Lesson video

Hello everyone, how are you today?

I hope you're doing really, really well.

My name is Ms. Avsal, 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'm 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 poem "London" by William Blake.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can describe some of the key imagery used in the poem.

We have some key words in our lesson today, let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Imagery, atmosphere, visual, aural.

Great stuff, I liked hearing those words.

Let's find out what these words mean.

So imagery is the use of vivid and sensory language that appeals to reader's senses, creating vivid mental pictures and enhancing the emotional impact of the poem.

Atmosphere is the feeling or mood created in a section or whole of the text.

Visual relating to the sense of sight and aural relating to the sense of hearing.

These are our key words.

Let's be on lookout for them.

Let's think about 'em carefully, they will be coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is all about exploring imagery in "London" by William Blake.

There are two parts to our lesson.

There's exploring imagery and then discussing imagery.

Let's begin with exploring imagery.

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.

William Blake was a romantic poet.

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

Imagery is the writer's use of highly descriptive and vivid language that appeals to the senses to paint a picture.

It includes metaphors, similes, and personification.

By making specific language choices, poets can enhance meaning in their poems and create a specific impression.

Let's look at some of the imagery used in "London".

First, read the poem "London" again.

So pause the video here and read through the poem.

Okay, hope you enjoyed reading through that poem one more time, getting yourself familiar with it.

And now, let's explore the imagery in verse 1.

So there are a few words and images that would be particularly useful to explore here.

I'm thinking about charter'd, the "Charter'd street" and the "Charter'd Thames".

So charter'd means controlled or regulated by a charter, which is a type of legal document.

So the "Charter'd street" and "Charter'd Thames" creates an impression of control and regulation.

Everywhere is controlled.

That doesn't make you feel very free, does it?

Next, I'd like to look at this final line in verse 1, "Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

" Let's take a look at this word, woe.

Deep distress or sorrow, often caused by suffering or misfortune.

And the "Marks of weakness and marks of woe" in that last line suggests that the signs of distress and sorrow are visible on people's faces.

It creates an image of physical and emotional misery.

That's really quite powerful, I think.

So we can see that in this first verse, the speaker is describing what they see in the streets, in the faces of everyone they meet.

Now, let's explore imagery in verse 2.

In this verse, we see this word cry.

This is the "Cry of every man" and in "Infants have the cry of fear".

The speaker, his distressing noises, everywhere they go, both men and babies, infants are crying.

This is an unpleasant image.

This is a worrying, distressing image, I feel.

Next, let's take a look at these words in the final line, "Mind-forg'd manacles".

So manacles are metal restraints or shackles used to imprison someone.

And the metaphor "Mind-forg'd manacles" creates the image of restraints that are created in people's minds.

So people's minds are not free, they're shackled and imprisoned by their minds.

So this verse is all about what the speaker can hear.

They're describing what they can hear, these cries, and the "Mind-forg'd manacles", restraints.

Let's move on to verse 3, and exploring the imagery in verse 3.

So we have the "Chimney-sweepers".

The imagery of the "Chimney-sweepers cry" makes us imagine a young person in distress, because chimney-sweepers were usually children.

And we have the "Black'ning Church", the blood down Palace walls.

The speaker describes a visual image of the church black'ning, getting blacker.

This could be from the dirt caused by the Industrial Revolution.

They also describe the blood on Palace walls.

These descriptions create a vivid and negative image.

And here, the speaker is describing both sounds and sights.

So the cry of the Chimney-sweepers, the image of the black'ning Church, and the blood on Palace walls.

And finally, let's move into exploring imagery in verse 4.

This verse, and indeed the whole poem ends with the line, "And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

" So blights, this is a plant disease or a form of decay.

And plagues is a 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 "Blights with plagues the Marriage hearse" creates the negative image of marriage being corrupted by powerful plagues and blights.

The "Marriage hearse" connects marriage, which should be positive with death.

So in this verse, the speaker creates an impression of innocent and good things being destroyed.

Very powerful way to end the poem.

Check for understanding.

Now, that we have explored some language in more detail and thought about the imagery and impression created, how would you describe the mood of the poem?

Pause the video and turn to someone nearby and share with them how do you.

How would you describe the mood of this poem "London"?

Let's hear from Andy.

"I think the mood of the poem is depressing and despairing, because the speaker describes so much unhappiness everywhere.

" And Alex, "I think the poem has an angry mood.

The speaker seems quite cross and upset about the London he describes.

" Yeah, thanks for sharing those ideas and I hope you enjoyed sharing your ideas with your partner, and I wonder if yours was similar to what we heard from Andy and Alex, or maybe they were different.

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

I would like you to read the poem aloud.

Use our exploration of the language and imagery in the poem to help emphasize the atmosphere and mood as you read.

Think about your use of volume, tone, and facial expressions to keep the audience engaged.

So pause the video here, taking on board everything we've just learned and explored around imagery and atmosphere and read the poem aloud.

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

How did you get on with reading your poem aloud?

Did you create a suitable atmosphere?

Did you use your volume, tone, and facial expressions to keep the audience engaged?

I hope so.

I hope you enjoyed reading the poem.

And now, let's move on to discussing imagery.

William Blake uses a wide range of imagery to create a strong impression of London in the reader or listener's mind.

His specific language choices helped create an impression of London that is noisy and unpleasant.

His writing appeals to our senses to create a vivid picture, including aural and visual descriptions.

And these are our key words, remember, aural relate to our sense of hearing and visual relates to our sense of seeing.

Check for understanding.

Is each quote an aural or visual image?

"Infants cry of fear", "Black'ning Church", "Blood down Palace walls", "Every cry of every man".

So pause the video while you decide, which of these quotes is an aural image and which is a visual image.

So an "Infants cry of fear" is an aural image.

"Black'ning Church" is a visual image.

"Blood down Palace walls" is also a visual image, something we can see.

And "Every cry of every man" is an aural image, something we can hear.

Well done, if you made these connections.

Discussing the language choices and imagery that William Blake uses in the poem "London", helps us to understand the poem better and also helps us to explain how the poet has been successful.

When discussing the language and imagery, we can choose the words or phrases that we think are important, explain what they mean or what they show, describe the effect of the language or the impression it creates.

How ideas and discussions will all be different because we are all unique and we all bring our own experiences and our own reading identities to poetry.

So let's have a go at my turn, your turn, discussing some of the imagery.

So first of all, I will discuss some language from verse 1, and then it will be your turn.

The repetition of charter'd in "Charter'd street" and "Charter'd Thames" shows that lots of London is controlled and regulated.

This creates a mood of oppression because it prevents freedom.

That does not feel good.

And over to you.

I'll let you now to discuss some language from verse 1, and you could choose the same or a different example.

And remember to choose the words or phrases that you think are important, and explain what they mean or they show, and describe the effect of the language or the impression that it creates.

So pause the video while you have a go at discussing some of the language from verse 1 with someone nearby.

Okay, so what language did you choose I wonder?

Let's hear from Laura.

Oh, Laura went for "Marks of weakness".

"So the 'Marks of weakness, marks of woe' show that people have been physically hurt by sadness and sorrow.

It makes me feel sorry for the people in London that William Blake describes.

" Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Laura.

I can really.

I can feel your heart there going out to these people.

Next, I will discuss some language from verse 2.

The metaphor, "Mind-forg'd manacles", describes a kind of shackle or handcuffs in someone's mind.

It gives the impression of people not having the freedom or control over their lives or even over their own minds.

Over to you.

I would like you to discuss some language from verse 2.

You can choose the same, example of the "Mind-forg'd manacles" or a different example.

And remember to choose the words or phrases that you think are important, explain what they mean or they show, and describe the effect of the language or the impression it creates.

So pause the video here, turn to someone nearby, and share some language in verse 2 that you feel is significant.

Okay, what did you come up with?

Let's have a look at what Lucas chose.

Oh, Lucas went for the cries, all right.

So, "The 'cry of man' and 'infants cry of fear' show the sounds of unhappiness of people in the city.

It makes London seem like it is full of miserable people.

" Yep, I hear you, literally hear you there, Lucas.

And hear what William Blake was sharing with us, thank you.

Next, let's move on to discussing some language from verse 3, I will go first.

The visual image of the black'ning Church describes a church becoming darker.

This could be from soot and pollution, but perhaps it means that the Church is cruel and not helping people, instead it appalls.

And now over to you.

I'd like you to discuss some language from verse 3.

You can choose the same example, the black'ning Church or something different.

Remember to choose the words or phrases that you think are important, explain what they mean or they show, and describe the effect of the language or the impression it creates.

So pause the video here and discuss with someone nearby some of the key and significant language from verse 3.

Let's hear from Andy.

Oh, Andy's gone for the blood down Palace walls.

So, "The vivid description of blood running down Palace walls creates an image of people being hurt or killed.

It is a powerful metaphor and it suggests that innocent people like the Chimney-sweepers or hapless soldiers are being hurt.

" Yeah, great example there, Andy, and very vivid, isn't it, the blood running down the Palace walls.

Thank you for choosing that and sharing what it's suggesting to you.

And finally, let's move on to verse 4.

I will discuss some language from verse 4 and then it will be your turn.

The verb blasts often describes attacking or destroying something.

It suggests that the newborn infant's tear is being seriously hurt.

This creates a negative atmosphere where innocent babies are suffering as utterly heartbreaking.

And now, over to you.

Now, you discuss the language from verse 4.

You can choose the same or a different example.

And remember to choose the words or phrases that you think are important, explain what they mean or they show, and describe the effect of the language or the impression it creates.

So pause the video while you discuss with someone nearby some of the significant language from verse 4, and the impression that it creates.

And here's Sam.

"The blight with plagues describes a disease and form of decay that can cause illness and death.

It shows that people are being hurt and creates a dangerous mood.

" Yeah, it really does get really quite serious and somber in this final verse.

Yeah, thanks for sharing that with us, Sam.

Now, that we've discussed imagery in the poem, let's move on to considering some of the quotes.

So which of the following quotes from the poem "London", do you think is the most powerful?

And explain why.

So we have "Charter'd street" and "Charter'd Thames", "Marks of weakness, marks of woe", "Mind-forg'd manacles", "Black'ning Church", "Blood down Palace walls", and "Blights with plagues the Marriage hearse".

So pause the video here and choose which of these quotes is the most powerful for you, and explain why to someone nearby, and I'll see you when you're finished.

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

I wonder which quote you chose.

Let's see which one Sophia went with.

"I think the 'mind-forg'd manacles' is a powerful metaphor because it is controlling in people's minds.

Normally, our minds are free.

" But yeah, as we can see in this poem, they are manacled and shackled.

Thank you for that, Sophia, very powerful.

Let's see what Izzy thinks.

"I think 'Blights with plagues the Marriage hearse' is the most powerful image, because plagues can kill thousands of people and a hearse also makes you think of death.

" Very powerful indeed, yeah.

And what a way to finish, to end this incredible poem.

Thank you for that, Izzy.

I hope you enjoyed sharing what you thought was the most powerful quote in this poem.

Weren't we (indistinct) her choice, this poem was filled with such mighty powerful imagery.

And remember, our ideas will be different because we are all unique and that is what makes us so wonderful, and special, and who we are.

In our lesson, Exploring Imagery in "London" by William Blake, we have covered the following.

Imagery refers to the use of language that evokes vivid mental pictures in the reader's mind.

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

Sounds are important in a poem, such as the "Infants 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.

Different kinds of language have different effects.

Well done, everyone for joining in with this lesson where we've been exploring imagery in this incredibly powerful poem "London" by William Blake.

I really loved all of your ideas and especially loved hearing, which were the most powerful images in the poem for you.

I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.

Bye for now.