Starter quiz
- Which of the following is the definition of a cyclical structure?
- a story told in chronological order
- a story where the narrative occurs in cycles ✓
- a story told from a third-person omniscient narrator
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- Which of the following is an accurate summary of Antrobus' 'With Birds You're Never Lonely'?
- The speaker finds comfort in the modern, urban world.
- The speaker finds the modern, urban world an isolating experience. ✓
- The speaker finds nature solely intimidating and overwhelming.
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- Which of the following denotes a sense of lifelessness?
- grey ✓
- white
- yellow
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- The continuation of the meaning of a line of poetry over onto the next is called ...
- 'enjambment' ✓
- Something "sturdy" is something ...
- solid. ✓
- fragile.
- strong. ✓
- unsound.
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- The word "stumbling" contributes to the idea that the speaker of Antrobus' 'With Birds You're Never Lonely' had a __________ experience in nature.
- profound ✓
- disturbing
- dull
- tentative
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Exit quiz
- A pair of successive lines of verse, typically rhyming and of the same length is a ...
- couplet. ✓
- volta.
- sonnet.
- stanza.
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- Something "fragmented" means something ...
- whole.
- broken. ✓
- fragile.
- sturdy.
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- Which of the following quotations, taken from 'With Birds You're Never Lonely', conveys a sense of warmth onto nature?
- "endless"
- "sturdiness"
- "sun-syrupped" ✓
- "chirped"
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- Feeling "pensive" means feeling ...
- confident.
- thoughtful. ✓
- distracted.
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- In 'With Birds You're Never Lonely', Antrobus uses couplets that do not rhyme and that are not the same length. How could we interpret this?
- The speaker is searching for a sense of completeness. ✓
- The speaker has underlying a sense of completeness.
- The speaker senses nature feels incomplete.
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- Though there is arguably a cyclical structure, 'With Birds You're Never Lonely' exhibits a shift in which of the following from the beginning to the end?
- speaker
- mood ✓
- perspective ✓
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Antrobus’ use of colour imagery suggests nature is full of life and energy.
- Antrobus’ use of personification implies nature is able to form connections while man-made objects are not.
- The use of fragmented couplets could suggest that the speaker has yet to form a connection but that they desire one.
- The cyclical structure could show how the speaker’s journey has transformed the way they think about nature and mankind.
- The final line could be a critique of how humans perceive their relationship with nature.
Common misconception
That "black" and "white" imagery always relates to ideas of absence and emptiness.
While "black" and "white" imagery can signal a sense of absence and emptiness, we could also interpret them as showing strength and purity.
Keywords
Couplet - a pair of successive lines of verse, typically rhyming and of the same length
Conceptualise - form a concept or idea of (something)
Fragmentation - the action or process of breaking something into small parts
Cyclical - occurring in cycles; recurrent
Pensive - deeply or seriously thoughtful, often with a tinge of sadness
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