remember best on the board as a reminder for others.
Stormcock in Elder – Ruth Pitter
L.O. using your awesome poetry analysis skills to analyse this 11th poem as if it were an unseen poem. Let’s get started…. • If this were to be an unseen exam, you’d now be looking at the poem you’ll need to try to understand and analyse without using my help, the www or a dictionary. • What should you be doing first?? • Let’s do that! (= reading twice 1) to work out the effect on you 2) to find out what the poet is saying) So?? What did you think & what is the poet saying? • The poet is writing about a bird she used to see in the old cottage she used to go to on holiday. • Overall, the poem is supposed to give you an appreciation for nature. • Let’s see how she’s done that. Step 2 in your unseen practice: read again and look closely at language / poetic devices / structure Language / style / poetic devices / structure (what you might have found) • The poem is very structured – 7 stanzas of the same line length and similar rhyme schemes (ABABCC) similar to ‘In Praise of Creation’ seems to be connected to order in nature and be in awe of this world out there. • The poet seems to want to shut out the world around her (words like aloof / dark / grope in stanza 1), but the volta at the end of stanza 1 (But) changes this – heavenly nature finds its way in (though it’s unaware of her). Language / style / poetic devices / structure (what you might have found) • Lots of imagery is used to describe the way the bird looks and sounds, making us share her admiration for the bird and what it can do. • There is a clear contrast between the house’s broken down structure (‘old’ ‘broken’) and the bird (‘polished’ ‘glorified’ ‘gold’ ‘silver’ etc) making us realise that nature is more beautiful than man-made structures. What do you do with the many good ideas you have now? • Plan the following, then write your essay: • Phrase a clear thesis that states something about HOW the author has conveyed certain ideas and emotions to her audience. • Make (at least) 3 PEA paragraphs proving this. • Round off with a conclusion that offers clear insight into what the poem is about and how is affects the reader. The poet – Ruth Pitter • Ruth Pitter (1897-1992) lived a life of quiet dedication to her art. She was the first woman to receive the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1955, and was appointed a CBE in 1979 to honour her many contributions to English literature. • Most representative for her poetry is "Stormcock in Elder." This was written when Pitter was recuperating from an eye injured at work; it looks back to the tumble-down cottage where she spent many vacations as a girl. Plenary • Agree or disagree? Choose a corner in the room! • I am confident I would have been able to write a (unseen) commentary about this poem. • I know how to write a poem commentary. • I understand this poem well now.