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Year 8

Exploring Walter de la Mare's poem 'Brueghel's Winter'

I can write a descriptive paragraph inspired by Bruegel's painting 'The Hunters in the Snow' and Walter de la Mare's poem 'Breughel’s Winter'.

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Year 8

Exploring Walter de la Mare's poem 'Brueghel's Winter'

I can write a descriptive paragraph inspired by Bruegel's painting 'The Hunters in the Snow' and Walter de la Mare's poem 'Breughel’s Winter'.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Walter de la Mare's 'Brueghel’s Winter' is an ekphrastic poem.
  2. An ekphrastic poem is a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
  3. You can look at a poem as a whole and consider how the descriptions work together to create a particular tone or mood.
  4. You can look at the descriptions individually and consider the effect they have.
  5. You can consider the tone you wish to create in your own writing, and then select words and phrases to create this tone.

Keywords

  • Dominant - most powerful, overbearing, influential

  • Ekphrastic - a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it

  • Tone - the attitude and emotion of your voice - written or verbal

  • Dejected - depressed, downcast

  • Ominous - something suggesting something bad is about to happen

Common misconception

The use of adjectives is a simple technique, so there isn't much point analysing a writer's use of them, or planning for them in your own writing.

Adjectives are a wonderful way to express tone, nuanced meaning and atmosphere. As such, they can be rich for analysis, and have a powerful effect on your own descriptive writing.

Consider how long your pupils will need to write their own descriptive paragraphs and work the timings for the rest of the lesson backwards from there.
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Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of Walter de la Mare's 'Brueghel's Winter' which can be found in the additional materials.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In the unit 'Myths, Legends and stories', we look at two paintings by Pieter Bruegel. What are their names?
'Musée des Beaux Arts'
'Winter'
Correct answer: 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'
Correct answer: 'The Hunters in the Snow'
'The Old Masters'
Q2.
In the unit 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'The Hunters in the Snow' by Pieter Bruegel. What is in the background of this painting?
skaters
hunters
a bush
Correct answer: mountains
Correct answer: the sky
Q3.
In the unit 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'The Hunters in the Snow' by Pieter Bruegel. What is in the foreground of this painting?
skaters
Correct answer: hunters
Correct answer: a bush
mountains
the sky
Q4.
In the unit 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'The Hunters in the Snow' by Pieter Bruegel. What is true of this painting?
It is inspired by a Greek myth.
It inspired Auden to write 'Musée des Beaux Arts'.
Correct answer: It is part of a series of five paintings depicting different times of the year.
It is an example of portraiture of different figures.
Correct answer: It is an example of a landscape painting.
Q5.
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'The Hunters in the Snow'. What word most accurately describes how Bruegel depicts the hunters?
happy
ekphrastic
Correct answer: dejected
triumphant
bloodthirsty
Q6.
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', William Carlos Williams's poem inspired by 'The Hunters in the Snow' by Bruegel. What word does he use to describe the hunters?
dejected
ekphrastic
Correct answer: sturdy
ominous
icy

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Starting with the first, put the selected artworks from 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire' in chronological order.
1 - Pieter Bruegel’s painting 'The Hunters in the Snow'
2 - Walter de la Mare’s poem 'Breughel’s Winter'
3 - Williams Carlos Williams's poem 'The Hunters in the Snow'
Q2.
Match each artist, all important to 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', to something we know about them.
Correct Answer:Pieter Bruegel ,16th century landscape painter

16th century landscape painter

Correct Answer:Walter de la Mare,English 20th century poet; wrote 'Breughel’s Winter'

English 20th century poet; wrote 'Breughel’s Winter'

Correct Answer:Williams Carlos Williams ,American poet; wrote two poems inspired by Bruegel

American poet; wrote two poems inspired by Bruegel

Correct Answer:W.H. Auden ,British-American 20th century poet; wrote 'Musée des Beaux Arts'

British-American 20th century poet; wrote 'Musée des Beaux Arts'

Q3.
Match these words, all important to 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire', to their meaning.
Correct Answer:dejected,downcast, depressed

downcast, depressed

Correct Answer:ominous,suggesting something bad is going to happen

suggesting something bad is going to happen

Correct Answer:lean,thin

thin

Correct Answer:mute,silent

silent

Correct Answer:sinister,menacing, scary

menacing, scary

Q4.
Both de la Mare and Williams wrote poems inspired by Bruegel's 'The Hunters in the Snow' ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire'). What are some of their differences?
Correct answer: de la Mare uses punctuation; Williams does not
de la Mare only writes about the hunters; Williams is inspired by everything
de la Mare calls the hunters "sturdy"; Williams calls them "dejected"
de la Mare uses enjambment throughout; Williams uses it occasionally
Q5.
These adjectives are all taken from Walter de la Mare’s poem 'Bruegel’s Winter' ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire'). Match each to the noun it describes.
Correct Answer:jagged,mountains

mountains

Correct Answer:wild,scene

scene

Correct Answer:freezing,quiet

quiet

Correct Answer:ink-black,shapes

shapes

Correct Answer:mute,huntsmen

huntsmen

Q6.
Walter de la Mare's poem 'Bruegel’s Winter' ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire') begins: "Jagg'd mountain peaks and skies ".
Correct Answer: ice-green, ice green

Additional material

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