burning.

So what might that remind you of in terms of the human impact on the planet.

The lack of natural imagery or animals in the poem.

What does that suggest about the future of our world.

And the use of the word our and the final line.

What implications does that have for the reader? Pause the video, write your answer now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I'd like to share an idea with you that our Oak pupil Sam had, and I'd like you to consider their answer and think about how consideration of the final line might add to their answer.

So Sam said, "I think Nichols only compares the speaker to an heiress because she's suggesting we will not inherit the natural world since we're destroying it.

The use of burning could point to the devastation of climate change, and the lack of natural imagery within the poem shows that nature can not survive." So Sam has considered a burning and thought it links to climate change, specifically global warming, and the deserted nature of the beach just has no features for the natural world.

Now, how would a consideration of the final line with the pronoun our add to Sam's answer? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Some great thoughts there, everyone.

Now, we might rewrite Sam's answer to say, "The shift from I to our in the final line could imply this is all of our shared responsibility.

It might be intended to inspire the reader to act." Now, Sam has thought about how the final line speaks to Nichol's potential intentions and what she might have hoped the reader response to the poem might have been.

Finally, I'd like to reread your own answer.

Did you consider the final line adds to understanding? Pause the video, reread your answer now.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It was great to see people thinking about how they might merge our rewritten version of Sam's answer into their own answer, because the point of sharing ideas is so they expand their own understanding and our interpretations of the text.

Amazing work so far, everyone.

We're now at the second learning cycle, but we're going to think about the image of the tourist in the poem and how we might link that to ideas of identity and migration.

Now, we're going to start by considering the nature of a tourist, what it means be called a tourist.

As well as comparing the speaker to an heiress, Nichols also compares the speaker to a tourist.

Now, tourism is one of our keywords and it means a person who's travelling or visiting a place for pleasure.

So to start off with, I'd like to think about what the connotations of being a tourist are.

What ideas or feelings do you get from that word? As ever, if you're working with someone else, you might talk through your ideas with them.

If you're going through this by yourself, you might just think about your ideas.

So pause the video, consider what the word tourist means to you.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, here are some of the ideas you might have had.

You might have thought about the fact a tourist is someone who visits somewhere.

They don't live there or put down roots there, so you might think of them as only being temporary.

They aren't permanently attached to a place.

There're also sometimes ideas of inauthenticity attached to tourists because they are, by definition, visiting a place for their own pleasure, and therefore, they aren't truly engaging the issues or problems a place might be facing.

There's authors the notion of tourist only being interested in popular sites, and typically, those tourist attractions don't accurately represent the local experience, but are designed to make money from the tourist.

Finally, because a tourist is someone who only visits a place temporarily and doesn't really connect to a place, we might think of them as someone who doesn't truly belong somewhere.

They don't have an innate connection or an attachment to a place.

Now, let's consider how we might link those ideas around the idea of tourism to what we've already said about the poem.

Now, in our first learning cycle, we considered how the poem implies that humanity is damaging the natural world.

So what I'd like you to think about is how does the idea of the speaker being a tourist feed into that interpretation? So how does the idea of someone who visits a place for their own pleasure and doesn't truly connect to a place feed into the damage that humanity is doing to the natural world? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now, calling the speaker, and by extension, the rest of humanity, a tourist could connect to ideas of humans putting too much pressure on natural resources and land through the overconsumption.

This is something the tourism industry is regularly accused of because tourism changes the landscape of local culture.

It drives the prices of certain areas and privilege certain types of industry, such as hospitality.

Now, we might see humanity as taking the same approach to the natural world and using it for their own benefit rather than considering how they're actually affecting it.

Arguably, it could suggest that humanity sees themselves entitled to use the natural world at the expense of the indigenous species, nature itself.

Now for a quick check for understanding about the connection between tourism and the natural world.

So which of the following criticisms levelled against tourism could be attached to the natural world? Is it A, the negative impact on local culture, B, overconsumption of natural resources, or C, lack of job security for local people? Pause the video and make your selection now.

Now, arguably, the correct answer is that humanity causes overconsumption of natural resources through our use of fossil fuels, but also our use of produce and animals in order to fuel ourselves, so very well done if you got that right.

Now, as well as a connection between tourism and humanity's treatment of the natural world, there's potentially another way we might interpret the image of tourism, especially in light of Nichol's personal context.

I'd like you to consider the following information.

Nichols was born in Ghana in 1950, and emigrated to Britain in 1977.

"Like an Heiress" was published in 2020, shortly after Nichol's returned to her hometown.

Now, I'd like to think about what connections we might make between Nichols's personal context and the idea of being compared to a tourist.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Some fantastic discussions there.

It was great to see people thinking about what it would mean to return home somewhere and be considered someone who's just passing through, doesn't really have any true connections to that place anymore.

It could suggest that poem reflects migrant fears.

They'll feel like an outsider and they don't belong in the home country anymore.

Furthermore, since tourists are in a place simply their own pleasure, it could suggest they worry they're considered a bystander to any problems the country might have been having.

So the idea of being a tourist could feed into fears around our identity and where we belong.

Now, earlier in the lesson, we talked about the images of destruction surrounding the natural world and the poem.

What I'd like to think about now is how we might interpret those images in a different way and how we might perhaps connect those images of destruction and isolation, two ideas around migrant fears, from returning home.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Amazing work, everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, perhaps we might interpret the images of destruction and isolation and how they refer to the speaker's sense of self being shattered upon returning home, and finding they feel like an outsider and a tourist.

The home is not the same as they remember it.

They realise it's changed without them.

The idea of the beach being deserted is because they can no longer see their connection to this place.

The rubbish and the litter could be images of how they've neglected their home.

It's become aliens to them in their absence.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

I'd like you to tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? Nichols may be connecting migrant fears to ideas of tourism.

Pause the video and make a selection now.

The correct answer is true.

Now, I'd like to justify that answer.

So is it, A, that the speaker arguably is may be feeling as if their home has changed since they're away, or B, arguably, the speaker fears they may have exploited their home as they were a tourist? So pause the video and make your selection now.

Now, conceivably, there could be fears around exploitation and migration.

However, the imagery in the poem doesn't seem to speak to this, so the more likely answer is A, arguably, the speaker may be feeling as if their home has changed since they're away, since we have the initial imagery of the ocean is beautiful, and then the shift into seeing the beach and the ocean as deserted and polluted, which could reflect the change in the speaker's home.

Fantastic work, everyone.

We're now to the second and final task of the lesson, where we're going to consider five quotations from the poem.

Now, think about how we might interpret them in different ways.

This is a really useful exercise to help you see there are no right or wrong answers in English.

It's all about convincing the reader that your interpretation is the correct one.

But there'll always be multiple interpretations since we all respond in a personal individual way to a text.

So we've said we might interpret the notion of the speaker being like a tourist in the poem as either relating to humanity being a tourist on planet Earth, or to migrant fears around returning home and feeling that they don't belong.

So I'd like to look at five quotations and think about how we might interpret them to fit either one of those ideas.

Now, your five quotations are hotel, "small-days," which is one of our keywords, it means a Guyanese folk song, jewels, lone, which means singular and alone, and heiress, which means a woman who inherits considerable wealth.

So pause the video, consider those five words, think about how we might interpret them in two different ways.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some fantastic discussions there.

And I'd just like to share a few ideas with you I heard, and you can think about how well they align with yours.

We're going to pause after each word so you can think about which of the two interpretations you find the most convincing and the most compelling.

So let's start with the word hotel.

Now, if we're thinking about the idea of humanity being a tourist on Earth, we might interpret the word hotel as suggesting the natural world doesn't feel like home to the speaker.

If we're thinking about migrant fears about belonging, we might think a hotel might mean their home doesn't feel like their home anymore.

So pause the video, consider which one you think is the most convincing.

Now, personally, I think I find the word hotel more convincing when applied to ideas of migrant fears, because I think there's something very purposeful and deliberate done there, and I think the idea of not choosing to stay with somewhere you have a connection to and choosing to stay in a hotel instead, it's just the speaker feels like a tourist and feels though they don't belong there anymore, because they're choosing a place that signals them out as being someone who's only there temporarily and someone who doesn't really belong.

Now, our second word is "small-days." Now if you're thinking about connecting it to ideas of humanity in natural world in general, we might think of it as metaphorically representing the idea the days are small and time is short because of what we've done to the planet.

However, if we're thinking ideas around migrant fears, you might remember "small-days" is a Guyanese folk song, but the speaker talks about their experience being a mirror to her small days.

Therefore, the experience is a reflection of her experience, not a reality.

Therefore, she might only being and receiving a reflection of her heritage rather than actually feeling it.

So pause the video, think about which interpretation you think is the most convincing.

Here, I again think I would say the "small-days" quotation is most convincing when applied to ideas around migrant fears, because I think it's hard to ignore the fact there's a link to the poet's personal context, and I do think holding up a mirror is really evocative to me.

Now, our third question is jewels.

Now, jewels means something valuable, something beautiful, so if thinking about humanity and the natural world, then jewels would imply the natural world is beautiful and valuable.

And if you're thinking about migrant fears, we might see the speaker's heritage as being beautiful and valuable.

So pause the video, think about which you find the most convincing.

Now, here, I think I would say I see a stronger connection to the idea of beauty and value in the natural world because the poem then pivots to show the destruction of the natural world, which shows how humanity hasn't actually appreciated the beauty and value of nature.

Now, fourth quotation's lone, and that means something singular and alone.

So if we apply it to humanity in the natural world, we might see as suggesting the lack of animals and plant life as just that humanity has destroyed the natural world.

If we think about migrant fears, we might see it as a speaker suggesting they feel isolated from their home and the people around them.

So again, pause the video, think about which you find the most compelling.

Now, here, I again think I would say that lone is more convincing when applied for natural world, because I think the allusions to rubbish and litter create a clear suggestion that the natural world has been damaged by humanity, and therefore, nature can't live there anymore.

Finally, we have the word heiress.

And the idea is the speaker is not actually an heiress, but merely like one.

Now, if we apply it to the natural world, we might suggest it shows humanity has caused too much damage to the natural world.

Therefore, we won't inherit it because there's nothing left to inherit.

If we think about migrant fears, we might see it as a speaker suggesting there's a disconnection to her heritage because she won't inherit generational or cultural knowledge.

Now, pause the video.

Think about which interpretation you think is the most convincing.

Now, I can see value in both interpretations of heiress, and I think I could use that word to convincingly argue either side of the argument.

Now, I hope this exercise has been useful in showing you there's no right or wrong way to interpret a text.

You might be utterly convinced in your analysis, then one word throws you off, and that's okay, because there's rarely going to be one clear cut interpretation of a text, because we're all multifaceted people with different agendas, different ideas, and when you're reading a text, think about which interpretation speaks to you the most, then find evidence that convinces you of that interpretation.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Comparing the speaker to an heiress could imply they're set to inherit the value of the natural world.

However, imagery associated with a natural world is that of destruction, which could show the damage humanity has done.

Comparison to tourist could connect to hot humanity exploits the natural world.

On the other hand, tourist could link to how the speaker feels disconnected from their home and their heritage.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson, everyone.

If you enjoyed the poem, you might like to look at some of Nichols's other poetry, such as "Island Man," and I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.