Hello, everyone, it's lovely to see you all today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton, and I'm going to guide you through your learning journey today.

Today's lesson is called Understanding Sub-text in Unseen Poems. We're going to take two unseen poems and consider how we can understand the use of everyday objects in them to understand the deeper meaning of the poems. Always remember, the poet has constructed the poem with a specific purpose.

They have a message they want to impart to the reader, and one way they can do that is to use symbolism and sub-text.

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

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to unlock implied meanings or sub-text in poetry.

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

They'll 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 key word is sub-text, which is the central focus of today's lesson.

It means the implicit meaning of a text, the underlying message that's not explicitly staged or shown.

We're going to focus on how poets might use everyday objects in order to create sub-text.

Our second key word is deeper meaning, and that means an abstract or hidden meaning behind something.

You should always try to look beyond the narrative of the poem, consider what the meaning behind the narrative is.

What is the poet trying to tell the reader about a specific theme or idea? Our third keyword is symbolism, and that means the use of symbolisms in art, literature, and films to represent ideas.

We're going to consider the symbolism within certain everyday objects within the lesson.

Our fourth keyword is metaphorical, which means not having real existence, but representing some truth about a situation or other subject.

And finally, our fifth keyword is significance, which means the quality of being worthy of attention, importance.

So, I'll just give you a few moments 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 Ruth Fainlight's "Handbag," and consider how we might interpret the deeper meaning behind the mother's handbag and contents within the poem.

Then for our second learning cycle, we're going to look at Jane Weir's "Poppies," and consider the significance of everyday objects within the poem and what they might symbolise about the mother's state of mind.

So as I said, today we're going to look at how we might interpret sub-text in unseen poems. Remember that sub-text is the implicit meaning of a text, the underlying message that is not explicitly stated or shown.

Now, let's just take a few moments to pause and consider the nature of sub-text and how we might approach it.

So I'd like you to begin by considering how we might try to understand the sub-text.

How can we try to understand the underlying message within a poem? Now, if you're working through someone else, you might talk over ideas with them.

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

So pause the video, consider how we might go about understanding sub-text.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, you might have thought we might look for metaphorical language or symbolism within the text and consider how we might interpret it.

So we might look for things that might represent or symbolise something else and think about what they might mean.

So now we've thought about the how, let's consider the why.

Why do you think it's important to try to understand the sub-text of a poem? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

That's fantastic ideas, everyone.

You might have said that understanding the sub-text allows us to see the deeper meaning of a text.

It allows us to go beyond the literal surface meaning to really consider what a poet is saying about a particular theme or idea.

Always remember the poem is a construction.

A poet has made specific choices about the language and structure in order to create meaning.

We want to understand what their message is.

What are they trying to say about the human nature of society or human psyche through those choices? I think this really goes to the heart of why we read literature.

Obviously, there's a draw of a good story, but I think if we try to understand the sub-text, it helps to understand the world around us.

So, let's just spend a few moments thinking about the central object, Ruth Fainlight's poem, "The Handbag." Before we read the poem, I want you to just consider these questions to try and think about how we might approach the symbolism of the handbag in the poem.

So I want you to think about what do you associate with a handbag? And the questions you might think about are who might carry one, what might you find inside one, and what might the content say about somebody? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Well, welcome back, everyone, fantastic thoughts there.

Now, you might have begun by thinking a handbag is a typically feminine symbol.

We certainly think of women as carrying handbags, and I think there's something very interesting here around why women need handbags.

We might think about the fact that women's clothing traditionally isn't designed in a particularly practical way to allow for deep enough pockets, or we might think of handbags as a way for women to express their status in society through expensive handbags.

They might also think of handbags as holding everyday useful objects, such as keys, your purse, and again, I think there's something very interesting here around the handbag as a feminine symbol, the idea of carrying useful objects.

Perhaps we might say that women are traditionally seen as carrying practical objects, such as tissues and plasters, that allows them to fill that stereotypical maternal role.

Now, you might also think of a handbag as allowing people to carry around items they want to keep close to them for sentimental or practical reasons, so you might wanna keep a photograph in your handbag of a loved one, for example.

And examining what people keep in their handbags could be a way of revealing what someone finds useful or important, so it reveals something about them.

It might be interesting for you to think about what the contents of your handbag or rucksack might reveal about you.

And that's what we're going to focus on this learning cycle, what do the contents of the mother's handbag in Ruth Fainlight's "Handbag" reveal about her.

Now, in your additional materials, you'll find a copy of Ruth Fainlight's "Handbag." I'm gonna turn the camera off and read the poem to you, and I'd like you to follow along using the copy in your additional materials.

So, this is Ruth Fainlight's "Handbag." "My mother's old leather handbag, "crowded with letters she carried all through the war.

"The smell of my mother's handbag, "mints and lipstick and Coty powder.

"The look of those letters, "softened and worn at the edges, "opened, read, and refolded so often, "letters from my father, "odour of leather and powder, "which ever since then has meant "womanliness and love and anguish and war." So now that we've read the poem, I'd like you to discuss the following questions, so we can comprehend what the poem is saying before we begin analysing it in detail.

So number one, who does the handbag belong to? Number two, what are the contents of the handbag? And number three, what do you think the significance of the handbag is? So pause the video and answer the questions now.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said that the handbag belongs to the speaker's mother.

Within the handbag, there are letters, mints, lipstick, and powder.

Now, we might say this reveals the internal-external aspects of the mother, so the letters might reveal something about her internal emotional state, but also about the external face or front she wears for the world.

Now, for a quick check for understanding, which of the following statements about Fainlight's "Handbag" are true.

Is it A, the speaker carries around letters from her father? B, the speaker's mother carries around letters from her husband? Or C, the speaker's mother can't bear to look at letters from her husband? So pause the video, make a selection now.

The correct answer is B.

The speaker's mother carries letters from her husband, so very well done, if you've got that right.

Now we're going to zoom in on specific quotations, examine the symbolism in more detail.

So our first quotation is, "My mother's old leather handbag, "crowded with letters she carried all through the war." And I'd like us to think about what the contents might represent, so I'd first like to think about what the letters symbolise.

So what do the letters represent for the mother? Pause the video, like a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, you might have noticed the letters are from the speaker's father, so the mother's husband, and the idea of carrying around these letters might symbolise their relationship and how the mother wants to keep the father close to her because she can't be physically near him.

Now, let's consider how the letters are spoken about in the poem and what that might suggest.

So the speaker tells us the handbag is crowded with the letters.

She's carrying them with her all the time.

What might those two specific words crowded and carried suggest? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Some great thoughts there, everyone.

It was great that people noticed the mother is carrying the letters throughout the war, so presume the husband is absent because he's fighting in the war.

And I think the word crowded is particularly poignant here 'cause it could signify how the mother's thoughts are crowded with the letters.

So her mind is dominated by her thoughts and worry for her husband.

We might see carrying as representing the emotional toll of this.

She's carrying the anxiety for her husband around with her constantly.

By keeping his letters close, she's keeping him metaphorically close to her throughout his absence, which must be incredibly emotionally exhausting.

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? Fainlight implies the speaker's mother feels burdened by the father's absence.

So pause the video, make a selection now.

The correct answer is true.

Now, I'd like you to justify the answer.

So is it A, that Fainlight suggests the mother feels weighed down by the letters in her handbag, or B, Fainlight suggests the mother feels anxiety through the crowded nature of the handbag? Pause the video, make a selection now.

Welcome back, everyone.

The correct answer is B, Fainlight suggests the mother feels anxiety through the crowded nature of the handbag.

They deal with the thoughts being crowded, so the thoughts are constantly occupying the mother's mind and that's just sense of them being heavy and all consuming.

So very well done, if you got that right.

Now, let's think about second quotation around the contents of the handbag and what the symbolism might be.

So our second quotation is, "The smell of my mother's handbag, "mints and lipstick and Coty powder." What I'd like us to do is specifically zoom in on the word mints, lipstick, and powder, and think about what these objects might signify.

So why might they be important to the mother? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now, you might have noticed all of these objects have something to do with appearance, lips and powder are makeup, and mints are something we might eat to make our breath seem better.

So, perhaps they represent how the mother continually puts on a brave face and a respectable appearance to face the world despite carrying the weight of anxiety of her husband's fate.

She's trying to make herself feel better externally to hide the internal turmoil.

Now for quick check for understanding.

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

So is it true or false? Fainlight implies the speaker's mother doesn't care about her appearance.

Pause the video, make a selection now.

The correct answer is false.

She does care about her appearance.

Now, I'd like you to justify your answer.

So is it A, the inclusion of items such as lipstick and powder in a handbag suggests she's trying to put on a brave face on, or B, the inclusion of items such as lipstick and powder in a handbag suggests she's vain and trying to impress others? Pause the video, make a selection now.

Welcome back, everyone.

The correct answer is A, the inclusion of items such just lipstick and powder in a handbag suggests she's trying to put a brave face on, because we feel the anxiety of the emotional burden she's carrying around.

This implies she wants to put a brave face onto the world rather than care about her appearance coming from vanity.

Fantastic work so far, everyone.

And now, the first task of the lesson.

we're going to take everything we've talked about so far in the lesson.

We're also gonna use the final lines of the poem to answer the question, explore the way Fainlight presents the speaker's attitude towards her mother in "Handbag." So the final lines of the poem are, "Since then has meant "womanliness and love and anguish and war." Now in your answer you might consider the repetition of and within the list.

What might it mean the speaker's continually adding qualities to her mother? The tone of the final lines.

So what might the juxtaposition of love and anguish represent and what might the handbag symbolise? So think about everything we've said about the specific items within the handbag, what that might represent about the mother.

So pause the video and answer the question now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I'm going to share an answer from one of the Oak pupils, Sophia, and I'd like you to think about how a consideration of the symbolism of everyday objects might extend her ideas.

So Sophia said, "Fainlight chooses to explicitly explain "the significance of the handbag here.

"The repetition of and within the list "adds emphasis to the qualities "she associates with her mother "and lends the final lines a tone of admiration "for the fact that her mother managed to cope each day." So pause the video, think about what the symbolism of everyday objects, such as lipstick and mints, might represent about the mother and how it might extend Sophia's answer.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now we might extend Sophia's answer to, "Fainlight chooses to explicitly explain "the significance of the handbag here.

"The repetition of and within the list "adds emphasis to the qualities "that she associates with the mother "and lends the final lines a tone of admiration "for the fact her mother managed to cope each day.

"The fact this everyday object carries such significance "mirrors the great burden "her mother evidently carried around with her "without showing signs of it to the outside world." Amazing work so far, everyone.

Now the second learning cycle, where we're going to consider the symbolism of everyday objects in Jane Weir's "Poppies." Now in this learning cycle, we're going to consider the symbolism of everyday objects in our second poem, Jane Weir's "Poppies." Now in your additional materials, you'll find a copy of Weir's "Poppies." Now I'm gonna turn my camera off and read the poem to you, and I'd like you to follow along with a copy in the additional materials.

So this is Jane Weir's "Poppies." "Three days before Armistice Sunday, "and poppies had already been placed "on individual war graves.

"Before you left, "I pinned one onto your lapel, "crimped petals, spasms of paper red, "disrupting a blockade of yellow bias "binding around your blazer, "sellotape bandaged around my hand.

"I rounded up as many white cat hairs as I could, "smoothed down your shirt's upturned collar, "steeled the softening of my face.

"I wanted to graze my nose across the tip of your nose.

"Play at being Eskimos, like we did when you were little.

"I resisted the impulse "to run my fingers "through the gel blackthorns of your hair.

"All my words, flattened, rolled, "turned into felt, slowly melting.

"I was brave as I walked with you to the front door, "threw it open, the world overflowing like a treasure chest.

"A split second, and you were away, intoxicated.

"After you'd gone, I went into your bedroom, "released a songbird from its cage.

"Later, a single dove flew from the pear tree, "and this is where it has left me, "skirting the churchyard walls, "my stomach busy making tucks, darts, pleats, hatless, "without a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.

"On reaching the top of the hill, "I trace the inscriptions in the war memorial, "leaned against it like a wishbone.

"The dove pulled freely against the sky, "an ornamental stitch.

"I listened, "hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind." Fantastic, now that we've read the poem, we're just gonna take a moment to make sure we understand the poem before we start our analysis.

So what is the poem about? As ever, if going through this with someone else, you might talk about ideas with them.

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

So pause the video, what is the poem "Poppies" about? Now, you might have noticed the specific references to war through poppies and Armistice Sunday.

You might have come to the conclusion they imply the poem is about a mother whose son has gone to war.

So now for a quick check for understanding, which of the following statements about Jane Weir's "Poppies" are true? Is it A, it's implied the speaker's husband has gone to war? B, it's implied the speaker's son has gone to war? Or C, the speaker's son has just returned from war? So pause the video, make a selection now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now we've seen the subject as the speaker's son, 'cause we have references to playgrounds, blazers, and memories from when they were little.

So the poem also ends with the speaker hoping to hear her son's voice, so we know he hasn't returned from war.

So the correct answer is B, it's implied the speaker's son has gone to war.

So very well done, if you got that right.

Now, there are many aspects of the poem we could focus on.

For this specific lesson though, we're going to focus on everyday objects and what they might symbolise about the mother.

So, what I'd like you to start off by doing is thinking about which everyday objects stand out to you in the poem.

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

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, one of Oak pupils, Laura, said, "The image of sellotape really stands out to me." Another Oak pupil, Izzy, said, "The image of clothing, such as scarf and gloves, "really stand out to me." Now we're going to spend a little bit of time thinking about what these everyday items might symbolise and what they might tell us about the emotional state of the mother.

Now, we're going to zoom in on these objects and consider what they might represent.

So let's begin with the image of sellotape.

The full quotation is, "Sellotape bandaged around my hand." What do you think this might symbolise? So think about the characteristics of sellotape and why referring to one as a bandage might be significant.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I think this is my favourite image in the poem because I think it's so evocative.

The idea of referring to sellotape as a bandage suggests the mother is trying to use everyday objects to mask the emotional wound of missing her son.

Specifically, using sellotape suggests the mother isn't succeeding at masking this emotional wound, since sellotape's clear, it doesn't function as a bandage.

So for me, it gives me the idea of someone trying desperately to mask and heal her pain, but ultimately, she's failing to do so.

Now, what might the reference to scarf and gloves symbolise? So think about the fact the mother doesn't have a scarf or gloves, what might that mean? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now you might have considered that scarves and gloves are meant to keep us warm and protected from the weather, and Weir might be suggesting the lack of these items metaphorically means the mother is unprepared to deal with the grief.

She feels vulnerable.

Since winter clothing protects us from the cold, it means we aren't vulnerable to the weather.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

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

Is it true or false? The references to everyday objects imply the mother's prepared to deal with grief.

Pause the video and make a selection now.

The correct answer is false.

They suggest she's unprepared to deal with grief.

Now, I'd like you to justify that answer.

So is it A, the lack of winter appropriate items implies the mother is unprepared to deal with grief, or B, the constant misplacement of everyday objects implies the mother's unprepared to deal with grief? Pause the video, make your selection now.

Now, the constant misplacement of everyday objects could suggest the mother's unprepared to deal with grief, but the poem doesn't suggest she's lost the items, merely, she doesn't have them.

So the correct answer is A, the lack of winter appropriate garments implies the mother's unprepared to deal with grief.

So very well done, if you got that right.

Fantastic work, everyone, and now the final task of the lesson.

Now throughout this lesson, we've talked about how both Fainlight's "Handbag and Weir's "Poppies" use everyday objects in order to create deeper meaning and suggest the emotional state of the subjects, and arguably both poems consider theme of grief and anxiety.

What I'd like you to do is think about the wider picture of choosing everyday objects to represent the mother's anxiety and grief.

Why do you think both poems have chosen to use everyday objects to create the sub-text? What might you say about mothers and grief? I'd like you to write a short answer.

Now, you might consider the references to items related to appearance, such as clothing and lipstick, and the implied inner turmoil of the mothers.

So pause the video and write a short answer now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I'm going to share the ideas of one of our Oak pupils, Izzy, and I'd like you to consider how well Izzy's ideas align with your ideas.

So Izzy said, "I think that poets "may have chosen everyday objects "to represent how grief and vulnerability affects people.

"It shows how it's constant "and infiltrates every aspect of your life.

"Despite this inner anxiety, "both poets imply the mothers "tried to put on a brave face to the world.

"Fainlight's reference to lipstick and powder "imply the mother was able to seem respectable in appearance, "while the lack of gloves and scarf "for the mother in "Poppies" implies she was less successful "at hiding her vulnerability.

"Both poems could speak to the societal pressure on mothers "to try and present a calm facade to the outer world." So pause the video, consider how well Izzy's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

It was great to see people thinking about the specific use of domestic everyday items and how that could be a reference to the fact mothers are stereotypically considered as existing within domestic spaces, how they could become trapped within them through their anxiety.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Sub-text, the implicit meaning rather than explicit meaning.

Understanding what symbols represent can help you understand the deeper meaning of the poem.

Personal possessions of loved ones can be used as a symbols that represent the poem and understanding the extended metaphors can help you understand the sub-text of a poem.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson, everyone, and hope to see you for another lesson soon, goodbye.