Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today?

I hope you're doing really, really well.

My name is Ms. Afzal, and I'm doing great today.

That's because we're going to be exploring some poetry and I really love poetry, and I especially love this poet.

We're looking at the poetry of William Blake.

In particular, we are looking at one poem, which is called "London.

" So I am going to pause here.

I'd like you to pause the video while you go off and find your copy of the poem, "London.

" I'll wait here for you.

Okay, you're back.

You've got a poem.

What else have you got?

Have you got curiosity, enthusiasm, ideas, openness to explore?

I really hope so.

Let's begin exploring the poem "London" by William Blake.

The outcome for today's lesson is, I can understand the poem and the context in which the poem was written.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

The Industrial Revolution.

Context.

Society.

Romanticism.

Great stuff.

Let's find out what these words mean.

The Industrial Revolution was a period when machines and factories changed the way people lived and worked in cities.

Context is the setting or background that helps us to understand something better.

Society is a group of people living together, sharing customs and ways of living.

Romanticism is a movement in art and literature in the 18th and 19th century which focused more on feelings, imagination, and nature.

These are our keywords.

Let's be on the lookout for them.

Let's be curious about these words.

Our lesson today is developing background knowledge about London by William Blake.

It has two parts to it.

There is first of all the introduction to the poet and poem, and then developing background knowledge.

Let's begin with the introduction to the poet and the poem.

"London" is a poem written by William Blake.

It is part of the collection titled "Songs of Experience.

" William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

He was born in 1757 and died in 1827.

Blake's poetry often explores themes of innocence and experience, human nature and spirituality.

Many of his poems are still well loved and well read around the world today.

You may have read or heard some, such as "A Poison Tree" or "The Tyger.

" The opening lines of "The Tyger" poem are very famous, "Tyger, Tyger, burning bright in the forests of the night.

" Do you recognize those lines?

Check for understanding.

Select the statements that are true.

William Blake was born in 1757 in England.

William Blake lived during the Victorian era.

Blake's poems are still read and loved by lots of people around the world.

William Blake was also a singer and an actor.

Pause the video while you select the statements that are true.

Well done if you selected statement A, William Blake was born in 1757 in England, and well done if you selected statement C, Blake's poems are still read and loved by lots of people around the world.

Perhaps you even know some of these poems.

The poem "London" written by William Blake was published in 1794.

There are four verses in the poem.

In the poem, the speaker is describing a walk through the streets of London.

They describe the city as a place of suffering and despair.

Nobody is able to escape from the suffering.

They suggest that people in power seem to be responsible for some of the suffering, and they aren't helping the people in need.

Let's read the poem.

"I wander thro' each charted street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.

And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice; in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every black'ning Church appalls and how the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

" That is the poem "London" by William Blake.

I'm gonna share what I liked about the poem and any questions I have about it.

I like the rhythm and rhyme in the poem, and I was wondering what are mind-forg'd manacles.

Over to you.

It's time for you to give your initial response to the poem.

What did you like about the poem, and do you have any questions about it?

So pause the video here and turn someone nearby.

Share with them, what did you like, what questions do you have?

Share your initial responses.

Thank you for sharing.

I hope you enjoyed hearing each other's questions and what you liked about the poem.

Let's explore the meaning of verse one.

"I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.

And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

" Let's take a look at some of these words.

Charter'd.

Charter'd means controlled or regulated by a charter.

It's a type of legal document.

The Thames, maybe you know the Thames.

It's a river in England that flows through London.

And woe means deep distress or sorrow, often caused by suffering or misfortune.

So in this verse, the speaker is walking through the streets of London and sees suffering everywhere.

Now, let's explore verse two.

"In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice; in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

" So let's take a look at these words.

Infant is a young child.

And I was wondering about this, mind-forg'd manacles or manacles are metal restraints or shackles used to imprison someone.

And mind-forg'd manacles are restraints that are created in people's minds, their thoughts or attitudes that restrain or imprison them.

So in this verse as a whole, the speaker hears the sounds of misery all around, cries, the voices.

Now, let's explore verse three.

"How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every black'ning Church appalls And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls.

" Let's take a look at some of the language in this verse.

So a chimney-sweeper is a person, often a young child, whose job is to clean chimneys.

Appalls means it shocks or horrifies someone.

Hapless means unlucky or unfortunate.

In this verse, the speaker describes miserable sounds and sights in the city, including a darkened church.

So the blackening church is darkened.

And now let's explore verse four.

"But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

" Let's explore some of this language.

So blight is a plant disease or it's a form of decay.

Plagues, widespread and contagious disease that can cause death.

A hearse is a vehicle used to transport a dead body in a coffin to a funeral.

So in this verse, the speaker is walking at midnight and hears cursing, which causes harm to babies and marriage.

So this is the poem, "London," and an exploration of each of the verses.

Check for understanding.

Put the subject of the verses in the correct order.

The speaker hears the sounds of misery all around.

The speaker is walking through the streets of London and sees suffering everywhere.

The speaker is walking at midnight and hears cursing, which causes harm to babies and marriage.

The speaker describes miserable sounds and sights in the city, including a darkened church.

So pause the video while you put these subjects in the correct order.

Did you begin with the speaker walking through the streets of London and they sees suffering everywhere?

Next, the speaker hears the sounds of misery all around.

After that the speaker describes miserable sounds and sights in the city, including a darkened church.

And finally, the speaker is walking at midnight and hears cursing, which causes harm to babies and marriage.

Well done if you put the verses in this order.

And now, it's time for your first task.

I would like you to practice reading the poem "London" aloud.

It's available in the additional materials.

Use your knowledge of the meaning of each verse to help you read with expression.

Remember to pause at the end of each verse.

So, pause the video now while you have a go at reading London aloud.

Enjoy your reading.

Okay, so how did you get on with that task?

Did you use expressive voice as you read the poem aloud?

Did you pause at the end of each verse?

Was it easy or hard to read?

Pause the video while you reflect on your answers to these questions and share with someone nearby.

Okay, well thank you so much for joining in with all of that.

And now, let's develop our background knowledge.

Understanding the context in which a poem was written can help us to explore its meaning further.

Context is one of our keywords.

It means the setting or the background that helps us to understand something better.

So, this can include developing our background knowledge linked to the historical context, when it was written and what was happening at the time, the geographical context, where the poem takes place and what it was like in real life, social context, how people lived, what they believed, and how they acted at the time, literary context, the kinds of texts that people wrote and read at the time.

"London" was published in 1794.

The Industrial Revolution was a period when machines and factories changed the way people lived and worked in cities.

It started in the late 18 century, 1700s, around the time that William Blake was a young man.

During this time, machines started doing lots of the work that people used to do by hand, like weaving cloth.

This made things faster and cheaper to make, but it also changed where people lived and how they worked.

Cities grew much larger at this time, but many people lived in poverty and in overcrowded and unpleasant living conditions.

They didn't have enough money.

Meanwhile, in France, the French Revolution started in 1789.

It was a time of radical and social upheaval.

Check for understanding.

Put these events in chronological order.

"London" was published in 1794.

The French Revolution started in 1789.

William Blake was born in 1757.

Pause the video while you put these events in chronological order, in the sequence in which they happened.

So first up, we have William Blake was born in 1757.

Next, the French Revolution started in 1789, and "London" was published in 1794.

Well done if you put the events in this order.

The Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century, the 1700s, around the time that William Blake was a young man.

Romanticism was a movement in art and literature at the time.

The Romantic movement, Romanticism, focused more on feelings, imagination, and nature, and reacted against the new emphasis on science in society.

Society is one of our keywords.

It means a group of people living together, sharing customs and ways of living.

Romantic poets were often critical of industrialization and valued the simplicity and purity of rural life.

They also believe people should not be bound by fixed rules and should have individual freedom.

William Blake was part of this movement, and his poetry often talks about these ideas, as well as things like social justice and the beauty of the natural world.

He believed in social and racial equality.

Other Romantic poets include William Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Check for understanding.

Select the statements that are true.

Romanticism was a movement in art and literature at the time.

Romantic poets valued technology and science above all else.

Romantic poets valued the simplicity and purity of rural life.

Romantic poets include Michael Rosen and Valerie Bloom.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements are true.

Well done if you selected statement A, Romanticism was indeed a movement in art and literature at the time, and also statement C, Romantic poets valued the simplicity and purity of rural life.

And now, it's time for your next task.

What impression of London is created in the poem "London"?

Is it a positive or negative image?

So an impression is your first, your initial feelings about a person, place, or thing.

So what was your impression of London?

Is it positive or negative?

And you can refer to the text.

And why do you think William Blake chose to write the poem at this time?

Use your knowledge of the context to help you.

So pause the video here and share with someone nearby.

What's your impression of London?

Is it positive or negative?

And why do you think William bloke chose to write the poem?

Use your knowledge of the context to help you.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, it's great to be back with you.

I am curious about your first impressions.

Let's hear from Aisha.

"I think a negative impression is created of London in the poem because everyone is suffering and there is lots of 'woe'.

" Yeah, we know woe means sadness and distress.

What about Izzy?

"I think that William Blake could have chosen to write the poem because there was a lot of change in London at the time due to the Industrial Revolution.

" Oh, great answer, Izzy.

I like the way you're using your knowledge of the social context of the time to aid you there with your answer.

And yeah, there was so much upheaval and people were living in poverty and there was a lot of suffering at this time.

Absolutely right.

I hope you enjoyed sharing your impression of his poem and listening to others' impressions as well.

In our lesson, Developing background knowledge about "London" by William Blake, we have covered the following.

William Blake was an English poet and artist who believed in social and racial equality.

London was published in 1794.

In the poem, the speaker is describing a walk around the city of London.

Romanticism was a movement in art and literature.

Romantic poets were often critical of industrialization and valued the simplicity and purity of rural life.

I've really valued your engagement with this lesson today.

Thank you so much for being here and for exploring the background knowledge to this poem, "London," what was going on at the time in the city, and it was really great to hear your impressions of the poem.

I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.

Bye for now.