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‘In Romney Marsh’ by John Davidson, ‘Adlestrop’ by Edward Thomas and ‘Nothing’s Changed’ by Tatamkhulu

Afrika

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Learning episode 1

Learning goalsTo demonstrate an excellent understanding of the context behind the poem ‘In Romney Marsh’

I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?AO3: ContextIdentify three facts about the poet, John Davidson (L)

Explain what a marsh is and where Romney Marsh is located (L/M)Synthesise how Davidson presents a memorable and enjoyable experience. (M)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. What is sensory language?

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2. What is a simile?

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3. What is a metaphor?

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4. What is personification?

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Challenge: A Christmas CarolIdentify where the above techniques are used in ‘A Christmas Carol.’

Sensory language

Simile Metaphor Personification

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Do it now (2)The poetry we are going to be studying over the next few weeks is all linked by the theme of ‘Time and Place’. The first three poems we are going to explore are linked by the theme of ‘place’. Before we begin exploring our first poem, have a think about what place means to you. Below are three of my favourite places

Key questions: where is your favourite place? Have you travelled somewhere you love? Do you have a particular place near you homes that makes you happy?

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Challenge: what sights, smells, sounds do you associate with this place? Could you identify three adjectives to describe your overall feelings towards this place?

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New Knowledge: what do we know about the poet?The first poem in our collection is entitled ‘In Romney Marsh.’ This poem was written by John Davidson who was a Scottish poet and novelist during the mid-19 th century and early 20th century. Davidson had a long and distinguished career but committed suicide in 1909 by drowning himself off Penzance, Cornwall. He had been diagnosed with depression and cancer and was also beset by financial difficulties.

The poem ‘In Romney Marsh’ is about Davidson’s most memorable and enjoyable experiences of a specific place.

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Romney Marsh is an inhospitable and sparsely populated unspoilt wetland area situated in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the southeast of England. It covers about 100 square miles (260km) and it is very flat.

Dymchurch has had a sea wall since Roman times, with the original development being constructed to protect the harbour at Port Lympne., and then continuing throughout the centuries to help protect the Marsh itself.

New Knowledge: the poem ‘In Romney Marsh’Let’s now read the poem written by John Davidson entitled ‘In Romney Marsh.’

In Romney Marsh1 As I went down to Dymchurch Wall,2 I heard the South sing o’er the land3 I saw, the yellow sunlight fall4 On knolls where Norman churches stand.

5 And ringing shrilly, taut and lithe,6 Within the wind a core of sound,7 The wire from Romney town to Hythe8 Along its airy journey wound.

9 A veil of purple vapour flowed10 And trailed its fringe along the Straits;11 The upper air like sapphire glowed:12 And roses filled Heaven’s central gates.

13 Masts in the offing wagged their tops;14 The swinging waves pealed on the shore;15 The saffron beach, all diamond drops16 And beads of surge, prolonged the roar.

17 As I came up from Dymchurch Wall,18 I saw above the Downs’ low crest19 The crimson brands of sunset fall,20 Flicker and fade from out the West.

21 Night sank: like flakes of silver fire22 The stars in one great shower came down;23 Shrill blew the wind; and shrill the wire24 Rang out from Hythe to Romney town.

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25 The darkly shining salt sea drops26 Streamed as the waves clashed on the shore;27 The beach, with all its organ stops28 Pealing again, prolonged the roar.

Glossary:knolls – a small round hill

the wire – the telephone wire carrying messages from Romney to Hythe,

the Straits – the Straits of Dover. The English Channel.

the offing – the area between the shore and the horizon.

brands – lit pieces of wood used as torches

Pen to paper: what evidence is there to suggest that Davidson wrote about an enjoyable and memorable experience?

The poem ‘In Romney Marsh’ is about Davidson’s most memorable and enjoyable experiences of a specific place. How do we get a sense that this was a memorable and enjoyable experience?

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ReflectionRight let’s see how much you have learnt this lesson! Get your ABCD cards ready!

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Learning episode 2

Learning goalsTo be able to comment effectively on the poets’ use of language and its effect on the reader

using relevant subject terminology accurately and appropriately to develop my ideas.I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO2: writer’s methods to convey meaning

Understand key literary techniques (L)Identify key literary techniques within the poem ‘In Romney Marsh’ and explain what they are being used to describe (M)Comment on the effect of the inclusion of key literary techniques (M/E)Summarise effectively how the writers’ use of language has helped to convey his feelings about place. (E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. What is a stanza?

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2. What is narrative perspective?

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3. What do we mean by the term ‘rhyme’?

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4. The poem ‘In Romney Marsh’ uses a regular rhyme, what do you think this might mean?

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5. What is repetition?

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Challenge: A Christmas Carol and structureWhilst the above techniques are not used in A Christmas Carol, one structural technique that is used is that of contrasts or differences. List as many contrasts that you can think of from A Christmas Carol in the space on the next page.

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Challenge question: why does Dickens use contrasts throughout the novella?

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New KnowledgeJohn Davidson wrote ‘In Romney Marsh’ as a recollection of an enjoyable memory. The use of the preposition ‘in’ says it all in that John Davidson when writing about the marshland really finds himself immersed in the environment. In this learning episode, we want to explore how Davidson uses language to convey his joy whilst being ‘In Romney Marsh’.

The literary techniques you are going to work with today are

Simile – an explicit comparison between two different things, actions or feelings using ‘as’ or ‘like’

Metaphor – where one thing is referred to by a word normally associated with another thing, so as to suggest some common quality shared by both things. This similarity is directly stated.

Personification – where human qualities are given to inanimate objects.

Onomatopoeia – the use of words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to.

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Contras

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Alliteration – the repetition of the same sounds in any sequence of closely adjacent words.

Get those ABCD cards out and let’s see how confident you are with the above literary terms.

Pen to paper: how has Davidson used literary techniques to convey his enjoyment whilst ‘In Romney Marsh’?

In this learning episode, we are going to explore how Davidson has used literary techniques to convey his feelings about ‘Romney Marsh.’ The table below lists various literary techniques that the poet has used. Find at least one example of each feature. Next write a comment that explains what the technique is describing and how this technique might have been used to convey the poet’s enjoyment of Romney Marsh.

Literary feature

Example (L)

What has this technique been used to describe? (M)

How does the use of this technique help to convey the poet’s enjoyable experience of Romney March

simile

personification

metaphor

alliteration

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onomatopoeia

Pen to paper: how has Davidson used literary techniques to convey his enjoyment whilst ‘In Romney Marsh’?

Judgement:How does Davidson feel whilst at Romney Marsh?Evidence:What evidence can you find in the poem to back your judgement up?Subject terminology:What literary technique has been used in your evidence?Understanding:What do you learn about the place from this? What can you infer?

Significance:How does this connect to the poet’s feelings? What might a reader think / feel as a result?

Response to feedback

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ReflectionWhich line or literary technique do you think helps to convey the poet’s enjoyment ‘In Romney Marsh’ the most and why?

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Learning episode 3

Learning goalsTo analyse the form and structure of ‘In Romney Marsh’, sustaining my comments on their effect

using relevant subject terminology accurately and appropriately to develop my ideas.I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO2: writer’s methods to convey meaning

Understand key structural techniques (L)Identify key structural techniques within the poem ‘In Romney Marsh’ (L)Comment on the effect of the inclusion of key structural techniques (M/E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. Where was John Davidson from?

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2. Why did John Davidson commit suicide?

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3. What is a marsh?

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4. Where is Romney Marsh?

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5. Why did John Davidson write this poem?

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Challenge: A Christmas Carol1. Where is ‘A Christmas Carol’ set?

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2. Why do you think Dickens chose to set ‘A Christmas Carol’ in London?

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New KnowledgeThe poem ‘In Romney Marsh’ is an autobiographical poem in that Davidson describes his journey. It is written using the first person ‘I’. For example: ‘As I went down to Dymchurch Wall.

The poem is written in four-line stanzas, otherwise known as quatrains.

The poem also uses a regular rhyme scheme - in which the first and the third line rhyme and the second and the fourth.

Finally, the poem uses repetition. A number of words across the poem are repeated.

Challenge: go back and label your copy of the poem with these structural techniques / features.

Pen to paper:Now let’s consider some of these structural techniques further.

An autobiographical journey

Using the map above, identify all the places the poet mentions and try to chart his journey around the marshes.

Key questions: what do the references to play and the journey around the marshes suggest about the poet’s feelings? What effect do these references to place have on the reader?

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A regular rhyme-schemeLook at the rhyming words below. Do you notice any patterns? Can you identify any groups of words?

Wall - fall land - stand lithe – Hythe sound – woundflowed - glowed Straits - gates tops – drops shore – roar

Wall - fall crest - West fire – wire down - towndrops - stops shore - roar

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Analysts might often suggest that a regular rhyme-scheme indicates control and an irregular rhyme scheme indicates a sense of freedom. In what ways could the idea of control be linked to what is happening in the poem?

RepetitionRe-read the poem and list below any words in the poem that are repeated.

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Key question: which words are repeated? Why do you think they are repeated?

Are any particular effects achieved?

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Challenge question: which structural technique do you think most effectively helps to present the poet’s journey around the marshes? Why?

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ReflectionLet’s see how much you can remember about the key terms we have learnt over the past two learning episodes.

simile metaphor personification alliterationonomatopoeia adjective stanza quatrainFirst person autobiographical Regular rhyme

schemerepetition

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Learning episode 4

Learning goalsTo demonstrate an excellent understanding of the context behind the poem ‘Adlestrop’

I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO3: context – What influences a writer to

write a text?

Identify three facts about the poet, Edward Thomas (L)Summarise information from an article to suggest reasons for the writing of the poem ‘Adlestrop’ (M)Make connections between the article and what is learnt about Edward Thomas and details in the text (E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. Where is ‘Romney’ and what is a ‘marsh’?

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2. Why did John Davidson write ‘In Romney Marsh’?

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3. Identify how Davidson has used language to convey his enjoyment at being ‘In Romney Marsh’.

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4. Which structural device do you think helps to convey this moment most effectively?

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ChallengeIn the poem ‘In Romney Marsh’, Davidson recollects an enjoyable memory. How is Scrooge shown throughout the novella that Christmas is an enjoyable time of year?

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New Knowledge: what do we know about the poet?Edward Thomas (1878-1917) was born in London but from an early age developed a love of nature. Although he suffered from depression, he became a prolific journalist, reviewer and writer on nature. He is commonly considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences, and his career in poetry only came after he had already been a successful writer and literary critique.

When the First World War broke out, he agonised about enlisting, certain that he would meet his death, but finally joined the army in 1915. He was killed in action in 1917.

Adlestrop: a lost station, but words that still beguile100 years on, William Langley visits Adlestrop, scene of the 'unwonted’ stop that inspired Edward Thomas's much-loved poem

The old station sign and bench with the Edward Thomas poem etched onto a plaque  Photo: Christopher Jones for The Telegraph

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By William Langley

7:00AM BST 11 May 2014

A hundred years ago, a steam train carrying an unknown poet made an unscheduled stop at a Gloucestershire hamlet called Adlestrop. Absolutely nothing else happened.

Edward Thomas, aged 36 and bereft of inspiration, dutifully jotted the details of this fleeting non-event into his notebook, and from them fashioned a poem that has become not only one of the nation’s favourites, but also an authentic literary mystery.

Adlestrop, just 16 lines long, composed of simple words and observations, has been compared to the works of Elgar and Henry V’s speech before the battle of Agincourt. Its appeal is fiercely debated, but readers appear to find in it something incorporeally English, poignant and gripping.

Thomas never saw his verse in print. Three years after the fateful train journey, he was killed, serving as a second lieutenant with the British Army in France. Next month, however, his work will be commemorated in the place he made famous.

At first glance, Adlestrop (population 80), set in the velvety folds of the north Cotswolds, looks to have barely changed since 1914. There is no pub, no modern housing and the heady whiff of wood smoke and meadow blossom hangs over the only street – defiantly named Main Street. Today, though, its picture-pretty thatched cottages fetch colossal prices – “£600,000 to a million-plus” – according to a local estate agent. Just up the lane is Lady Angela Bamford’s starry rustic gastro-palace, Daylesford Organic, and scattered in the hills around are the country houses of the infamous Chipping Norton Set.

The village, says postmaster and lifelong resident Ralph Price, 68, has no need – or wish – to trade on Thomas’s name, but hopes to use next month’s anniversary to set right some of the misunderstandings surrounding the poem and the myth it has created. “We get lots of visitors who want to see the place as Thomas saw it,” says Ralph, “but, of course, he never did see it. And then they want to see the station, but that’s not there any more.”

Adlestrop station, a lost gem of Edwardian railway architecture, was closed in 1966, under the Beeching programme of cuts that wiped out much of Britain’s rural rail infrastructure. The trains still speed by on the London Paddington to Hereford route, but the spot where Thomas’s train drew up “unwontedly” is now derelict land, closed to the public and filled with scrap vehicles.

Mr Price’s father, Cyril, and grandfather, Albert, both worked at the station, which lies about a mile west of the hamlet. He still finds it hard to understand – or forgive – the way the closure was handled.

“They sent a work crew out who burnt down the buildings, the old goods shed, anything they couldn’t burn they demolished. Later they came and flattened the platforms, too, so you’d never know there ever was a station there. Some things were taken away and sent to Swindon. The village wasn’t consulted about anything. We asked if we could at least have the station signs, and British Rail said we could have one, but then they sent it to Honeybourne, down the line, and said if we wanted it we’d have to get it from there. It was as if they didn’t want there to be any memory of the place.”

One elderly, brown-and-cream Adlestrop sign now adorns the village bus shelter. The other is believed to have been sent to a museum near Oxford, where it was later destroyed.

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“The station,” recalls Ralph, “was a big thing for the village. It was our playground when we were children. We’d help tend the flower beds, and herd the livestock when it came off the trains. The railwaymen were very proper back then. Always very smart and they wore flowers in their lapels, but they let you do things kids could never do now. We used to ride on the footplate down to Moreton-in-Marsh, the nearest town.”

At the time of his Adlestrop stop, Thomas, the son of a civil servant, was in an advanced state of self-torment. A modest career as a literary critic and journalist had served only to highlight what he saw as his own inadequacies as a writer. His marriage to the adoring Helen Noble was in trouble, undermined by his bouts of depression and sense of uselessness. To a friend’s suggestion that he should try his hand at poetry, Thomas gloomily replied: “I couldn’t write a poem to save my life.”

Yet poetry did save his life – if only temporarily – for Thomas was close to suicide when, in 1913, he met the American poet Robert Frost, who persuaded him to give verse a try. Frost, a fellow depressive, spotted the hidden talent within the Englishman. “It took me to tell him what his problem was,” Frost wrote later. “He was suffering from a life of insubordination to his inferiors.”

Thomas was on his way from London to Frost’s home near Ledbury on June 24 1914 when the train pulled up at Adlestrop. In his notebook he scribbled “…thro the willows cd be heard a chain of blackbird songs at 12.45, and one thrush and no man seen, only a hiss of engine letting off steam.” The poem that resulted was a golden key, miraculously unlocking all the creative energies that Thomas had unconsciously suppressed, and a stream of dazzling work poured out of him.

“The poem has a sense of time and place that affects people very strongly,” says Anne Harvey, a critic and editor of the anthology Adlestrop Revisted. “I think it touches on a particularly English sensibility, the idea of being a traveller in an unfamiliar place, and, of course, it carries the overtones of the war coming, and that soon this peacefulness would be gone.”

In July 1915, Thomas enlisted to fight in the Great War. There was no requirement for him to join up. He was 37, married with three children, and could easily have stayed comfortably in his new West Country home fulfilling his new passion for poetry. In all likelihood he felt that the England he had so perfectly captured in Adlestrop was in danger, and he had to do his bit to defend it. On April, 9, 1917, the first day of the Battle of Arras, he was killed.

The organisers of next month’s commemorative day had hoped to hire a steam engine of suitable vintage to draw up beside the old station site, but according to Mr Price, the cost would have been £40,000, and even a place as wealthy as Adlestrop can’t stretch to that. Instead Great Western is loaning a diesel, from which a celebrity – as yet unnamed – will read the poem.

Thomas, as Ralph says, never set foot in Adlestrop. The train stop was brief. “No one left and no one came.” Which, by and large, is how the village still prefers it.

Pen to paper: why did Thomas write the poem ‘Adlestrop’?Using the article above, summarise why you think Thomas wrote the poem ‘Adlestrop.’

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New knowledge: the poem ‘Adlestrop’Let’s now read the poem written by Edward Thomas entitled ‘Adlestrop.’

Adlestrop1 Yes. I remember Adlestrop -2 The name, because one afternoon3 Of heat the express-train drew up there4 Unwontedly. It was late June.

5 The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.6 No one left and no one came7 On the bare platform. What I saw8 Was Adlestrop – only the name

9 And willows, willow-herb, and grass,10 And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,11 No whit less still and lonely fair12 Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

13 And for that minute a blackbird sang14 Close by, and round him, mistier,15 Farther and farther, all the birds16 Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Glossary:Unwontedly – not accustomed to

Whit – in the same way, just as

Pen to paper: how does what we know about Edward Thomas help to enrich our understanding of the poem?

The article informs its readers about some of the potential motivations for writing the poem. Look at each of the statements taken from the article below. What evidence can you find from the text to support these statements?

Statement from the article Evidence in the textThomas dutifully jotted the details of this fleeting non-event into his notebook – a series of observations.

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Thomas was suffering from bouts of depression and a sense of uselessness.

The poem touches upon English sensibility – the idea of being a traveller in an unfamiliar place.

It carries the overtones of the war coming, and that soon this peacefulness would be gone.

ReflectionSome literary critics have seen this poem not so much as an idealised portrait of a tranquil natural setting, but as a metaphor for the inexorable march of technology propelling humans away from such rural idylls towards hot, ugly cities.

This is because the train, a symbol of modernity and movement, stops and allows Thomas, too, to stop, pause contemplate, observe and admire the surroundings. The increasingly busy and fast-moving world suddenly slows right down to allow a brief moment – ‘that minute’ – to enjoy nature and stillness, peace and beauty. This is, suddenly, a world of stillness and slowness again, not the bustling modern world: ‘No one left and no one came / On the bare platform.’

How far do you agree with the above?

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Learning episode 5

Learning goalsTo be able to comment effectively on the poets’ use of language and its effect on the reader

using relevant subject terminology accurately and appropriately to develop my ideas.I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO2: writer’s use of method to convey meaning

Understand key literary techniques (L)Identify key literary techniques within the poem ‘Adlestrop’ and explain what they are being used to describe (M)Comment on the effect of the inclusion of key literary techniques (M/E)Summarise effectively how the writers’ use of language has helped to reflect wider attitudes of the time (E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. Both Thomas and Davidson suffered from depression. Both Thomas and Davidson also loved nature. How might nature and the natural world help people with depression?

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2. Why did Thomas end up at Adlestrop station?

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3. Why did Thomas jot down his observations whilst there?

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4. In what ways does the poem allude to the coming of war?

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5. How far do you think the poem is a statement about the modern world?22

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6. What happened to Thomas?

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Challenge: A Christmas CarolThe poem ‘Adlestrop’ enables the poet Thomas to capture a moment for his readers. In Stave Two, we see Scrooge captured by a particular moment in time. Look at the short extract below ad explain how Dickens has used language and structure to present this moment.

15 “Your lip is trembling,” said the Ghost. “And what is that 16 upon your cheek?” Scrooge muttered, with an unusual17 catching in his voice, that it was a pimple; and begged the18 ghost to lead him where he would.

19 “You recollect the way?” inquired the Spirit.

20 “Remember it!” cried Scrooge with fervour; “I could walk it21 blindfold.”

22 “Strange to have forgotten it for so many years!” observed23 the Ghost. “Let us go on.”

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What other moment from Stave Two is your favourite and why?

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New KnowledgeArchaic language is language that was at one point regularly used but nowadays is less common.

Natural imagery is when the poet uses nature to create images in the readers’ head.

Sensory language is where words or phrases appeal to one of five senses – sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Adjectives are words that describe the noun.

Pen to paper: what scene does Thomas capture in his poem?In the last learning episode we learnt that the poem ‘Adlestrop’ was centred around the poet capturing one moment in time when his train unexpectedly stops at Adlestrop station. Using the postcard template below, capture the scene as it is described in the poem and use key details from the text to label your moment.

Pen to paper: how has Thomas used language to help him portray this 24

moment?Your postcard above should be labelled with key details from the poem. In pairs, consider whether any of these details are examples of natural imagery, sensory language or adjectives.

Then in the chart below, consider the effect of such language use.

Language technique Short quotation/s EffectNatural imagery

Sensory language

Adjectives

ReflectionHow does the language used in the poem contribute to the idea of the peace and serenity in the rural world versus the more modern technological world in cities?

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Learning episode 6

Learning goalsTo analyse the form and structure of ‘Adlestrop’, sustaining my comments on their effect using

relevant subject terminology accurately and appropriately to develop my ideas.I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO2: writer’s methods to convey meaning

Understand key structural techniques (L)Identify key structural techniques within the poem ‘Adlestrop’ (L)Comment on the effect of the inclusion of key structural techniques in helping to present a place (M/E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. What is archaic language?

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2. What is natural imagery?

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3. What is sensory language?

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4. What tension is being explored in the poem ‘Adlestrop’?

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Challenge: A Christmas CarolImagery and sensory language are used in Adlestrop to portray the area around the station. Look at the description of Victorian London taken from Stave Four of ‘A Christmas Carol’. How has imagery, sensory language and adjectives been used to present place here?

1 They left the busy scene, and went into an obscure part of the town,2 where Scrooge had never penetrated before, although he recognised3 its situation and its bad repute. The ways were foul and narrow; the

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4 shops and houses wretched; the people half naked, drunken, slipshod,5 ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their 6 offences of smell and dirt, and life upon the straggling streets; and 7 the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth and misery.

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New KnowledgeAnecdote – a small story, usually telling of someone’s personal experiences.

First person – the narrative is told from the narrator’s point of view, using ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’.

Interlocutor – a person with whom a conversation or dialogue is taking place.

Repetition – when a word or phrase is repeated within a text for effect.

Simple sentence – a sentence that contains one subject and one verb.

Caesura – a strong pause in a line of verse, breaking up the rhythm.

Enjambment – when a sentence in a line of verse continues onto the next line without a break.

Quatrain – a stanza consisting of four lines

Rhyme – two or more words with a similar sound

Contrast - differences

Pen to paper: how have structural techniques been used by Thomas to capture this moment in time?

1. What anecdote is being told through this poem?

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2. Identify a line that shows the poem is written using the first person.

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3. What is the effect of beginning with the word ‘Yes’? Challenge: use the word ‘interlocutor’ in your response.

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4. Line 6 is an example of syntactic parallelism. What is syntactic parallelism and why has it been used here?

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5. Find three consecutive simple sentences in the opening two stanzas. Comment on their effect.

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6. Caesura is evident in the first two stanzas of the poem – how many examples can you identify? In the last two stanzas, instead of caesura, enjambment is used. Why do you think this shift occurs?

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7. What is the rhyme scheme and is it regular throughout the quatrains? What effect does this create?

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8. Look at the chart on the next page. Identify the contrasts in the poem and explain the effect of these contrasts.

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Contrasts Effect

Steam cloudlets man-made vs natural images symbolise poet’s suspension between technology and nature; seems like he is trapped in the express-train, not free to roam like the clouds

Someone

Sang

Platform

all the birds

Adlestrop

Mistier

Do you think these contrasts have wider implications beyond one single space?

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Reflection: how has Thomas used structural techniques to convey a moment in time in ‘Adlestrop’?

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Judgement:How does Thomas present Adlestrop?Evidence:What evidence can you find in the poem to back your judgement up?Subject terminology:What structural technique has been used in your evidence?Understanding:What do you learn about the place from this? What can you infer?

Significance:How does this connect to the poet’s feelings? What might a reader think / feel as a result?

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Learning episode 7

Learning goalsTo demonstrate an excellent understanding of the context behind the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO3: context – What influences a writer to

write a text?

Summarise the social and historical backdrop of Africa that influenced the writing of the poem (L)Explain the motivation for Tatamkhulu to write the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ (M)Make connections between the information about Africa and Tatamkhulu Afrika and the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed.’ (E)

Do it now taskLet’s see how much you can remember about the key terms we have learnt over the past two learning episodes.

anecdote First person interlocutor repetitionSimple sentences caesura enjambment quatrain

rhyme contrast stanza autobiographical

Challenge: A Christmas CarolIn the last learning episode, we were exploring how structural devices were used by Thomas to help present Adlestrop. Now re-read the following extract taken from Stave Three of A Christmas Carol. How has Dickens used structural techniques in this extract?

Consider – sentence types, sentence structures, punctuation.

84 Such a bustle ensued that you might have thought a goose the85 rarest of all birds; a feathered phenomenon, to which a black86 swan was a matter of course – and, in truth, it was something 87 very like it in that house. Mrs Cratchit made the gravy (ready88 before hand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; Master Peter

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89 mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda90 sweetened up the apple sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates;91 Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the92 two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting 93 themselves, and, mounting guard upon their posts, crammed94 spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose 95 before their turn came to be helped. At last the dishes were 96 set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless97 pause, as Mrs Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-98 knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she did,99 and when the long-expected gash of stuffing issued forth, one100

murmur of delight arose all round the board, and even Tiny

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Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits, beat on the table with

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the handle of his knife and feebly cried Hurrah!

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Pen to paper: what do you already know about this man?

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New knowledge: what is the cultural backdrop to the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’?

Read through the following information:

1 After the National Party gained power in South Africa in 1948, its all2 white government immediately began enforcing existing policies of3 racial segregation under a system of legislation that is called4 apartheid. In legal terms, apartheid had three main pillars:5 The Race Classification Act, which classified every citizen 6 suspected of not being European according to race 7 The Mixed Marriages Act, which prohibited marriage between8 people of different races.9 The Group Areas Act, which forced people of certain races into10 living in designated areas.

11 In the early 1950s Mr Mandela toured South Africa, organising 12 campaigns of mass civil disobedience to oppose this. Because of 13 this, Mr Mandela was charged under the Suppression of14 Communism Act in 1952, and received a suspended prison 15 sentence. He was later banned from public meetings and confined16 to Johannesburg for six months. In 1955, Mr Mandela played a key17 role in writing the African National Congress’s Freedom Charter, 18 which stated that South Africa belonged ‘to all who live in it, black 19 and white, and that no government can justify or claim authority 20 unless it is based on the will of all the people.’

21 In 1960, 69 people were shot dead in a protest against the Pass22 Laws, which restricted the movement of people classified as black or23 coloured. Days later, the government declared a state of emergency24 and banned the ANC. Hundreds of political activists, including Mr25 Mandela were arrested and detained without trial.

26 Mr Mandela went on the run and travelled outside of the country27 looking for support, but was arrested in South Africa in 1962 and 28 was jailed for five years. Two years later, Mr Mandela was29 sentenced to life imprisonment for organising sabotage. He was 30 sent to Robben Island jail.

31 Whilst in prison the rise of the militant Black Consciousness32 Movement during the 1970s rekindled interest in Mr Mandela.

33 As the black townships went up in flames, an active worldwide34 anti-apartheid movement was growing, focusing on the express aim

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35 of freeing Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners. As the clamour 36 for change increased, South Africa became more isolated, business37 and banks refused to do business with it.

38 In 1990, the South African government, which had already begun to 39 water down some aspects of apartheid legislation, finally agreed to 40 open negotiations and Nelson Mandela was released from prison.41 He easily won the election in 1994 and became South Africa’s first 42 black president, by which time apartheid had been dismantled. 43 South Africa’s people were now equal under the law and could vote44 And live, as they wished.

Pen to paper: what have we learnt about the social and cultural backdrop to the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’?

Answer the following questions:

1. In 1948 apartheid was enforced. What were the three main pillars of apartheid?

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2. In what year did Mr Mandela tour South Africa and for what reason?

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3. Explain the punishment Mr Mandela received for organising his protest campaigns.

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4. What did the Freedom charter state?

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5. What were the Pass Laws?

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6. In what year was Mr Mandela arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment?

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7. How did South Africa become more isolated as a result of apartheid?

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8. In what year did Mr Mandela become South Africa’s first black president?

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New knowledgeTatamkhulu Afrika

1 The poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is an autobiographical2 experience post-Apartheid. It details the poet’s return to an 3 area where he used to live called District Six. Once a multi-cult4 ural neighbourhood, this area was declared a ‘whites only’ zone5 during the 1960s. Tatamkhulu Afrika (1920-2000) was born6 Mogamed Fu’ad Nasif in Egypt to an Egyptian father and a 7 Turkish mother, and came to South Africa as a very young child.8 His parents died of flu and he was forced to change his name as 9 he moved between foster families. As a member of Mandela’s

10 African National Congress (ANC) party, Afrika was arrested for 11 terrorism offences in 1987 and banned from writing or speaking 12 in public for five years. This was when he adopted his fifth and 13 final name, Tatamkhulu Afrika (‘Grandfather Afrika’) under which 14 he continued to write despite the ban. After the dismantling of15 Apartheid, the poet expected to find a freer society, but was angry16 and disappointed to witness continuing inequality and injustice, 17 mainly due to the affluence of the white minority population. In 18 South Africa areas that segregated non-whites off from white 19 communities were known as townships.

Tatumkhulu, himself, said: ‘Nothing’s Changed is entirely autobiographical. I can’t quite remember when I wrote this, but I think it must have been about 1990. District Six was a complete waste by then and I hadn’t been passing through it for a long time. But nothing has changed. Not only District Six…I mean, we may have a new constitution, we may have on the face of it a beautiful democracy, but the racism in this country is absolutely redolent. We try to pretend to the world that it does not exist, but it most certainly does, all day long, every day, shocking and saddening and terrible. Look, I don’t want to sound like a prophet of doom, because I don’t feel like that at all. I am full of hope. But I won’t see it in my lifetime. It’s going to take a long time. I mean, in America it’s taken all this time and it’s still not gone…so it will change. But not quickly, not quickly at all.’

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Pen to paper: why did Tatamkhulu Afrika write the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’?

Answer the following questions:

1. What type of poem is ‘Nothing’s Changed’?

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2. When was District Six declared a ‘whites only’ zone?

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3. Why was Tatamkhulu arrested?

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4. What is the significance of his name do you think?

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5. What does the term ‘townships’ mean?

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6. Why did Tatamkhulu Afrika write the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’?

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New knowledge: ‘Nothing’s Changed’Now let’s read the poem Tatamkhulu Afrika wrote after his return to District Six.

1 Small round hard stones click2 under my heels,3 seeding grasses thrust4 bearded seeds5 into trouser cuffs, cans6 trodden on, crunch7 in tall, purple-flowering8 amiable weeds

9 District Six.10 No board says it is:11 but my feet know,12 and my hands,13 and the skin about my bones,14 and the soft labouring of my lungs,

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15 and the hot, white inwards turning 16 anger of my eyes.

17 Brash with glass,18 name flaring like a flag,19 it squats20 in the grass and weeds,21 incipient Port Jackson trees:22 new, up-market, haute cuisine,23 guard at the gatepost,24 whites only inn.

25 No sign says it is:26 but we know where we belong.

27 I press my nose28 to the clear panes, know,29 before I see them, there will be30 crushed ice white glass,31 linen falls,32 the single rose.

33 Down the road,34 working man’s café sells35 bunny chows.36 Take it with you, eat37 it at a plastic table’s top,38 wipe your fingers on your jeans,39 spit a little on the floor:40 it’s in the bone.

41 I back from the glass,42 boy again,43 leaving small mean O44 of small mean mouth.45 Hands burn46 for a stone, a bomb,47 to shiver down the glass48 Nothing’s Changed.

Pen to paper: how does the poem ‘Nothing’s Change’ reflect what was going on in Africa and Tatamkhulu’s feelings about this?

Look at the following quotations taken from the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’. In what way do these quotations reflect what we have learnt about Africa and the poet’s feelings about it.

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Quotation Link to our contextual understanding‘…seeding grasses thrust / bearded seeds / into trouser cuffs, cans / trodden on, crunch / in tall, purple-flowering amiable weeds.’

‘District Six.No board says it is:But my feet know,And my hands,And the skin about my bones….’‘New, up-market, haute cuisine…’‘working man’s café…’

‘No sign says it is:But we know where we belong.’

I back from the glass, Boy again,Leaving small mean OOf small mean mouth.Hands burnFor a stone, a bomb,To shiver down the glass.

ReflectionTo what extent do you think literature reflects the goings on within society? Does it have the power to change attitudes?

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Learning episode 8

Learning goalsTo be able to comment effectively on the poets’ use of language and its effect on the reader

using relevant subject terminology accurately and appropriately to develop my ideas.I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO2: writer’s use of method to convey meaning

Understand key literary techniques (L)Identify key literary techniques within the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ and explain what they are being used to describe (M)Comment on the effect of the inclusion of key literary techniques (M/E)Summarise effectively how the writers’ use of language has helped to present the Afrika’s feelings of anger and injustice (E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. What were the three main pillars of apartheid?

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2. What happened when Nelson Mandela opposed these?

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3. Why is the poem ‘Nothing’s changed’ set in District Six?

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4. How are Tatamkhulu Afrika and Nelson Mandela linked?

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Challenge: A Christmas CarolDickens's efforts to improve the harsh New Poor Law which established the punitive workhouse system, were not confined to his fiction: he worked throughout his life to change attitudes towards poverty, and to alleviate its sorrows. Dickens had

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experienced hunger and deprivation himself, and he never forgot it. He recognised the humanity of the pauper and the beggar and refused to behave like the Pharisee in the story of the Good Samaritan, and cross over the way. At the same time, he despised the petty officialdom that exacerbated suffering for so many. Re-read the extract below and explain how Dickens uses his literature to convey his messages about the poor.

17 “At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the 18 gentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually 19 desirable that we should make some slight provision for the20 poor and the destitute, who suffer greatly at the present21 time... Many thousands in want of common necessaries;22 hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, 23 Sir.”

24 “Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.

25 “Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the 26 pen again.

27 “And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are 28 they still in operation?”

29 “They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could 30 say they were not.”

31 “The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?”32 said Scrooge.

33 “Both very busy, sir.”

34 “Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that 35 something had occurred to stop them in their useful 36 course,” said Scrooge. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

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New KnowledgeTo recap

Adjectives are words that describe the noun.

Verbs are words for actions or states of mind.

Simile – an explicit comparison between two different things, actions or feelings using ‘as’ or ‘like’

Personification – where human qualities are given to inanimate objects.

Onomatopoeia – the use of words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to.

Alliteration – the repetition of the same sounds in any sequence of closely adjacent words.

Let’s take the ABCD cards out.

Pen to paper: how has Afrika used language to convey the poet’s anger at the sense of injustice he experiences when he returns to District Six?

Re-read the poem and highlight any details in the text that you think help to convey the poet’s anger.

1 Small round hard stones click2 under my heels,3 seeding grasses thrust4 bearded seeds5 into trouser cuffs, cans6 trodden on, crunch7 in tall, purple-flowering8 amiable weeds

9 District Six.10 No board says it is:11 but my feet know,12 and my hands,13 and the skin about my bones,14 and the soft labouring of my lungs,15 and the hot, white inwards turning 16 anger of my eyes.

17 Brash with glass,

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18 name flaring like a flag,19 it squats20 in the grass and weeds,21 incipient Port Jackson trees:22 new, up-market, haute cuisine,23 guard at the gatepost,24 whites only inn.

25 No sign says it is:26 but we know where we belong.

27 I press my nose28 to the clear panes, know,29 before I see them, there will be30 crushed ice white glass,31 linen falls,32 the single rose.

33 Down the road,34 working man’s café sells35 bunny chows.36 Take it with you, eat37 it at a plastic table’s top,38 wipe your fingers on your jeans,39 spit a little on the floor:40 it’s in the bone.

41 I back from the glass,42 boy again,43 leaving small mean O44 of small mean mouth.45 Hands burn46 for a stone, a bomb,47 to shiver down the glass48 Nothing’s Changed.

Now, using your highlighted notes, complete the chart below:

Technique Example EffectHow does it help Afrika to

convey his anger and sense of injustice?

Adjective

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Verb

Simile

Personification

Onomatopoeia

Alliteration

Reflection: how has Afrika used language to convey his feelings of anger and injustice upon his return to District Six?

Judgement:How does Tatamkhulu Afrika feel upon returning to District Six?Evidence:What evidence can you find in the poem to back your judgement up?Subject terminology:What language technique has been used in your evidence to convey this emotion?Understanding:What do you learn about his feelings from this? What can you infer?

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Significance:What might a reader think / feel as a result? Why?

Response to feedback

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Learning episode 9

Learning goalsTo analyse the form and structure of ‘Nothing’s Changed’, sustaining my comments on their effect using relevant subject terminology accurately and appropriately to develop my ideas.

I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

AO2: writer’s methods to convey meaning

Understand key structural techniques (L)Identify key structural techniques within the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ (L)Comment on the effect of the inclusion of key structural techniques in helping to present a place (M/E)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. What do we learn about the state of District Six from the use of alliteration at the start of the poem?

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2. What is the simile ‘name flaring like a flag’ being used to announce? Why?

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3. What effect does the use of the verb ‘squats’ to describe the restaurant have on the reader?

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4. Identify three adjectives to describe the restaurant for white people.

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5. Identify three adjectives to describe the café for black people.

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6. Which verbs are particularly effective in the last stanza to convey the poet’s anger and why?

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Challenge: A Christmas CarolHow have language techniques been used to present Death in this extract from Stave Four of ‘A Christmas Carol’?

1 The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came2 near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air3 through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and 4 mystery.

5 It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its 6 head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one 7 outstretched hand. But for this, it would have been difficult to 8 detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the 9 darkness by which it was surrounded.

10 He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and 11 that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He 12 knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.

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New KnowledgeAutobiographical writing is writing that recalls an experience the poet felt first hand.

First person is a piece of writing told from the first- person perspective ‘I’

Free verse is an open form of poetry. It does not use rhyme.

Asyndeton is a figure of speech in which one or several conjunctions are omitted from a series of related clauses.

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Repetition is saying the same thing (word or phrase) more than once for emphasis.

A colon is a punctuation mark that precedes a list, explanation or an example.

Juxtaposition is a technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.

Pen to paper:Now re-read the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’. Can you identify any examples of the above techniques?

1 Small round hard stones click2 under my heels,3 seeding grasses thrust4 bearded seeds5 into trouser cuffs, cans6 trodden on, crunch7 in tall, purple-flowering8 amiable weeds

9 District Six.10 No board says it is:11 but my feet know,12 and my hands,13 and the skin about my bones,14 and the soft labouring of my lungs,15 and the hot, white inwards turning 16 anger of my eyes.

17 Brash with glass,18 name flaring like a flag,19 it squats20 in the grass and weeds,21 incipient Port Jackson trees:22 new, up-market, haute cuisine,23 guard at the gatepost,24 whites only inn.

25 No sign says it is:26 but we know where we belong.

27 I press my nose28 to the clear panes, know,29 before I see them, there will be30 crushed ice white glass,31 linen falls,32 the single rose.

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33 Down the road,34 working man’s café sells35 bunny chows.36 Take it with you, eat37 it at a plastic table’s top,38 wipe your fingers on your jeans,39 spit a little on the floor:40 it’s in the bone.

41 I back from the glass,42 boy again,43 leaving small mean O44 of small mean mouth.45 Hands burn46 for a stone, a bomb,47 to shiver down the glass48 Nothing’s Changed.

Technique Example EffectFirst person

Free verse

Asyndeton

Repetition

A colon

Juxtaposition

Challenge: which technique do you think best

a. Reveals the poet’s angerb. Illustrates the injustice felt within District Six

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ReflectionNow you have read all three poems, let’s summarise what we have learnt:

Context Attitude towards place or a particular moment in time

Key language techniques used

Key structural techniques used

In Romney Marsh

Adlestrop

Nothing’s Changed

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Learning episode 10

Learning goalsTo prepare a written response with a focus on comparing two poems.

I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

Choose an essay question to respond to (L)Prepare a range of points for comparisons which demonstrates an understanding of form and structure of both poems and links them to effect (M)Prepare a range of points for comparison which demonstrates a clear awareness of the poets’ use of language and its effect on the reader (M)Prepare for sound comments on the context making sound comments on the relationship between poems and the context (M)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

1. What type of poem is ‘Nothing’s Changed’?

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2. Why has free verse been used in the poem?

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3. What mood does the use of asyndeton help to create at the start of the poem?

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4. How is the injustice felt by the poet emphasised through repetition?

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5. What is the purpose of the colon in the line ‘No sign says it is: but we know where we belong’?

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6. How effective is the use of juxtaposition in presenting the inequality within District Six?

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New KnowledgeOver the past few learning episodes we have been studying three poems about place. Over the next couple of learning episodes you are going to construct an essay response to one of the following questions.

Compare how feelings about a place are presented in ‘Nothing’s Changed’ and ‘In Romney Marsh’

Compare how memories are presented in ‘Adlestrop’ and ‘In Romney Marsh’

Compare how the natural environment is presented in ‘Nothing’s Changed’ and ‘Adlestrop’

Pen to paper:Before you construct a response, we are going to look at what you need to ensure your response is successful.

1. Choose which question you want to answer.2. Construct a short introduction that consists of the following:

a. Sentence 1: Define the key word in the question. Personalise it – what does it mean to you? Contextualise it based on the text you’re writing about.

b. Sentence 2: how has the poets’ background influenced the writing of the poem. What questions are raised as a result.

3. Identify how each poem presents the key focus in the focus – e.g. place, memories or the natural environment.

4. Identify key language techniques that the poems use to present place, memories or the natural environment (remember the effect!)

5. Identify key structural techniques that the poems use to present place, memories or the natural environment (remember the effect!)

6. Identify whether the ideas or the techniques used are similar or different and choose your connectives accordingly

Connectives for comparison Connectives for contrastSimilarly,In comparison,Also,In addition,

However,Whereas,In contrast,Alternatively,

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Which essay question are you going to answer?

Introduction:

Poem 1: Connective Poem 2:Ideas with relation to focus of question.

Language

Structure

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ReflectionNow share your plan with at least two other people in the classroom. Is there anything else they think you should add?

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Learning episode 11

Learning goalsTo prepare a written response with a focus on comparing two poems.

I think I can

To be extending, we need to be able to What am I learning today?

Choose an essay question to respond to (L)Prepare a range of points for comparisons which demonstrates an understanding of form and structure of both poems and links them to effect (M)Prepare a range of points for comparison which demonstrates a clear awareness of the poets’ use of language and its effect on the reader (M)Prepare for sound comments on the context making sound comments on the relationship between poems and the context (M)

Do it now taskRecap questions:

List the four things you are being assessed upon when you construct a poetry response:

1. ______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________

New KnowledgeLet’s see what a Band 4 poetry response looks like. As you are reading, consider

The number of comparisons and contrasts made

The number of language techniques referred to

The number of structural techniques referred to

The number of quotations used.

The references to context

What else could this response do?

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Pen to paper:Now have a go at drafting a comparative paragraph either on language techniques or structural techniques used to present place, memories or the natural environment. Use the framework below to help you:

Subject terminology

Evidence

Understanding and significance(Link to context?)

Connective for comparison or contrastSubject terminology

Evidence

Understanding and significance (Link to context?)

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ReflectionHow confident do you feel constructing a poetry response?

Place the following on the continuum below:

Analysing language Analysing structure Linking to context Making comparison and contrasts

Not confident Confident

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