Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils read and explore a range of text types in connection to classical myths and legends. They first look at poetry before doing some descriptive writing inspired by poetry and paintings. They then explore Chaucer and modern retellings of myths to inspire their narrative writing.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to write an ekphrastic poem inspired by Bruegel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' and William Carlos Williams's poem of the same name.

Key Notes

• William Carlos Williams's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' is an ekphrastic poem.
• An ekphrastic poem is a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
• Each of Williams's seven stanzas refers to something in Pieter Bruegel's painting 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'.
• Like Bruegel, Williams focuses on the natural world rather than Icarus himself.
• Each line of Williams's poem is enjambed - there is no punctuation at the end of any of the lines.

Vocabulary To Learn

• myth: stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why
• ekphrastic: a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it
• enjambment: when there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry
• trivial: unimportant
• pace: the speed of something

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Ekphrastic poems are poems inspired by someone or something.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad Study Guide
• Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus: how the myth inspired the painting Study Guide
• Comparative paragraphs: 'The Silence of the Girls' and 'The Song of Achilles' Study Guide
• Comparing poems: 'Brueghel's Winter' and 'The Hunters in the Snow' Study Guide
• Creating convincing characters using 'The Canterbury Tales' as stimulus Study Guide
• Descriptive writing using Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' as stimulus Study Guide
• Effective sensory language using 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus Study Guide
• Exploring enjambment in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' Study Guide
• Exploring the theme of power in Hanan Al-Shaykh's 'One Thousand and One Nights' Study Guide
• Exploring W.H. Auden's poem 'Musée des Beaux Arts' Study Guide
• Exploring Walter de la Mare's poem 'Brueghel's Winter' Study Guide
• Exploring William Carlos Williams's poem 'The Hunters in the Snow' Study Guide
• Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales': compelling characterisation Study Guide
• Hanan Al-Shaykh's 'The Fisherman and the Jinni': understanding the story Study Guide
• Improving and proofreading a piece of narrative writing Study Guide
• Madeline Miller's 'The Song of Achilles': understanding the extract Study Guide
• Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea': understanding the extract Study Guide
• Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract Study Guide
• Planning a narrative using the five part narrative structure Study Guide
• Reviewing and refining descriptive writing: alliteration, plosives and sibilance Study Guide
• Symbolism in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' Study Guide
• The five part narrative structure Study Guide
• Third person omniscient writing: 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus Study Guide
• Use of flashback in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' Study Guide
• Writing a full descriptive piece: 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus Study Guide
• Writing a full narrative piece using the five part narrative structure Study Guide
• Writing inspired by 'Skin of the Sea': varying sentence types to create rhythm Study Guide