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Year 10
Eduqas

Analysing ideas of uncertainty and intensity in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone'

I can analyse how Kay presents ideas of uncertainty and intensity in ‘Dusting the Phone’.

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New
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Year 10
Eduqas

Analysing ideas of uncertainty and intensity in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone'

I can analyse how Kay presents ideas of uncertainty and intensity in ‘Dusting the Phone’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Arguably, the use of sentence fragments and language such as “assault” create a sense of intensity in the poem.
  2. We might interpret the personification of the phone as the speaker desperately seeking human contact.
  3. Potentially, we might see the use of multiple metaphors as suggesting a sense of uncertainty.
  4. Furthermore, the structure of the poem might also be seen as creating a sense of uncertainty.

Keywords

  • Uncertainty - a situation in which something is not known or certain

  • Intensity - the quality of being felt strongly

  • Irrational - not using reason or clear thinking

Common misconception

Using an irregular structure always creates a sense of freedom.

While it can create a sense of freedom, an irregular structure can also create ideas of unpredictability and uncertainty.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Analysing ideas of uncertainty and intensity in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It might be useful to ask pupils to read the poem aloud and pause at the caesuras to help them see how the stop-start nature of the poem relates to ideas of uncertainty.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the Eduqas 2025 Anthology for this lesson.

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).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following is an accurate summary of Kay's 'Dusting the Phone'?
Correct answer: The speaker is waiting for their beloved to call.
The speaker doesn't want their beloved to call.
The speaker is trying to call their beloved.
Q2.
'Giving human feelings and actions to objects or ideas' is the definition of .
Correct Answer: personification, personify, personifies, Personification
Q3.
'A word or a phrase used to describe something as if it were something else' is the definition of which of the following?
personification
Correct answer: metaphor
simile
Q4.
'The act of doing or saying something again' is the definition of which word beginning with 'r'?
Correct Answer: repetition, repetitive, repeat, Repetition
Q5.
'A situation in which something is not known' is the definition of which of the following?
Correct answer: uncertain
certain
predictable
Q6.
If something sustains you then it does which of the following?
It makes you feel uncertain.
It weakens you.
Correct answer: It nourishes and supports you.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Arguably, the use of personification in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone' might suggest which of the following?
The speaker is acting rationally.
Correct answer: The speaker is acting irrationally.
The speaker is acting confidently.
Q2.
Arguably, the irregularity in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone' might represent which of the following?
the speaker's sense of freedom
Correct answer: the speaker's sense of uncertainty
the speaker's sense of control
Q3.
'The quality of being felt strongly' is the definition of which of the following?
community
absurdity
Correct answer: intensity
passivity
Q4.
'A pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by some form of punctuation' is the definition of which word beginning with 'c'?
Correct Answer: caesura, Caesura
Q5.
'Not using reason or clear thinking' is the definition of which of the following?
Correct answer: irrational
intentional
imperceptible
Q6.
Is this statement true or false: The use of continual metaphors in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone' suggests ideas of uncertainty.
Correct Answer: True, T, true, t