New
New
Year 9

Understanding ideas of Empire and colonialism in Naidu’s ‘The Gift of India’

I can explain how Naidu presents the experience of dying at war within the context of Empire and colonialism.

New
New
Year 9

Understanding ideas of Empire and colonialism in Naidu’s ‘The Gift of India’

I can explain how Naidu presents the experience of dying at war within the context of Empire and colonialism.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Naidu personifies India as a mother to humanise the soldiers and emphaise that they are someone's son.
  2. Arguably, Naidu uses the poem as a request for Britain to remember the sacrifice of the soldiers.
  3. The poem is a tribute to the memory of more than one million soldiers from undivided India who had served in WW1.

Common misconception

That only soldiers from England fought for Britain in WW1.

Soldiers from all over the British Empire fought for Britain.

Keywords

  • Despair - Despair means the complete loss or absence of hope.

  • Grief - Grief means intense sorrow.

  • Colonial - Colonial refers to a period of political control by a more powerful country over another country.

  • Activism - Activism means the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.

  • Sacrifice - Sacrifice means to give up something valued for the sake of other considerations.

It may be helpful for the students to understand some of the history of the relationship between the British Empire and India to contextualise the lesson.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of Sarojini Naidu's 'The Gift of India' for this lesson. There is a copy in the additional materials.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
The opening sentence of a paragraph that sets out the writer's intentions and the purpose of the paragraph is called a sentence.
Correct Answer: topic
Q2.
Which of the following can you analyse as part of structural analysis?
similes
personification
Correct answer: enjambment
Correct answer: caesuras
Q3.
The of a poem refers to the type of poem it is.
Correct Answer: form
Q4.
Which of the following is a simile?
You are my sunshine
Correct answer: You shine like the sun
The sun whispered to the wind
Q5.
Which of the following is the definition of futile?
Correct answer: pointless
important
useful
fruitful
Q6.
Which of the following words means 'evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret'?
dehumanisation
pleasant
Correct answer: poignant
unaffecting

6 Questions

Q1.
Which Empire was India a part of during WW1?
Ottoman
Correct answer: British
Austro-Hungarian
Q2.
Roughly how many soldiers from India fought in WW1?
100,000
Correct answer: 1.5 million
10 million
10,000
Q3.
Which of the following did Sarojini Naidu want to achieve through her activism?
Correct answer: India's independence from Britain.
Increase Britain's control of India.
Increase Britain's investment in India.
Q4.
Which of the following are synonyms for the word grief?
Correct answer: heartbreak
Correct answer: melancholic
contentment
peace
Q5.
In Naidu's 'The Gift of India', India is personified as a .
Correct Answer: mother, mum, parent
Q6.
Which of the following means 'a period of political control by a more powerful country over another country'?
Correct answer: colonial
democracy
meritocracy

Additional material

Download additional material
We're sorry, but preview is not currently available. Download to see additional material.