New
New
Year 9

Writing a comparative response on perspectives of war and sacrifice in WW1 poems

I can write a detailed comparative response to answer the question: ‘Compare how the concept of dying at war is presented in Naidu’s ‘The Gift of India’ and one other poem.’

New
New
Year 9

Writing a comparative response on perspectives of war and sacrifice in WW1 poems

I can write a detailed comparative response to answer the question: ‘Compare how the concept of dying at war is presented in Naidu’s ‘The Gift of India’ and one other poem.’

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A comparative thesis statement introduces the two poems and your overall ideas in relation to the question.
  2. A comparative topic sentence states the focus of the paragraph and links it back to the thesis statement.
  3. Comparative conjunctions should be used to compare language, form and structure of poems

Common misconception

A comparative essay should deal with each poem separately in the body of the essay.

While one method of comparison might be to deal with each poem separately, you might also consider comparing the poems throughout the essay and instead splitting up the essay thematically or by methods.

Keywords

  • Comparative - A comparative is judging the similarities and differences between one thing and another.

  • Ruminate - To ruminate is to think deeply about something.

  • Topic sentence - A topic sentence supports the thesis statement while explaining the specific focus of the paragraph.

  • Romanticise - To romanticise something is to describe in an idealised or unrealistic fashion to make it seem more appealing than it really is.

  • Conjunctions - A conjunction is a word such as ‘while’ or ‘although’ that connects words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence.

You can either use the essay question as an extended writing piece in the lesson or set it as homework.
Teacher tip

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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
A comparative poetry question asks you to...
compare similarities only
compare differences only
Correct answer: compare similarities and differences
Q2.
Match the poems to the correct mood.
Correct Answer:'The Soldier',peaceful

peaceful

Correct Answer:'The Gift of India',despair

despair

Correct Answer:'In Flanders Fields',reassuring

reassuring

Q3.
The way the writer thinks or feels about the subject they are writing about is called the __________ of a poem.
Correct answer: attitude
form
speaker
language
Q4.
Match the poem with the speaker of the poem.
Correct Answer:'The Soldier',The soldier

The soldier

Correct Answer:'The Gift of India',India

India

Correct Answer:'In Flanders Fields',The dead soldiers

The dead soldiers

Q5.
Which of the following are important to think about when deciding which poems to compare?
Correct answer: What similarities and differences in techniques there are
How long the poems are
Correct answer: Do the poets agree or disagree on the central theme of the question?
Are the poets from two different time periods?
Q6.
It's useful to think about comparative essays as if the poets are having with each other.
an argument
Correct answer: a conversation
a disagreement

6 Questions

Q1.
What are conjunctions?
Correct answer: A word that connects words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence
Sophisticated subordinate clauses
Sophisticated main clauses
A word that signals the speaker's attitude in conversation
Q2.
A comparative essay begins with a thesis statement.
Correct Answer: comparative, Comparative
Q3.
What does it mean to romanticise something?
To describe something in an affectionate way
Correct answer: To describe something in an idealised or unrealistic fashion
To make something sound negative
Q4.
Which things should a comparative thesis statement do?
Utilise quotations
Correct answer: Name the poets and their poems
Lay out what will be in each paragraph
Correct answer: Gesture to the 'bigger picture'
Q5.
Which of the following is a comparative topic sentence?
Brooke uses metaphorical language. Naidu uses similes.
While Brooke and Naidu both utilise a regular rhyme scheme.
Correct answer: Both Brooke and Naidu use personification but with different effects.
Q6.
What does 'ruminate' mean?
To think briefly about something
To agree about something
To disagree about something
Correct answer: To think deeply about something

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