Analysing how Brontë presents nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Brontë uses personification and a regular structure to present ideas about nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee'.
Key learning points
- Arguably, Brontë personifies nature in order to encourage the reader to form a connection with nature.
- Brontë largely uses a regular rhyme of ABAB which may reflect the calm voice of the speaker.
- The deviation to AAAA in the final stanza could signify that the speaker and listener are connecting.
- The extra unstressed syllable on the first and third lines could add to the soothing nature of the speaker.
Keywords
Personification - attribution of human characteristics to non-human things
Unstressed syllable - the part of the word that you don't emphasise or accent
Iambic - a pattern in poetry where each unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable
Feminine ending - a line that ends in an unstressed syllable
Common misconception
A change in the rhyming pattern is unimportant to the meaning of the poem.
A change in the rhyme could signify a change in emotion or a conflict/resolution has occurred.
Teacher tip
You could spend more time considering how to determine the rhythm of a poem if this is an unfamiliar concept to your students.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the AQA World and Lives anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The attribution of human characteristics to non-human things is called...
Q2.In Brontë's 'Shall earth no more inspire thee', the speaker is trying to...
Q3.What might regularity in a rhyme scheme suggest?
Q4.Match the word with its rhyming pair.
bow
pleases
bending
Q5.A literary argument in a piece of writing consists of...
Q6.In the word "inspire", the "in" is the unstressed syllable. What sort of sound is it in comparison to the stressed syllable "spire"?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The final stanza of 'Shall earth no more inspire thee' is written in which rhyming pattern?
Q2.In 'Shall earth no more inspire thee', by implying that the speaker is nature, Brontë is nature.
Q3.A pattern in poetry where each unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable is called...
Q4.What reaction does the speaker receive from the listener in Brontë's 'Shall earth no more inspire thee'?
Q5.The part of the word that you don't emphasise or accent is called the...
Q6.Brontë's decision to add an extra unstressed syllable to some of the lines in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee' most likely indicates...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Analysing how Brontë presents nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Analysing how Brontë presents nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the 'World and Lives' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.