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 are 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 a poem "London" by William Blake.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can describe the structure of a poem.

We have some key words in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn, form, perspective, rhyme scheme, repetition.

Great stuff.

I liked hearing those words.

Let's find out what they mean.

Form is the way that a text can be presented.

Perspective is the point of view or position from which the poet writes.

Influencing the way events or ideas are portrayed and understood.

Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming words or sounds at the end of each line in a poem, often representing using letters to indicate the rhyme pattern.

For example, AABB or ABAB.

Repetition is the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases, or structural elements that are repeated for emphasis or for a particular effect.

These are our key words.

Let's be on the lookout for them.

Let's listen out for them.

Let's think carefully about these words.

Our lesson today is Exploring form in 'London' by William Blake.

The lesson has two parts to it, exploring structure and discussing structure.

Let's begin by exploring structure.

So what do we know about the poet William Blake?

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker who was born in 1757 and died in 1827.

Blake published his poetry collection, songs of experience in 1794.

This collection contains the poem 'London'.

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

He believed in social and racial equality.

Here, here, William Blake was a romantic poet.

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

Life in the countryside.

In the poem 'London', William Blake uses sensory language to paint a vivid image.

Sounds are important in a poem such as the "infant's cry of fear" and the "chimney-sweeper's cry".

The use of negative sounds in the poem creates a noisy and unpleasant impression of the city.

Blake uses visuals of a black'ning church.

This could be from the dirt caused by the industrial revolution.

He also describes the blood on "Palace walls".

These descriptions create a vivid and overall negative image.

'London' does not come off looking very good from this poem.

The poem 'London' is a dramatic monologue.

A dramatic monologue is when one person speaks in a poem or story, sharing their thoughts and feelings with the reader.

It's like listening to someone talk about their experiences, but you don't hear anyone else speaking.

It's written in first person perspective.

And remember, perspective is one of our keywords and it means the point of view from which the poet writes.

And this influences the way the ideas are portrayed or understood.

So the first person perspective includes the pronouns 'I', 'me', 'my', or 'mine'.

I wander thro' each chartered street, near where the chartered Thames does flow.

And mark in every face I meet.

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

We can see that first person perspective there through the eye.

The eye who's wandering in the eye, who meets the marks of weakness and marks of woe.

Check for understanding, which of these is written in first person perspective?

"I wonder through each charted street", "In every cry of every man", "In every infant's cry of fear," pause a video while you'd decide which of these is written in first person perspective.

Well-done, if you selected the first line.

This has the first person, pronoun I.

First person perspective can also include plural pronouns such as we, us, our, and ours.

Structure and poetry refers to the way a poem is organized or put together, including elements such as verses, lines, and rhyme scheme.

These all relate to its form and how it is presented.

Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming, sounds, or words at the end of each line in a poem.

And these are often represented by letter like AABB or ABAB for example.

And form is another one of our keywords, and this is how the text is presented.

Here are a few examples of different structures you may find in poetry.

A haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a specific syllable pattern, five-seven-five.

And often these haikus are written about nature.

They're often nature-themed.

A sonnet is a specific form of poetry that consists of 14 lines and follows a strict rhyme scheme.

A limerick is a short, humorous poem with five lines usually following a strict rhyme scheme.

'London' is an example of a fixed verse poem.

It has four verses, each of which has four lines.

These are also known as quatrains.

Let's reread and explore the structure of the poem.

I wander through each charted street, Near where the charted Thames does flow.

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

And we can see that the first and the third lines end in words that rhyme.

So we've got street and meet.

And then the second and the fourth times end in words that rhyme, flow, and woe.

We can discover the rhyme scheme of the poem by assigning a letter of the alphabet to each set of rhyming lines.

So here's the second verse of the poem.

In every cry of every man, In every infant's cry of fear, In every voice: in every band, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

So we've got A, so we've got the word man at the end there, we can place an A beside that, B for the word fear.

And then we go back to A, because ban and man rhyme.

And then we've got a B because hear and fear rhyme.

So we've got an ABAB rhyme.

Not all poems have a strict rhyme scheme.

And let's take a look at the third and the fourth verses of the poem.

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

So we've got cry and sign, appalls and walls.

Again, ABAB, final verse.

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

So we have here and tear in lines one and three and curse and hearse rhyme in lines two and four.

Again, ABAB rhyme scheme.

The poem 'London' has a regular rhyme scheme and rhythm.

Check for understanding.

The rhyme scheme of the poem 'London' is ABAB, ABCB, ABBA.

Pause video while you decide which of these is the correct rhyme scheme for the poem 'London'.

Well-done if you selected ABAB, that is the rhyme scheme for the poem 'London.

' Each set of lines should be carefully checked as some may not follow the same rhyme scheme throughout the entire poem.

Repetition is the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases, or structural elements that are repeated for emphasis or for a particular effect.

I'd like you to refer to the poem now.

Can you find any examples of repetition in the poem?

Pause the video while you share with someone nearby examples of repetition in the poem.

Okay, I wonder what you found.

Let's hear from Izzy.

"I noticed that the word charter'd is repeated.

It is used to describe a London street as well as the Thames River.

" However, Alex, the phrase "In every" is repeated in the second verse.

Oh, good spot, Alex, I wonder if you spotted these as well.

Other examples of repetition from the poem include marks - on faces of weakness and of woe, cries of every man, of fear and from the chimney sweepers.

Infants crying in fear, tears blasted by the cursing.

Hearing, the mind-forg'd manacles, and through the midnight streets, streets which are being walked through by the speaker.

We'll be exploring the impact that this has in the next part of the lesson.

The poem 'London' by William Blake is structured in a way that supports a clear rhythm and beat when read aloud, which can help readers engage more deeply with the text.

Each line has a pattern with its number of syllables.

These can be stressed, which is where there's more emphasis or a particular syllable or unstressed to create a rhythm, we can clap to help us keep a consistent rhythm.

So for these two lines here, we can clap in this way.

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

That was fun.

And help me keep a consistent rhythm.

Check for understanding which of the following words are repeated throughout the poem?

Cries, soldiers, marks, palace.

Pause video while you decide which of these words are repeated throughout the poem.

Well-done if you selected cries and marks, and now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to reread the poem aloud using the poem structure to support your reading.

Use clapping to create a consistent rhythm.

There should be four claps per line: Each line follows the pattern da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.

You can use punctuation and line breaks to create natural pauses that guide the pacing, helping to emphasize the rhythm and flow of the poem.

Enjoy rereading the poem and helping you and clapping to create this consistent rhythm.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, great to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task?

I'd like you to reflect on the experience.

How did it make you feel?

We pause video here, turn someone nearby and reflect on your experience of rereading the poem out loud, clapping to support, keeping that rhythm.

Okay.

Hope you enjoyed sharing with each other.

Let's hear from Lucas.

"It was satisfying reading something with a clear rhythm and lots of rhyming words.

" And Laura, "It was hard to take a breath as a beat and rhythm kept me going.

" Thanks for sharing those reflections.

I hope you enjoyed sharing how you got on with reading that poem and how you felt.

And now we are onto the next part of our lesson discussing structure.

William Blake decided on the form and structure of his poems in order to create a specific effect or a particular mood or impression.

We can consider how the form helps to create and emphasize the mood of the poem.

The collection songs of experience contains several poems which focus on the dark aspects of human life and society.

For example, Blake wrote the poem as a dramatic monologue from the first person perspective, which helps to reveal the speaker's feelings and perspective.

This helps the reader or listener to empathize with the speaker, to feel with them, to understand their experience.

Check for understanding ,which of the following are true.

The poem has a rhyme scheme of ABAB.

The poem has a rhyme scheme of ABCB.

The poem contains examples of repetition.

The poem does not contain examples of repetition.

Pause video while you decide which of these are true.

Well-done if you selected A and C.

Indeed, the poem does have a rhyme scheme of ABAB and it contains examples of repetition to great effect.

May I add, William Blake chose his poem 'London' to have a rigid and regular form rather than a loose form.

The poem has a very regular rhyme scheme, ABAB.

Nearly all the words that rhyme at the end of each line have only one syllable.

This helps the reader to emphasize these words even more.

The strong beat and regular rhyme scheme emphasizes the monotony and suffering of people in London.

A monotony is a noun.

It means where there's a lack of variety and interest, where things are tedious, they stay the same.

Our viewpoints about the impact of the poem may differ as we are all unique and we all bring our own unique identities to our experience of reading a poem.

Check for understanding which statement describes the impact of the structure of the poem.

So we've got one idea from Aisha.

"The poem has a regular rhyme scheme and structure because it has two pairs of rhyming words in each verse and all the verses have the same number of lines.

" And here's Andy.

"The regular ABAB rhyme scheme of the poem helps to show how controlled the city is and emphasizes the sense of suffering.

" Pause video while he decide which of these statements best describes the impact of the structure of the poem.

Both of these statements are true about the poem, but it is, and each statement that is more to do with the impact of the structure of the poem.

The fact of how it's this regular rhyme scheme is showing how the city is controlled.

The poem has a regular rhythm.

What impact do you think this has?

Does it create energy and speed?

Create a sense of exhaustion, create a sense of consistency and predictability?

Pause the video while you share with someone nearby.

What impact do you think the regular rhythm of this poem has?

Here's Sophia.

"The regular and steady rhythm of the poem helps to create a sense of consistency and predictability, which mirrors the monotony and oppression for people in London.

" Thank you for sharing that, Sophia.

I asked is that the same, the same, the same rhythm, and the same life and suffering for the people.

Poets will use a range of techniques to help create their chosen impression.

This includes language choices, poetic devices, and structure.

Check for understanding.

The poem uses repetition match the example of repetition to the impact that it has on the reader or listener.

So we have "charter'd" is repeated, "I hear" is repeated and so is the word "every".

And here are the impacts of these repetitions.

Shows how the narrator is surrounded by sounds of suffering.

Suggests that the negative experiences that the narrator describes are universal, emphasizes how controlled everything in the city is.

Pause a video while you match the example of repetition to the impact that it has on the reader or listener.

Well-done if you match Charter'd with emphasizing how controlled everything in the city is.

I hear shows how the narrator is surrounded by the sounds of suffering.

And every suggests that the negative experiences that the narrator describes are universal.

Well-done if you made these connections.

And now it's time for your next task.

I'd like you to describe the structure of the poem and comment on the impact.

You might include reference to the form of the poem, the number of verses and lines, the rhyme scheme of the poem, what perspective the poem is written in, use of repetition, the impact of any of these aspects.

What mood or atmosphere do they contribute to?

And you may have to include the following sentence starters in your discussion.

The poem 'London' by William Blake has this contributes to the.

and then describe mood of the poem.

This helps to.

and continue that sentence.

So pause the video here while you turn someone nearby and discuss the structure of the poem and comment on its impact.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Great to be back with you.

I hope you enjoyed that discussion.

Let's hear it from Lucas.

"The poem 'London' has four verses of four lines each.

It is a rhythmic poem with a sense of monotony.

This contributes to the oppressive mood of the poem.

It also helps to emphasize the suffering experienced by the city's inhabitants.

" Thank you for sharing that, Lucas, and really hearing from you how that very structured rhythm of the poem is giving us that sense of monotony and oppression and suffering.

I wonder if your responses were similar or different to Lucas's.

In our lesson today.

Exploring form in 'London' by William Blake.

We have covered the following.

The poem 'London' is a dramatic monologue.

This is when one person speaks in a poem or story, sharing their perspective with the reader.

'London' is an example of a fixed verse poem.

It has four verses, each of which has four lines.

The poem has a regular rhyme scheme, ABAB.

Blake uses repetition to emphasize certain words or phrases or to create a particular effect.

Our viewpoints about the impact of the poem may differ as we are all unique.

Thank you everyone for joining in with this lesson today.

I love to exploring form with you, form of this incredible poem 'London' by William Blake.

And I'm really looking forward to some continued explorations of this poem in another lesson soon.

Bye for now.