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Year 8 - English

Exploring William Carlos Williams's poem 'The Hunters in the Snow'

Myths, legends and stories that inspire

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 'The Hunters in the Snow' and William Carlos Williams's poem of the same name.

Key Notes

  • William Carlos Williams's 'The Hunters in the Snow' 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 'The Hunters in the Snow'.
  • Bruegel's 'The Hunters in the Snow' depicts a rural scene in winter.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • depict: to portray in a picture or to describe in writing.
  • ekphrastic: a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
  • dejected: depressed, downcast.
  • rural: the countryside.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Williams didn't use any methods in his poem because he is just describing a painting.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

William Carlos Williams's 'The Hunters in the Snow' is an ekphrastic poem. An ekphrastic poem is a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.

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

to portray in a picture or to describe in writing.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Williams didn't use any methods in his poem because he is just describing a painting. Correction: Every word in a poem is carefully selected. Williams could have made any number of choices about what he depicted in terms of focus, structure, tone and language. We can explore these methods, and add layers of meaning to the painting.

More Lessons In This Unit

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