Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupis explore 12 of the 15 poems from the 'World and Lives' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. Pupils study the poems in a thematically linked order so they can complete comparative lessons at key points in the unit.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to understand how Berry presents ideas of migration, connection, difference, and journeys within 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955'.

Key Notes

• The image of the train in the title could symbolise ideas of journeys, growth, and progress.
• The specific use of a Quaker to make an ignorant mistake could be Berry's way of saying we all make mistakes.
• Potentially, the title could symbolise how we are all ultimately journeying around the same place: Earth.
• Berry's work often explores the experiences of Caribbean migrants.

Vocabulary To Learn

• migrant: a person who moves from one place to another, predominantly to find work or better living conditions
• ignorance: lack of knowledge or information
• Quaker: a member of the Religious Society of Friends and devoted to peaceful principles
• symbolism: the use of a symbol, which can be a word or an image, to communicate a distinct idea
• inference: a guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• That a journey is always a physical undertaking.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Analysing Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955' Study Guide
• Analysing how Brontë presents nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee' Study Guide
• Analysing how Shelley presents ideas of suffering in 'England in 1819' Study Guide
• Analysing ideas of identity and cultural repatriation in khan's 'pot' Study Guide
• Analysing ideas of identity and heritage in Mundair's 'Name Journeys' Study Guide
• Analysing ideas of marginalisation in Parker's 'The Jewellery Maker' Study Guide
• Analysing ideas of prejudice and perception in Femi's 'Thirteen' Study Guide
• Analysing ideas of time, identity and place in Seneviratne's 'A Wider View' Study Guide
• Analysing ideas of voice and identity in Berry's 'Homing' Study Guide
• Analysing mankind and nature in Wordsworth's 'Lines Written in Early Spring' Study Guide
• Analysing oppression and pessimism in Eliot's 'In a London Drawingroom' Study Guide
• Analysing the concepts of strength and resistance in Dharker's 'A Century Later' Study Guide
• Comparing ideas of identity in 'pot', 'The Jewellery Maker' and 'Homing' Study Guide
• Comparing ideas of place in 'In a London Drawingroom' and 'A Wider View' Study Guide
• Comparing ideas of temporality in 'England in 1819' and 'A Century Later' Study Guide
• Comparing liminality, physicality and voice in AQA Worlds and Lives poetry Study Guide
• Comparing Wordsworth and Brontë's views on nature Study Guide
• Exploring connections and ideas across the AQA Worlds and Lives anthology Study Guide
• Exploring ideas of voice and identity in Berry's 'Homing' Study Guide
• Planning a written response on the AQA Worlds and Lives anthology Study Guide
• Understanding connections between identity and artefacts in khan's 'pot' Study Guide
• Understanding heritage and marginalisation in Parker's 'The Jewellery Maker' Study Guide
• Understanding how Brontë presents nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee' Study Guide
• Understanding how Eliot presents London in 'In a London Drawingroom' Study Guide
• Understanding how Shelley critiques powerful institutions in 'England in 1819' Study Guide
• Understanding ideas of identity and heritage in Mundair's 'Name Journeys' Study Guide
• Understanding ideas of power imbalance in Femi's 'Thirteen' Study Guide
• Understanding ideas of time, identity and place in Seneviratne's 'A Wider View' Study Guide
• Understanding ideas of youth and education in Dharker's 'A Century Later' Study Guide
• Understanding mankind and nature in Wordsworth's 'Lines Written in Early Spring' Study Guide
• Writing a comparative response on the AQA Worlds and Lives anthology Study Guide