Comparing ideas of love in ‘Sonnet 29’, ‘Cousin Kate’ and ‘Dusting the Phone’
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can compare how Browning, Rossetti, and Kay present ideas of love in ‘Sonnet 29’, ‘Cousin Kate’, and ‘Dusting the Phone’.
Key learning points
- Browning, Rossetti and Kay all arguably depict an obsessive, all-consuming idea of love.
- Browning, Rossetti and Kay all potentially suggest how women’s lives are influenced by their relationships.
- However, the way in which the women’s lives are influenced by their relationships differs in each poem.
- Arguably, Browning’s ‘Sonnet 29’ presents love as natural and desired.
- In contrast, Rossetti arguably depicts how shame is associated with sex and Kay implies a lack of intimacy in sex.
Keywords
All-consuming - completely filling one's mind and attention
Shame - a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour
Implicit - suggested but not communicated directly
Common misconception
Society's attitudes towards female pleasure have completely changed since the 1800s.
While society's attitudes towards female pleasure are less extreme than in the 1800s, arguably there is still a sense of shame attached to female pleasure in modern society.
Teacher tip
It might be useful to explore ideas of how society stereotypically does not approve of female pleasure in order to enhance their understanding in LC2.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the Eduqas 2025 Anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sexual content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Browning's 'Sonnet 29'?
Q2.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Kay's 'Dusting the Phone'?
Q3.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Rossetti's 'Cousin Kate'?
Q4.Both Browning and Rossetti were writing in which period?
Q5.If something is all-consuming then it is which of the following?
Q6.Arguably, Browning's 'Sonnet 29', Rossetti's 'Cousin Kate' and Kay's 'Dusting the Phone' all associate which of the following with love?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following poems presents sex in a positive way?
Q2.Is the following statement true or false: 'Browning's 'Sonnet 29', Rossetti's 'Cousin Kate', and Kay's 'Dusting the Phone' all suggest that relationships have a significant impact on your life.'
Q3.Which of the following poems presents a relationship as having a positive impact on the speaker's relationship?
Q4.Which of the following is true of Browning's 'Sonnet 29'?
Q5.'A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
Q6.Arguably, Browning's 'Sonnet 29', Rossetti's 'Cousin Kate', and Kay's 'Dusting the Phone' all present sex in ________ way.
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Comparing ideas of love in ‘Sonnet 29’, ‘Cousin Kate’ and ‘Dusting the Phone’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Comparing ideas of love in ‘Sonnet 29’, ‘Cousin Kate’ and ‘Dusting the Phone’, 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 from summer 2027) unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.