Viewing entries from category: Duffy
Compare the ways in which Duffy and Larkin use language to create a sense of isolation »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Exemplars, Exemplar Materials, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time, Larkin, Whitsun Weddings, Students' Work, Students' Essays, Teaching Ideas, Teaching Ideas & Skills Development, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Associated Resources
- Compare the ways in which Duffy and Larkin use language to create a sense of isolation.doc
- Teacher version with comments - Larkin and Duffy - Isolation.doc
- Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work
Both Duffy and Larkin use language in their poetry to express how it feels to be isolated, or to be on the outside of society. The poems I have chosen here present this theme in different ways, providing examples of different ways in which the poets work. Larkin often offers us the persona of an outsider, but is not...
[ read full article ] »Compare the ways in which Plath and Duffy use language to convey the theme of anger »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Exemplars, Exemplar Materials, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time, Plath, Ariel, Students' Work, Students' Essays, Teaching Ideas, Teaching Ideas & Skills Development, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Associated Resources
- Compare the ways in which Plath and Duffy use language to convey the theme of anger.doc
- Teacher Notes on D grade essay.doc
- Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work
Both Plath and Duffy express attitudes towards the theme of anger, through the use of language. Both poets’ ideas though are conveyed in different ways. Plath expresses her emotions through reference from her own experiences which have given her inspiration, but with Duffy, she uses the persona of other people to explore deeper meaning and...
[ read full article ] »Compare the ways in which Larkin and Duffy use language to explore relationships »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Exemplars, Exemplar Materials, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time, Larkin, Whitsun Weddings, Students' Work, Students' Essays, Teaching Ideas, Teaching Ideas & Skills Development, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Associated Resources
- Compare the ways in which Larkin and Duffy use language to explore relationships.doc
- Teacher Notes on C grade essay.doc
- Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work
Both poets Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy write about relationships. Using different language techniques, they can show how they portray their feelings towards them. The poems I have chosen to show this are “Valentine” and “Disgrace” by Duffy and “Self’s the Man” and “Talking in Bed” by Larkin.
Duffy’s poem titled “Valentine”...
[ read full article ] »Compare the ways in which Plath and Duffy use language to convey a sense of childhood »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Exemplars, Exemplar Materials, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time, Plath, Ariel, Students' Work, Students' Essays, Teaching Ideas, Teaching Ideas & Skills Development, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Associated Resources
- Compare the ways in which Plath and Duffy use language to convey a sense of childhood.doc
- Teacher version with comments - Plath and Duffy - Childhood.doc
- Using exemplar essays to improve students’ work
Plath and Duffy both explore the theme of childhood in their poetry from different angles. In the poems selected here, Duffy presents childhood as a memory: vague and tantalising in Beachcomber and specific and threatening in Welltread, while Plath presents childhood by exploring the development of an unborn child and...
[ read full article ] »The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of British culture and society.
References: Several songs from the period are listed: Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Baby Love, Oh Pretty Woman, Come See About Me, A Hard Day’s Night – together with references to artists – the Beatles, the Supremes, Mick (Jagger), Dave Dee Dozy (of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch), Dusty Springfield. There are also lots of references to...
[ read full article ] »The Good Teachers »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of British culture and society.
The poem recounts admiration for certain teachers, and looks to the future.
Links to Plath/Larkin: British culture and society (Larkin)
Lang-Lit points: address, use of proper nouns, listing, minor sentences.
Adultery »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of love and romance.
An adulterer is addressed in this poem; their actions and motives questioned.
Links to Plath/Larkin: love and romance (Larkin)
Lang-Lit points: address, similes and metaphors, imperatives, semantic fields of secrecy and decay, references to language and words.
Crush »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of love and romance.
This poem describes infatuation.
Links to Plath/Larkin: love and romance (Larkin)
Lang-Lit points: similes and metaphors, lexical choices (especially adjectives)
First Love »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature B, ELLB4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of love and romance.
The speaker describes waking to a dream about their first love. The memory is bittersweet.
Links to Plath/Larkin: love and romance (Larkin)
Lang-Lit points: similes and metaphors, address, use of tense, lexical choices associated with love/romance (lipstick, flowers)
Valentine »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of love and romance, and it could be recommended to more able/interested students for ¬the use of imagery.
An onion is offered as a valentine gift, with the poem explaining how it relates to love.
Links to Plath/Larkin: love and romance (Larkin), imagery (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: extended metaphor, use of tense, imperatives, structure, imagery.
Moments of Grace »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for an essay on love and romance, exemplifies Duffy’s style effectively, and pairs well with “Disgrace”.
References: “Memory’s caged bird won’t fly.” is one of the best-known lines from this collection.
The poem describes various special moments in a life, seeming to bemoan the ordinary nature of much of our lives, but ending with a moment which lifts the spirit.
Links to Plath/Larkin: love and romance (Larkin)
Lang-Lit points: imagery,...
[ read full article ] »Disgrace »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for two different questions. It could also be recommended to more able students for a question on the use of imagery.
References: This poem should clearly be read in conjunction with “Moments of Grace”.
The speaker describes a sudden realisation that a relationship has ended, by personifying the house and all that’s in it as decayed or spoiled by the souring of the couple’s love.
Links to Plath/Larkin: love and romance (Larkin), isolation...
[ read full article ] »Never Go Back »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, but it is listed on the student handout for the theme of isolation.
The main character in the poem (“you”) makes an ill-advised visit to their home town.
Links to Plath/Larkin: isolation (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: address, similes and metaphors, personification of places/buildings, semantic fields of death and decay.
Brothers »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of family.
The persona thinks about their brothers, using them as a link to their mother.
Links to Plath/Larkin: family (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: listing, use of tense, repetition.
Stafford Afternoons »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able students for the theme of violence (as it does contribute to the theme, but more subtly than the others mentioned).
The persona describes slipping away from suburbia into a wood, where she comes across a flasher.
Links to Plath/Larkin: violence (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: semantic field of colour, creation of tension through lexical choice, personification of landscape, similes and...
[ read full article ] »Confession »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for two different questions.
References: words in italics are from the ritual words of the confessional.
A child’s thoughts during confession, which seem to include an internalised version of the priest’s words, are intermingled with the child’s spoken words.
Links to Plath/Larkin: childhood (Plath), religion (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: unusual form, lack of standard punctuation, spoken mode feel, religious semantic field, field of dirt and...
[ read full article ] »Litany »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.
References: a litany is a formulaic prayer which lists a number of elements, usually with some kind of refrain for the congregation to repeat at regular intervals.
The persona remembers playing at her mother’s feet while her mother talks to her friends, and one particular day when she repeated a swear word in front of this group of women and was pubished.
Links to Plath/Larkin: childhood (Plath), religion (Larkin/Plath),...
[ read full article ] »Beachcomber »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for two different questions.
The poem seems to narrate a person recalling a childhood moment from an old photograph.
Links to Plath/Larkin: childhood (Plath), isolation (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: address, imperatives, tone (accusatory? mournful?), lexical choices, repetition, semantic fields of seashore and time.
Before You Were Mine »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.
The persona imagines her mother in the time before she was born, and into her childhood, imagining her mother as bolder, more interesting before she became a mother.
Links to Plath/Larkin: individual people (Larkin/Plath), narrative voice and persona (Larkin/Plath), family (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: address, use of tense, similes and metaphors.
Welltread »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for two different questions.
References: The Aberfan Disaster happened in 1966, when Duffy was 11. A coal mining waste tip collapsed and slid onto the village of Aberfan, killing 144 people.
The persona remembers schooldays through the character of the headmaster.
Links to Plath/Larkin: individual people (Larkin/Plath), childhood (Plath)
Lang-Lit points: similes and strong metaphors, puns and plays on clichés.
...[ read full article ] »Stuffed »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.
A taxidermist describes their (presumably his) art.
Links to Plath/Larkin: individual people (Larkin/Plath), narrative voice and persona (Larkin/Plath), violence (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: structure – syntactic patterns all matched throughout, all lines end in –l sound; strong adjectives for creatures and verbs for speaker.
Havisham »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.
References: Miss Havisham is the jilted spinster from Dickens’ Great Expectations
The poem recounts Miss Havisham’s likely thoughts.
Links to Plath/Larkin: individual people (Larkin/Plath), violence (Larkin/Plath), isolation (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: minor sentences (spoken mode-like), assonance and alliteration, strong metaphors.
The Suicide »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
This poem is included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, as it could be used for three different questions.
The persona prepares for a big statement through their suicide.
Links to Plath/Larkin: individual people (Larkin/Plath), narrative voice and persona (Larkin/Plath), violence (Larkin/Plath)
Lang-Lit points: minor sentences, address, structure, use of tense, metaphor.
A Guide to Teaching Duffy’s Mean Time for ELLA4 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Duffy, Mean Time
Associated Resources
- A Guide to Teaching Plath’s Ariel for ELLA4
- A Guide to Teaching Larkin’s Whitsun Weddings for ELLA4
- Lang Lit A2 New Coursework Scheme 2011-12.doc
- Lang Lit A2 Possible Coursework Titles 2011-12.doc
This guide is to support the teaching of Duffy’s Mean Time for ELLA4, together with Plath’s Ariel and Larkin’s Whitsun Weddings.
The unit is called “Comparative Analysis through Independent Study” and is therefore built on an expectation that students will be doing some of the work unsupervised. To meet that...
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