Starter quiz
- When we talk about analysing the writer's use of language we mean...
- the choices they make about vocabulary and methods like enjambment or the rhythm
- the choices they make about the organisation of the poem on the page
- the choices they make about vocabulary and methods like figurative language ✓
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- Which of these is an example of a structural choice made by a writer?
- shifting time ✓
- writing as themselves
- using personification
-
- Information relating to the social, cultural or historical background of a text or writer is known as ______.
- 'context' ✓
- If something is rural it is...
- relating to the city
- relating to the countryside ✓
- relating to moving between the city and the countryside
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- What does multifaceted mean?
- having a single side
- having many sides ✓
- being straight forward
- being complex ✓
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- If you call someone an expert you are likely to....
- admire them ✓
- respect them ✓
- criticise them
- admonish them
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Exit quiz
- Match the keywords to their definitions.
- prowess⇔exceptional skill or ability ✓
- skill⇔proficiency or expertise in performing a task ✓
- rural⇔relating to the countryside ✓
- plough⇔a farming tool ✓
- furrows⇔narrow grooves or trenches made in the ground ✓
- In 'Follower' Heaney initially presents the son as __________ his father.
- criticising
- admiring ✓
- struggling with
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- By the end of 'Follower' both the father and son are seen to stumble. How does the son react to his father's "stumbling"?
- he is annoyed ✓
- he is understanding
- he doesn't notice
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- Starting with the first, put these key events from 'Follower' in the order they appear in the poem.
- 1⇔a father and son are ploughing a field
- 2⇔the son shows his admiration for his father's skills
- 3⇔the father turns the plough expertly
- 4⇔the father and son return home but the son struggles
- 5⇔the son is worried he'll never be like his father
- 6⇔the son thinks he holds his father back
- 7⇔roles have reversed and the son sees his father "stumbling"
- Which word from 'Follower' might show that the speaker felt like a hindrance to his father when he was a child?
- "dipping"
- "follow"
- "falling"" ✓
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- In 'Follower' Heaney’s use of words related to farming creates a vivid description of the ______ landscape.
- 'rural' ✓
Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The speaker feels deep admiration for his father’s skill and prowess on the farm.
- The speaker sometimes felt incompetent or overwhelmed in the presence of his father.
- Despite the multifaceted nature of the relationship, the father and son were close and spent a lot of time together.
- The speaker and their father swap or reverse roles at the end of the poem.
- Heaney has seemingly taken inspiration from his own past growing up in rural Ireland.
Common misconception
This poem is an autobiographical account of one of Heaney's childhood memories.
This collection, 'Death of Naturalist', is semi-autobiographical since it reflects on aspects of Heaney's childhood, growing up in a rural Irish farming community, but the poet has never confirmed that this particular memory is from his childhood.
Keywords
Prowess - exceptional skill or ability, especially in a particular field or activity
Skill - proficiency or expertise in performing a task, often acquired through practice and experience
Rural - relating to the countryside, typically characterised by agriculture, open spaces, and a small population
Plough - a farming tool used to till the soil by cutting, lifting, and turning it
Furrows - narrow grooves or trenches made in the ground, typically by a plough or cultivation