Comparing ideas of war in Hardy’s ‘Drummer Hodge’ and Armitage’s ‘Remains’
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can compare how Hardy and Armitage present ideas of war in ‘Drummer Hodge’ and ‘Remains’.
Key learning points
- Both Hardy and Armitage arguably depict the dehumanising effect of war through the treatment of fallen soldiers’ bodies.
- Arguably, both Hardy and Armitage suggest that the soldiers were somewhere that they didn’t belong.
- While Hardy may imply the soldiers’ ignorance of the realities of war, Armitage arguably shows the uncertainty of war.
- We might interpret the regular rhyme of ‘Drummer Hodge’ as showing ideas of inevitability.
- However, the irregularity of ‘Remains’ may instead suggest the unpredictable nature of war.
Keywords
Dehumanisation - regarding, representing, or treating (a person or group) as less than human
Inevitable - certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented
Unpredictable - likely to change suddenly and without reason and therefore not able to be predicted or depended upon
Common misconception
A comparative topic sentence should only focus on the differences between poems.
A comparative topic sentence should either state the similarities or differences between the poems in relation to the central focus of the paragraph.
Teacher tip
It might be useful to recap Hardy's 'Drummer Hodge' and Armitage's 'Remains' before this lesson.
Equipment
You may wish to have a copy of the Eduqas 2025 Anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Hardy's 'Drummer Hodge'?
Q2.Which of the following comparative conjunctions would you use to show difference between ideas?
Q3.Which of the following is an accurate summary of Armitage's 'Remains'?
Q4.Which of the following is the context of Hardy's 'Drummer Hodge'?
Q5.The word 'inevitable' means which of the following?
Q6.Which of the following does Hardy use to describe how Drummer Hodge's body is buried?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which comparative conjunction would you use to show similarities between ideas?
Q2.Armitage describes the land in 'Remains' as which of the following?
Q3.Hardy's use of a regular rhyme scheme arguably creates ideas of __________.
Q4.Arguably, Armitage's use of an irregular rhyme scheme creates a sense of __________.
Q5.The word 'unpredictable' means which of the following?
Q6.The use of the word "possibly" in Armitage's 'Remains' creates a sense of __________.
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Comparing ideas of war in Hardy’s ‘Drummer Hodge’ and Armitage’s ‘Remains’, 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 war in Hardy’s ‘Drummer Hodge’ and Armitage’s ‘Remains’, 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 Poetry anthology (Assessment from summer 2027) unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.