Starter quiz
- What did Thomas Hardy believe about war?
- Hardy was pro-war and thought war was unnecessary.
- Hardy was anti-war and thought war was a waste of human life. ✓
- Hardy didn't live through any wars, and had no real opinion on them.
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- What does the term 'foreshadow' mean?
- when the writer makes subtle hints about what is to come. ✓
- when the writer makes a direct comparison between two things
- when the writer exaggerates details in their description for dramatic effect
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- What person are the pronouns 'he', 'she' and 'they' written in?
- first person
- second person
- third person ✓
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- When human emotions are given to non-human objects found in nature, this is known as...
- 'pathetic fallacy' ✓
- Which example from 'A Wife in London' is a simile?
- "A messenger's knock cracks smartly"
- "She sits in the tawny vapour"
- "Like a waning taper The street-lamp glimmers cold" ✓
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- The way a poem is organised is the ______ of the poem.
- 'structure' ✓
Exit quiz
- Which methods come under the term 'figurative language?
- simile ✓
- repetition
- metaphor ✓
- personification ✓
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- What is the effect of pathetic fallacy in 'A Wife in London' by Hardy?
- creates a foreboding atmosphere ✓
- creates the impression the wife is isolated ✓
- created the impression the wife is sad
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- Which quotation from 'A Wife in London' suggests a false hope and emphasises the waste of life lost in war?
- "The postman nears and goes:"
- "In the summer weather" ✓
- "The street-lamp glimmers cold."
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- What could the regular and predictable rhyme scheme used in 'A Wife in London' show?
- the wife's shock at the news of her loss
- the inevitability of loss in war ✓
- the poem's universality
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- Using third person gives 'A Wife in London' a feeling of ...
- 'universality' ✓
- What might the use of punctuation in this line from 'A Wife in London' show: "He - has fallen - in the far South Land …"?
- the robotic nature of the delivery of the news ✓
- the wife’s shock as she struggles to process the devastating news ✓
- the wife’s isolation and loneliness
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Hardy uses figurative language in Stanza one to create a foreboding atmosphere and foreshadow the devastating news.
- Hardy uses pathetic fallacy and symbolism across the poem to reflect the wife’s isolation, confusion and loneliness.
- The use of third person perspective creates a detached tone and gives the poem universality.
- The poem’s consistent and therefore predictable rhyme scheme reflects the inevitability of loss in war.
- Hardy uses punctuation to convey the wife’s shock as she struggles to process the devastating news.
Common misconception
Students are quick to identify a poem's rhyme scheme, but they often fail to explain its effect or why it has been used.
In this poem, Hardy arguably uses the same rhyme scheme throughout to reflect the inevitability of death and grief as a result of war. The rhyme scheme becomes a pattern in the same way that death and devastation becomes a pattern in war.
Keywords
Foreshadow - when the writer makes subtle hints about what is to come
Morbid - showing an interest in dark or unpleasant subjects, particularly death
Gruesome - causing repulsion or horror
Monumental - great in importance or size
Senseless - extremely foolish - lacking sense
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