Understanding how Brontë presents nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Brontë presents the voice and purpose of nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee'.
Key learning points
- The speaker of ‘Shall earth no more inspire me’ is arguably nature itself.
- The speaker is talking directly to someone who has stopped appreciating nature.
- The speaker is trying to convince the listener to return to nature.
- Nature is portrayed as both comforting and powerful which feeds into Romantic ideas of the sublime.
Keywords
Idolatry - extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone
Reverence - deep respect for someone or something
Romanticism - a poetry movement from the late 18th and early 19th century, focused on emotions and nature
Sublime - the mixed feelings of awe and terror in response to a phenomenon
Common misconception
That contextual information all has the same relevance and value.
When considering contextual information, you want to consider which information is the most relevant to helping us understand the meaning of the poem.
Teacher tip
Though Brontë is historically located as a Victorian writer, most literary critics see Romantic sensibilities in her work and it might be useful to consider the characteristics of Romanticism in relation to the poem.
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.Someone who feels lonely probably feels...
Q2.To soothe means...
Q3.The Romantics felt __________ nature.
Q4.What do we mean when we refer to the context of a poem?
Q5.What does calling someone your "comrade" suggest?
Q6.What does pining for something suggest?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Brontë's 'Shall earth no more inspire thee?'
Q2.Brontë's sister wrote that she found nature .
Q3.To have deep respect for someone or something is called .
Q4.Which of the following is relevant context for Brontë's 'Shall earth no more inspire thee?'
Q5.Extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone is called .
Q6.In 'Shall earth no more inspire me', what are the two most likely connotations of the speaker saying "I've watched thee every hour"?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding 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: Understanding 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.
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.