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Year 10 - English

Identifying how poets present relationships that change over time

'Love and Relationships'

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupis explore 12 of the 15 poems from the 'Love and Relationships' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. Pupils study the poems in four groups, and they pause after each group to compare how those poems present common themes.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to identify similarities and differences between 'Mother, any distance', 'Walking Away' and 'Follower'.

Key Notes

  • All three poets reflect on the fluid and changing dynamics of parental relationships.
  • All three poems explore the lasting effect ephemeral moments can have on a person.
  • Armitage and Heaney use the child's perspective whereas Day-Lewis uses the parent's perspective.
  • Armitage and Day-Lewis focus on a moment of separation whereas Heaney incorporates a reversal of roles.
  • 'Walking Away' and 'Follower' reminisce on an important moment from the speaker's past.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • perspective: a particular interpretation or outlook on situations and events
  • reversal: transition to an opposite direction or outcome
  • ephemeral: brief or transitory in nature; fleeting
  • stifle: suppress or suffocate; inhibit the development or expression of something
  • separation: act of isolating or setting apart distinct entities

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • In 'Mother, any distance', the 'child' figure yearns for independence while the parent isn't ready to let them go.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

All three poets reflect on the fluid and changing dynamics of parental relationships. All three poems explore the lasting effect ephemeral moments can have on a person.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'perspective'

a particular interpretation or outlook on situations and events.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: In 'Mother, any distance', the 'child' figure yearns for independence while the parent isn't ready to let them go. Correction: It is possible to interpret the poem in this way but it is also possible to infer that the speaker feels nervous about the prospect of their independence, worrying whether they will succeed or "fall".

More Lessons In This Unit

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