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Year 10 - English

Identifying how poets reflect desire in natural settings

'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 'Sonnet 29', 'Love's Philosophy' and 'Letters from Yorkshire'.

Key Notes

  • Shelley, Barrett-Browning and Dooley use natural imagery in their poems to depict an idealistic view of love and desire.
  • Shelley, Barrett-Browning and Dooley convey an element of distance in the speaker's relationship in their poems.
  • Both Shelley and Barrett-Browning convey sexual desire within romantic relationships through natural imagery.
  • Dooley is the only poet to depict an ambiguous and seemingly platonic relationship.
  • Both Shelley and Dooley indicate that their speaker's desire remains unfulfilled by the end of their poems.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • desire: intense longing or craving for something or someone
  • ambiguous: unclear or open to interpretation; having more than one possible meaning
  • yearning: deep longing, often associated with emotional desire
  • intellectual: characterised by rational thinking and knowledge
  • unfulfilled: desires, goals, or expectations not met; lacking satisfaction

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Shelley's poem presents a purely positive view of love.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Shelley, Barrett-Browning and Dooley use natural imagery in their poems to depict an idealistic view of love and desire. Shelley, Barrett-Browning and Dooley convey an element of distance in the speaker's relationship in their poems.

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

intense longing or craving for something or someone.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Shelley's poem presents a purely positive view of love. Correction: Interspersed among his speaker's overblown philosophical descriptions focused around the beauty of natural symmetry, it's possible to read an element of frustration that the speaker's feelings of desire are unrequited.

More Lessons In This Unit

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