Emulating Saint's use of an anti-climax in 'Hera'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use symbolism and semantic fields to emulate Saint's use of an anti-climax.
Key learning points
- Saint arguably uses an anti-climax in order to subvert the reader's expectations about ambition and power.
- In order to craft an anti-climax, Saint uses symbolism and semantic fields to create ideas of transience.
- In order to emulate Saint's work, we might use the symbolism of water and repetition of a verb which implies departing.
- Furthermore, we might consider using a semantic field of being unbalanced.
Keywords
Anti-climax - when something is much less exciting or dramatic than it was expected to be
Transience - the state or fact of lasting only for a short time
Futile - achieving no result; not effective or successful
Subvert - to criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values
Common misconception
That anti-climaxes are always disappointing to the reader.
While some people may find them disappointing, they can also be useful in teaching us something about our own expectations around endings and resolutions.
Teacher tip
It might be useful to read the final two pages of Jennifer Saint's 'Hera' so pupils can see how Saint crafts the anti-climax using symbolism and semantic fields.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Greek mythology, who is the ruler of the gods?
Q2.In Greek mythology, who is Hera?
Q3.'When something is much less exciting or dramatic than it was expected to be' is the definition of an ...
Q4.'To criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
Q5.Which of the following is a synonym of the verb 'to leave'?
Q6.'A group of words that is related in meaning' is the definition of a ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Jennifer Saint's 'Hera'?
Q2.Arguably, we might consider Saint's ending to 'Hera' as ...
Q3.In 'Hera', Saint uses the symbolism of __________ to craft an anti-climactic ending.
Q4.Which of the following would create a semantic field with the words "crumpled" and "creased"?
Q5.'The state or fact of lasting only for a short time' is the definition of which word beginning with 't'?
Q6.'Achieving no result; not effective or successful' is the definition of which word beginning with 'f'?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Emulating Saint's use of an anti-climax in 'Hera', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Emulating Saint's use of an anti-climax in 'Hera', 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 Fiction: ending stories unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.