Understanding how Eliot presents London in 'In a London Drawingroom'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Eliot presents the industrialisation of London in 'In a London Drawingroom'.
Key learning points
- Arguably, Eliot wrote under a pseudonym because she wanted to be seen as saying something important about society.
- Eliot often wrote about rural life and the disparity between the poor and the rich.
- Eliot would likely have critiqued the Industrial Revolution for the shift away from nature and the working conditions.
- The perspective of the poem could be a critique of the upper classes during the Industrial Revolution.
- The poem suggests that the Industrial Revolution harmed nature and lead to oppression.
Keywords
Industrialisation - the process of transforming the economy from a focus on agriculture to a reliance on manufacturing.
Trivial - of little value or importance.
Obscured - unclear and difficult to understand or see.
Perspective - refers to the position from which something is viewed.
Oppressive - a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way.
Common misconception
That we should consider imagery at literal, face value.
While considering the literal meaning is good for our understanding, we want to move beyond that to consider what a quotation or image symbolises and what it is saying about the wider ideas in the poem.
Teacher tip
You might like to look at the social transgressions of Eliot's life and connect them to ideas of how she would likely critique societal norms and oppressive treatment.
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.Another way of saying viewpoint is...
Q2.If something is oppressive it is...
Q3.What connotations do we tend to have of cities?
Q4.What does 'rural' relate to?
Q5.What does the Industrial Revolution refer to?
Q6.Language which is suggestive but not certain in nature is known as language.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is being described here: 'the process of transforming the economy from a focus on agriculture to a reliance on manufacturing.'?
Q2. refers to the position from which something is viewed.
Q3.The perspective of 'In a London Drawingroom ' could be a critique of the classes during the Industrial Revolution.
Q4.George Eliot's work often depicted life.
Q5.What was true of the Industrial Revolution in Britain?
Q6.What does Eliot suggest about the Industrial Revolution in 'In a London Drawingroom'?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding how Eliot presents London in 'In a London Drawingroom', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding how Eliot presents London in 'In a London Drawingroom', 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.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
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.