Starter quiz
- Match the narrative voice with the pronoun.
- first-person⇔'I' ✓
- second-person⇔'you' ✓
- third-person⇔'he' ✓
- The expression of the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience is called the __________ of a text.
- mood
- atmosphere
- tone ✓
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- In literature, the voice behind a poem or any written work is known as the ...
- 'speaker' ✓
- The vantage point from which events of a story are filtered and then relayed to an audience is known as the ...
- 'perspective' ✓
- Choosing a first-person narrative voice can suggest __________ perspective.
- a personal ✓
- an individual ✓
- a generic
- a generalised
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- Choosing a second-person narrative voice could suggest the writer wants ...
- the reader to feel as if it's happening to them. ✓
- the reader to see the world through someone else's eyes.
- the reader to see the world from multiple perspectives.
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Exit quiz
- In 'Not Yet My Mother', Sheers uses the __________ narrative voice.
- first-person ✓
- second-person
- third-person
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- 'An informal way of speaking that suggests you're talking to someone you're close to' is known as ...
- 'conversational' ✓
- Sheers' use of a conversational tone in 'Not Yet My Mother' arguably shows ...
- the close bond between mother and child. ✓
- the distance between mother and child.
- the coldness between mother and child.
- the happiness of the mother.
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- 'The power we have to pilot our lives in the direction we want to go' is the definition of ...
- 'agency' ✓
- Potentially, we could interpret Sheers' decision not to give the mother a voice in 'Not Yet My Mother' as ...
- showing the importance of the mother.
- reflecting the mother's loss of identity. ✓
- reflecting the closeness of the mother and child.
- reflecting the importance of the child. ✓
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- Structurally, Sheers' choice to end 'Not Yet My Mother' on the word "child" could enhance our analysis of voice because ...
- it highlights the importance of the child. ✓
- it subverts our understanding of the child's importance.
- it conforms to our reading of the mother as less important. ✓
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The speaker is different to the poet.
- A poet sometimes writes from the perspective of a speaker, rather than only from their own experiences.
- You can make inferences based on the speaker and voice of a poem.
- Some poems have a conversational tone, which helps to develop a personal connection with the reader.
Common misconception
That the speaker of the poem is the poet.
A poet may talk about their own experiences through the speaker, or they may be exploring another aspect of the human psyche and experience through the speaker.
Keywords
Speaker - the voice behind a poem or any written work
Perspective - the vantage point from which events of a story are filtered and then relayed to an audience
Agency - the power we have to pilot our lives in the direction we want to go
Tone - expresses the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience
Conversational - an informal way of speaking that suggests you're talking to someone you're close to
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