Comparing ‘To Autumn,’ ‘The Prelude’ and ‘Sonnet 43’
I can compare how Romantic poets use language, form and structure to express their different views.
Comparing ‘To Autumn,’ ‘The Prelude’ and ‘Sonnet 43’
I can compare how Romantic poets use language, form and structure to express their different views.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- In ‘To Autumn’ and ‘The Prelude’, Keats and Wordsworth depict human beings interacting with nature.
- Keats’ poem celebrates autumn's beauty and bounty whereas Wordsworth recalls happy childhood memories of ice skating.
- Both Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Keats wrote formal poetry to express their love for a beloved.
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning addressed her sonnet to her husband and Keats addressed his ode to the season of autumn.
- The dominant tone of ‘Sonnet 43’ is intense passion whereas Wordsworth’s poem is filled with nostalgia.
Keywords
Interaction - talking or taking part in activities with others
Primarily - mainly
Sublime - in Romanticism, the feeling of being in awe and overwhelmed by the wonder of creation
Vitality - excitement, energy and enthusiasm
The beloved - the loved and often idealised being addressed or described by a poet
Common misconception
That Romantic poems are about the beauty of nature.
While Romantic poets often wrote admiringly about nature, they are primarily concerned with their interaction with nature.
To help you plan your year 11 English lesson on: Comparing ‘To Autumn,’ ‘The Prelude’ and ‘Sonnet 43’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 English lesson on: Comparing ‘To Autumn,’ ‘The Prelude’ and ‘Sonnet 43’, 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 Poetry anthology (Assessment until summer 2026) unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the Eduqas poetry anthology.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the poets on the left with the poems they wrote on the right.
'Sonnet 43'
'To Autumn'
'The Prelude'
Q2.What is the central theme of 'Sonnet 43' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning?
Q3.In 'To Autumn,' which of the following is not part of Keats' presentation of the season?
Q4.What literary technique beginning with 'P' does Keats use to depict autumn as a human being?
Q5.Which sport is Wordsworth remembering in 'The Prelude?
Q6.Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Wordsworth and John Keats are all Romantic poets. Which of the following are typical of Romanticism?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the words on the left with their synonyms on the right.
engagement
mostly
glorious
life force
Q2.What word do we use to describe the admired and adored person the speaker is addressing in a poem?
Q3.Match the poems with the quotations.
"Let me count the ways"
"the orange sky of evening died away"
"bless with fruit"