Year 9 - English
Writing a comparative response on perspectives of war and sacrifice in WW1 poems
Comparing poetry from the First World War
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils explore how poets responded to the horrors of the First World War. They first explore Brooke's 'The Soldier', before looking at McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' and Naidu's 'The Gift of India'. They finally write a comparative response on perspectives of war and sacrifice.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to write a detailed comparative response to answer the question: 'Compare how the concept of dying at war is presented in Naidu's 'The Gift of India' and one other poem.'.
Key Notes
- A comparative thesis statement introduces the two poems and your overall ideas in relation to the question.
- A comparative topic sentence states the focus of the paragraph and links it back to the thesis statement.
- Comparative conjunctions should be used to compare language, form and structure of poems
Vocabulary To Learn
- Comparative: A comparative is judging the similarities and differences between one thing and another.
- Ruminate: To ruminate is to think deeply about something.
- Topic sentence: A topic sentence supports the thesis statement while explaining the specific focus of the paragraph.
- Romanticise: To romanticise something is to describe in an idealised or unrealistic fashion to make it seem more appealing than it really is.
- Conjunctions: A conjunction is a word such as 'while' or 'although' that connects words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- A comparative essay should deal with each poem separately in the body of the essay.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
A comparative thesis statement introduces the two poems and your overall ideas in relation to the question. A comparative topic sentence states the focus of the paragraph and links it back to the thesis statement.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Comparative'
A comparative is judging the similarities and differences between one thing and another.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: A comparative essay should deal with each poem separately in the body of the essay. Correction: While one method of comparison might be to deal with each poem separately, you might also consider comparing the poems throughout the essay and instead splitting up the essay thematically or by methods.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Analysing John McCrae's call to arms in 'In Flanders Fields' Study Guide
- Analysing the humanity and fragility of soldiers in Naidu's 'The Gift of India' Study Guide
- Analysing the presentation of patriotism in Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier' Study Guide
- Comparing views in 'The Soldier', 'In Flanders Fields' and 'The Gift of India' Study Guide
- Considering the relationship between the poetry of WW1 and the context Study Guide
- Understanding ideas of Empire and colonialism in Naidu's 'The Gift of India' Study Guide
- Understanding patriotism in Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier' Study Guide
- Understanding the concept of remembrance in John McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' Study Guide
- Writing about John McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' as a call to arms Study Guide
- Writing about patriotism in Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier' Study Guide
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