Course Content
In this Main Lesson, Class 10 receive an introduction to literary history, through the study of poetry.
Starting with oral poetic traditions and the epic of Gilgamesh, and ending with emerging resurgence of the spoken poetry in the form of the poetry slam, the pupils follow the development of poetry in English.
They work both through the study of the biographies of various poets, and, of course, made detailed study of the poems themselves!
The class explore how historical events shape both the language of a nation and the trends of its poetry. They also develop a good understanding of the ways that each literary era responded to the traditions that preceded it, and the way that poetry relates to other creative arts.
Beyond literary learning, the Main Lesson also asks the pupils to question the very study of poetry itself: pupils are encouraged to discuss the value of the arts, through the study of poetry as a means of protest, or as a vehicle of social change. By studying emerging poetic structures, events and forms, pupils are encouraged to question whether the reader of a poem can truly understand the intentions that a poet may have had.
The Class respond to the poems studied in a range of ways, including writing their own creative pieces, comparing and contrasting poems. They also build on their analytical skills, by writing small critical essays on some of the poems and poets studied.
This Main Lesson is designed both to balance and to support the Exam English curriculum, by introducing key poems which will be studied for the final exam, and also encompassing poets that would be an unlikely fit for an examination course!
Ms Kirsty Macdonald-Russell