Lesson video

Hello and welcome to your English lesson.

Today we're going to be writing about Shelley's poem "The Masque of Anarchy".

But before we begin, you need to make sure you've got something to write with.

If you don't have that, you can go and grab it now.

I'd also like you to make sure that you've put all distractions out of the way, whatever they may be, so you can fully focus on today's lesson content and producing a piece of writing that you're going to be really proud of.

Great, let's get started.

So let's start by looking at our agenda for today's lesson.

It's a shorter one than usual, but that's because I'm expecting you to do a really good piece of writing at the end of the lesson that you're really proud of.

We're going to begin by reviewing Shelley's purpose in writing the poem "The Masque of Anarchy".

Then we're going to consider how we can use embedded quotations in our writing.

And then we're going to finish by writing about Shelley's poem "The Masque of Anarchy".

So let's get started.

Using our knowledge of the poem, I want us to recall what Shelley's purpose was for writing "The Masque of Anarchy".

What was the message behind his poem? We've got three symbols below.

Let's remind ourselves of what they mean.

The downward thumb is to criticise.

So what was Shelley criticising in his poem? The double hands is a symbol of celebration.

So what was Shelley celebrating in his poem? And finally, we have the symbol for education.

What was Shelley trying to educate society about in his poem? I would like you to pause the video here and remind yourself of what Shelley's purpose was.

What was he trying to criticise? What was he trying to educate people on? And what was he celebrating in his poem? So pause the video and make some notes and resume when you're done.

Great.

Hopefully you've had some time to recall Shelley's purpose in "The Masque of Anarchy".

Let's go through our ideas.

So firstly, what was Shelley trying to criticise? Well, he was trying to criticise the mistreatment of the working classes.

What was he celebrating? He was celebrating a quest for freedom through political reform.

And finally, what was he educating society about? He was trying to educate society about the injustices and the inequalities suffered by members of the working classes in society.

Did you get those? Excellent job if you did, because you can use them later in your writing.

Don't worry if you didn't, you're welcome to pause the video here and make some notes based on my discussion.

Let's move on.

We're going to use some lesson time to consider how we can use embedded quotations in our work.

So first of all you might be wondering, well miss, what is an embedded quotation? An embedded quotation enables you to use a quotation from the text in a concise way that allows your writing to flow naturally.

So when we're reading a text, whether that be a play a novel, or in our case, a poem, we want to take out a quotation and put it in our own analytical writing.

But we wanted to do so in a manner that our writing flows nice and naturally.

So let's look at how we can do that.

We're going to use a very famous quotation that some of you might be familiar with.

This quotation is from Macbeth, and it reads, "Is this a dagger which I see before me." Now, you don't need to know about the whole plot of Macbeth in order to use this quotation, but I'll just give you a bit of a summary.

Macbeth is deciding whether or not to kill the king of Scotland.

And at the end of act one, he hallucinates, and he sees a dagger in front of them.

And he's questioning whether the dagger is really there or whether it is just his state of mind.

So we're going to imagine that we want to use this quotation in a piece of analytical writing.

I'm going to show you some examples of bad practise, things we should never do when we use an embedded quotation.

Then I'm going to show you an example of how to embed a quotation really successfully.

So let's get started.

Number one, some students might embed a quotation like this.

This can be seen in the quotation "Is this a dagger which I see before me".

Now, we really need to try and avoid using the word quotation before we quote.

It's just bad practise and it makes our writing a little bit clumpy.

It doesn't flow as naturally as it could.

So the first rule is not to use the phrase "this can be seen in the quotation".

Secondly, don't use the quotation as a single sentence as seen in this example.

"Is this a dagger which I see before me".

Here Shakespeare.

It's not grammatically correct, and the quotation isn't naturally flowing into our writing.

So, number two, don't use a quotation as a single sentence.

And finally, number three, don't use eg, for example, it's just that practise.

This may look something like this.

Shakespeare suggests Macbeth is hallucinating eg "Is this a dagger which I see before me".

Eg isn't something that we use in academic writing.

It's not formal, and it doesn't allow our quotation to flow naturally into our analytical writing.

So, now I've shown you examples of bad practise, I have to show you an example of good practise.

And hopefully you'll see how it really contrasts the examples that I've shown you.

Right, here's a good one.

In Act 1, Scene 7, Shakespeare suggests Macbeth is hallucinating when he questions "Is this a dagger which I see before me".

Perfect.

Here, the quotation fits seamlessly into the writing, and it flows really naturally.

The person doesn't use the word quotation, they've not put the quotation in a sentence on its own, and they've not used eg.

So how have they done that? Well, this person has introduced when the quotation comes in Act 1, Scene 7.

Then they have written about who is the writer? Well, Shakespeare.

And then they've talked about what, what is he doing? Well, he's suggesting that Macbeth is hallucinating when he questions "Is this a dagger which I see before me".

Perfect.

The quotation fits in there seamlessly, because this person has considered the when, the who, and the what.

Let's use that for a quotation that we're familiar with from "The Masque of Anarchy".

We're going embed the quotation "rise like lions" into our own writing.

So, we need to consider the when.

In the final stanzas is when the quotation comes.

Who wrote it? Well, Shelley of course.

And finally, what is he doing? He's suggesting the working classes should "rise like lions".

So we've got our when, we've got our who, and our what, and we need to make sure that we embed our quotation seamlessly into a sentence.

Now it's your turn.

I would like you to write me one sentence that embeds the quotation "rise like lions" into it.

Remember, you need to consider the when, the who, and the what.

Let's think about this verbally before we put it to the page.

In the final stanzas, Shelley suggests the working classes should "rise like lions".

Have we used the word quotation? No.

Have we used the quotation as a sentence? No.

And have we used eg? No.

Perfect.

That sounds good to me.

So, I would like you to now complete this task.

Pause the video and embed the quotation "rise like lions" into a sentence.

When you're finished, please resume.

Great, now you've had a chance to do that, let's check what you've got.

I want you to read me your embedded quotation in a single sentence after three.

One, two, three.

Amazing.

Hopefully it sounds something like this.

"Rise like lions" was of course our quotation we needed to embed.

So, in the final stanza, Shelley suggests the working classes should "rise like lions" in their quest for political freedom.

Perfect.

This person has said when, in the final stanzas, they've said who, Shelley, and they've said what, suggests the working classes should "rise like lions".

And they've tacked on a little bit of extra information in their quest for political reform.

Perfect.

That's a really good example of an embedded quotation.

And we're going to do a little bit more work on this as we move through the lesson.

So, we're going to consider today how does Shelley present power in "The Masque of Anarchy"? And that's what you're going to be writing about in your final task.

So let's remind ourselves.

In the poem "The Masque of Anarchy" who holds the power at the start of the poem? Is it the authorities, or is it the working classes? After three, I want you to point at the symbol on the screen, is it on the left and the authorities or is it the right and the working classes? Who holds the power? One, two, three.

Perfect.

It is of course the authorities.

They hold the power at the start of the poem, but Shelley does not agree with this, because he sees them as tyrants.

So who does Shelley believe should gain power? Is it the authorities, or is it the working classes? Point at your screen after three.

One, two, three.

Excellent.

Hopefully you're pointing it this symbol, the working classes.

So while the authorities, the tyrannical authorities, gained power at the start, they have power at the start of the poem, Shelley is suggesting that the working classes should gain power through freedom and political reform as the poem continues.

So that's what we're going to be writing about today.

I'm going to begin by modelling a paragraph for you that analyses who holds power at the start of the poem.

Then I'm going to hand it over to you and you're going to write me a paragraph about who should have power as the poem continues.

But to begin with, we're going to look at our embedded quotations once more because you might be able to use these in your own piece of writing.

So, I'm going to ask you to embed a series of quotations from "The Masque of Anarchy" into a sentence using the when, the who, and the what.

Let's think about this one and verbalise it together.

The quotation is "in a cell." When is this quotation found? In the final stanzas.

Who writes this quotation? Shelley, of course, the poet.

And what is he suggesting? Well, he's suggesting that the working classes are trapped.

So, how can we put the quotation "in a cell" into a sentence? Remember, it needs to be embedded, so we must not use the word quotation, use the quotation as a single sentence, or use eg.

I want to give you a moment to verbalise your answer and then I want to hear it.

Okay, now you've had some time to think about your answer, I want to hear how you're going to embed "in a cell" into a sentence after three.

One, two, three.

Great, hopefully it sounds something like this.

In the final stanzas, Shelley suggests the working classes are trapped "in a cell".

Perfect.

"In a cell" fits seamlessly into that sentence and the writing flows naturally.

Let's have another go.

This time, I want you to embed "rise like lions" into a sentence.

Remember, you've got the when, the who, and the what.

When? In the final stanzas.

Who? Shelley.

And what? Suggests the working classes should rise.

So now over to you.

I want you to pick up your pen and embed that quotation into a sentence so that your writing flows naturally.

Pause the video here and complete that task and resume when you're done.

Great, let's check our answer.

Hopefully it looks something like this.

In the final stanzas, Shelley suggests the working classes should "rise like lions." Great, do more if you aren't sure, you're welcome to use my example.

Okay, one more time.

"Shake your chains to earth like dew".

When does this quotation occur? In the final stanzas of the poem.

Who says it? Shelley, the poet.

And what is he doing? He's encouraging the working classes.

So now you need to pick up your pen and pause the video and embed the quotation "shake your chains to earth like dew" into a single sentence.

Resume the video when you're finished.

Great, let's see what you've got.

After three, I want you to read me your embedded quotation.

One, two, three.

Sounds good.

In the final stanzas, Shelley encourages the working classes to "shake your chains to earth like dew".

Perfect.

Let's just do our three checks one last time.

Does this person use the word quotation? No.

Do they put their embedded quotation into a single sentence? No.

And do they use the phrase eg? No.

Perfect.

It fits naturally into their flow of writing, good job.

So, now that we know how to use embedded quotations in our writing, let's apply it to an analytical paragraph.

We're going to be answering, how does Shelley present power in "The Masque of Anarchy"? And remember, we need to consider three key things in our paragraph structure.

First of all, what the writer does.

Secondly, how they do it, that's where we use our embedded quotation.

And finally, why the writer does this.

Here we can use our recall from earlier in the lesson about Shelley's purpose, to criticise, to educate, to celebrate, so we're really well set up.

But I'm going to model my own paragraph for you before handing over the reins.

Let's get started.

Remember, my paragraph is going to look at who holds power at the start of the poem.

And then your paragraph that you're going to write at the end of the lesson is going to look at who should hold power by the end of the poem through freedom.

So, let's look at my example of an analytical paragraph about power in "The Masque of Anarchy".

I begin with my what.

Remember, this focuses the paragraph and the content.

Percy Shelley, a Romantic poet, presents the working classes as victims of oppression in the hands of those more powerful than them.

Great.

What have I used in my what sentence? Can you remember? I want to hear it after three.

One, two, three.

Ah, I'm really hoping you spotted the use of an appositive a Romantic poet.

Good job if you did.

So, now I've got a really clear focus for my paragraph, I need to introduce my embedded quotation.

Let's see how I've done that.

This is reflected in the final stanzas when the speaker suggests they are "in a cell" due to their lack of freedom.

Perfect.

I've embedded my quotation.

I have said when this occurred, in the final stanza, who says it, the speaker, and what.

Well, they're suggesting that there's a lack of freedom.

Now, I could stop there and move on to my why, but I know so much about this quotation from all the language analysis I did last lesson.

I want to dig deeper, and that's what I need to do now.

Shelley's use of "cell" emphasises their imprisonment and lack of control over their own lives.

It seems as though their social standing limits their power and gives it to those who have authority over them.

Great.

I've now gone into further detail about the quotation "in a cell".

I have said that it suggests their imprisonment and their lack of control over their own lives.

I've said that their power is limited because of those in authority over them.

It's those people that have the power.

And finally my why.

What's the purpose of all this? Well, here Shelley criticises those in power by highlighting their metaphorical imprisonment of and consequent control over the working classes.

Perfect.

I've used that key phrase criticises.

I've said he's criticising, he's being negative about those in power by highlighting the fact that they imprison and they control the working classes.

And it's that that Shelley wants to change.

Great.

I've got my what to focus my paragraph, I've got my how including my embedded quotation, and then finally my why, what is Shelley's purpose? What message is he trying to give his reader, his audience? Now, it's going to be over to you.

I've written a paragraph about how the power was held by the authorities and how that affects the working classes.

Now you are going to write a paragraph about how the working classes need to gain more power and freedom.

So I've given you a rough plan.

Here, you can begin with your what.

Percy Shelley, a Romantic poet, suggests the working classes need to regain power and control over their own lives.

Great.

We have got an appositive in there, and a really strong focus for your paragraph.

You're going to be talking about how the working classes need to regain power and control over their own lives.

Now, the how.

The quotation you are going to embed is "rise like lions" and you're going to look at it in further detail by analysing it through the use of the word "encourages".

Then you're going to finish your paragraph by considering why the writer does this.

What message is Shelley trying to give his reader? You may wish to start, here Shelley celebrates.

You need to think about earlier on in the lesson, what is Shelley celebrating? Consider freedom and political reform.

So I'd like you to pause the video here to complete your analytical paragraph.

I'd like you to spend a good 10 minutes writing the best paragraph you possibly can.

I'm now going to flick back to the former slide, so you have the rough plan on your screen so you can use it as you wish.

This is also available as a downloadable resource and worksheet if you wish to have it in that manner.

Please resume the video when you're done.

Great.

Now you've had some time to create a really great piece of writing that should be very proud of.

I hope your confidence is rising with each writing task that you are completing during these lessons.

Let's look at an example of a model response.

So, let's see where this writer uses their what.

Well, in the first sentence, of course, where they state Percy Shelley, a Romantic poet, suggests the working classes need to gain power and control over their lives.

Perfect.

I now know that this person has to prove to me how Shelley suggests the working classes need to gain power and control.

Let's see how they do that and how they embed their quotation.

This is seen in the final stanza as he instructs them to "rise like lions" against their powerful oppressors.

Excellent.

We can see how "rise like lions" fits seamlessly into that sentence.

Now, they could stop there, but they're not going to, they're going to look at the quotation "rise like lions" in even more detail.

Hopefully you used your notes from last lesson to help you to do this.

Shelley's simile gives power to the working classes by suggesting they become the necessary leaders required to break the cycle of oppression and loss of control that they experience in their day-to-day lives.

The image of a lion emphasises the bravery they will require in order to achieve this and the strength they will need to retain this power and new found freedom.

Excellent.

This person analyses the quotation in even more detail.

They use ideas that we would usually associate with a lion, a wild animal, and they apply this to how the working classes need to change.

They need to become brave and strong and regain power and control, and become a leader just like a lion is a leader in the natural world.

Let's see what this person has put for the why.

Why does Shelley do this? What message is he trying to give his reader? Well, here Shelley celebrates the working classes' quest for freedom through political reform in line with the events that occurred during the 1819 Peterloo Massacre.

Great.

This person has noted that Shelley is not criticising the working classes here, but he's trying to celebrate them, he's celebrating their quest for freedom through political form, through a change to better their lives.

And they've even linked it briefly to the Peterloo Massacre which we know Shelley was inspired by.

That's a really strong paragraph that uses the what, the how, the why, really effectively.

You're more than welcome to pause the video here and make any edits necessary to your own paragraph.

Well done for all of your hard work on the 91 stanza poem "The Masque of Anarchy".

And I'm really hoping that you have produced today a paragraph that you're really proud of.

Please make sure that you complete the end of lesson quiz.

And I'll see you next time, bye!.