Understanding the poem 'Thirteen'
I can explain how Femi presents concepts of power imbalance.
Understanding the poem 'Thirteen'
I can explain how Femi presents concepts of power imbalance.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The title 'Thirteen' has connotations of an unlucky, transitional period.
- The poem implies the officers now perceive the boy as threatening because he has transitioned from child to adolescent.
- There is a power imbalance between the officers and the boy.
- The boy feels physically intimidated and scared by the officers,
- The poem is based on Femi’s real-life experience of being stopped by police and falsely accused when he was thirteen.
Common misconception
Poems are purely works of imagination.
While poems draw on the poet's imagination, many poems are drawn from real-life experiences which is why there is such an emotional resonance in them.
Keywords
Power imbalance - a situation of inequality between parties that leaves one side relatively unable to defend its own interests
Transition - the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another
Visceral - felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body
Liminal - occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold
Intimidation - the action of frightening or threatening someone
Equipment
You will need a copy of the AQA Worlds and Lives anthology for GCSE.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
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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