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Year 10
AQA

Analysing how poets convey heartbreak in natural settings

I can plan an analytical response, comparing 'When We Two Parted' with either 'Winter Swans' or 'Neutral Tones'.

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Year 10
AQA

Analysing how poets convey heartbreak in natural settings

I can plan an analytical response, comparing 'When We Two Parted' with either 'Winter Swans' or 'Neutral Tones'.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Correlative conjunctions can be used to show the relationship between two ideas.
  2. Textual references must be precise, accurate and judiciously chosen.
  3. Responses should be led by the key ideas in both poems, supported by an analysis of the writers’ use of methods.

Keywords

  • Judiciously - exercising good judgement in a thoughtful and careful manner

  • Thesis - a central idea or argument in a written work

  • Correlative - two things that are mutually related or dependent on each other

  • Autobiographical - relating to, or based on one's own life experiences

  • Perceptions - individuals interpret their surroundings and others around them

Common misconception

Analytical paragraphs should be led by identification of writer's methods.

An effective analytical response avoids 'feature-spotting'. Paragraphs should be led with a comparison of key ideas in each poem, followed by a detailed analysis of how the writers use methods to convey these ideas.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Analysing how poets convey heartbreak in natural settings, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

For Task C, print out an empty planning grid on A3 to enable students enough space to plan their response in detail.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

You will need access to the poems 'Winter Swans' (Sheers), 'Neutral Tones' (Hardy) and 'When We Two Parted' (Byron). They can be found in the AQA Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
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Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

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.
When comparing two or more poems, you should focus on...
only the similarities between them
only the differences between them
Correct answer: the similarities and differences between them
either the similarities or differences between them
Q2.
What does a conjunction do?
builds tension by to enabling an author to space out ideas
shows the progression/order of paragraphs
Correct answer: connects words, phrases, or clauses, showing relationships between ideas
indicates that an idea is an opinion and not a concrete fact
makes a text more relatable and easy to understand
Q3.
Put these poems in chronological order, according to when they were published.
1 - 'When We Two Parted'
2 - 'Neutral Tones'
3 - 'Winter Swans'
Q4.
Here are the building blocks of all analytical writing. Which of them is not required in every single paragraph?
inferences about the text
supporting evidence
Correct answer: contextual information
justification of ideas
Q5.
'Winter Swans', 'Neutral Tones' and 'When We Two Parted' all use a cyclical structure.
true
false - only 'Winter Swans' and 'When We Two Parted' use a cyclical structure
false - only 'Winter Swans' and 'Neutral Tones' use a cyclical structure
Correct answer: false - only 'Neutral Tones' and 'When We Two Parted' use a cyclical structure
Q6.
When might you use [ ] in your analytical writing?
Correct answer: to show you modified the quote slightly to fit the context of your sentence
to show that you've included a quotation from one or more poem
to begin each new paragraph
to add extra detail to your justification
to show two contrasting ideas

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A topic sentence is...
where you list all the key quotations you'll be using in your response
where you summarise your main ideas at the end of your paragraph
where you justify your ideas by exploring how the writer uses language
Correct answer: where you introduce how your paragraph will respond to the question focus
Q2.
When writing analytical paragraphs, you should begin by comparing...
key quotations from both poems
Correct answer: key ideas from both poems
how the writers use methods in both poems
Q3.
When selecting supporting evidence it should be __________, __________ and judiciously chosen.
Correct answer: accurate
verbose
vague
Correct answer: precise
Q4.
Which of these conjunctions are comparative?
because
if
Correct answer: however
since
Correct answer: yet
Q5.
In both 'Neutral Tones' and 'When We Two Parted', the poets feel a sense of ...
shame
joy
anger
Correct answer: betrayal
Q6.
Choose one quotation from each poet to support this topic sentence: 'Both poems associate love with heartbreak and loss. In both, the speakers reflect on the moment of separation'.
Correct answer: 'When We Two Parted': “Half broken-hearted”
'When We Two Parted': “I rue thee”
Correct answer: 'Neutral Tones': “like an ominous bird a-wing”
'Neutral Tones': “eyes that rove”

Additional material

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