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Lesson 7 of 32
  • Year 10
  • AQA

Identifying how poets convey heartbreak in natural settings

I can identify similarities and differences between 'Winter Swans', 'Neutral Tones' and 'When We Two Parted'.

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View unit
Lesson 7 of 32
New
New
  • Year 10
  • AQA

Identifying how poets convey heartbreak in natural settings

I can identify similarities and differences between 'Winter Swans', 'Neutral Tones' and 'When We Two Parted'.

Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and

Copyrights help

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The poets initially use barren and inhospitable settings to reflect despairing and hopeless emotions.
  2. The poets initially show fragmented relationships but these progress in different ways throughout each poem.
  3. Sheers is the only poet to shift to a more hopeful tone when the couple are eventually unified.
  4. Comparison questions require you to focus firstly on key ideas and then explore how the writers convey these ideas.
  5. A single paragraph outline is an effective way to structure a comparative analysis paragraph.

Keywords

  • Bleak - desolate, harsh, and without hope or cheer

  • Inhospitable - unwelcoming and unfavourable, providing little or no comfort

  • Ill-fated - destined to end in failure, tragedy, or misfortune

  • Fragmented - broken into parts or pieces; lacking unity, cohesion, or continuity

  • Unified - joined or integrated, creating a cohesive and harmonious whole

Common misconception

All three poems convey a negative view of romantic relationships.

All three poems begin by conveying a negative view of romantic relationships. This continues throughout 'Neutral Tones' and 'When We Two Parted' however 'Winter Swans' undergoes a shift to a hopeful tone by the end as the couple are unified.


To help you plan your year 10 English lesson on: Identifying how poets convey heartbreak in natural settings, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

When attempting Task C, consider printing out the model answer used in the feedback (found in Additional Materials) and encouraging students to annotate where each element of the single paragraph is included before using the feedback slide to discuss this as a group.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to the poems 'Winter Swans' (Sheers), 'Neutral Tones' (Hardy) and 'When We Two Parted' (Byron). They can be found in the AQA Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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