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Week beginning 8 th June
Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don't frighten me at all
Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn't frighten me at all.
I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won't cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don't frighten me at all.
That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don't frighten me at all.
Don't show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I'm afraid at all
It's only in my dreams.
I've got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Maya Angelou
Questions on the next page
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Questions
Find four examples of things that the poet claims do not frighten her.
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The poet uses images from fairy tales and magic in this poem. Find three examples.
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Why do you think the poet has used these images?
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How old do you think the speaker in this poem is? Why do you think this?
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Which character from Northern Lights do you think has a similar perspective on life to the speaker in this poem? Why did you pick this character?
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Complete this table. On the left hand side write a quote from the poem. On the right hand side, think of an event in Lyra’s life or Northern Lights that you think is similar.
Quote from the poem Event in Northern Lights
“Big ghosts in a cloud” This is similar to the moment when Lyra, Roger and Iorek are attacked in Lee’s balloon by the night-ghasts on their journey to the North.
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Writing Task
Imagine Lyra is still living at Jordan College in Oxford. Write a piece of creative writing where she goes on an adventure involving some of the events in this poem. Remember that the poem is about the speaker’s reaction to frightening things. Your story should focus on how Lyra deals with the different things she faces on her adventure.
For example, does she somehow encounter a lion or a dragon? Remember this is another world – perhaps they can talk, or they are someone’s daemon. How does she feel about meeting them – scared? Lonely? Brave?
Make sure you follow this structure in your story, which we have studied in class.
You can also use this word bank to help you:
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stunning vibrant petrified terrified intimidatingbrave mysterious unusual surreal determinedtreacherous perilous unforgiving tremendous vastcourageous dark unfriendly enormous grotesque
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Page 5
Week beginning 15 th June
Silver
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws and a silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
Walter de la Mare
Questions
What impression does the poet give of night-time in this poem?
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Find two phrases which show this:
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The poem is formed of rhyming couplets. What images do the last four couplets all
have in common?
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Why do you think the poet has used these images?
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Why do you think the poet personified the moon?
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What do you think the poet wants the reader to feel after reading this poem, and
why?
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In the poem, the moon transforms nature and animals into silver, as if by magic.
What connections could you find in Northern Lights? Why are they similar? Look for
examples of magic or transformation in the book.
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In the poem, nature and the animals are unaware of the change that the moon is
having on them. This gives us the impression that there is something large
happening that they are not aware of.
What examples can you find of this in Northern Lights? For example, the
Magisterium are controlling the lives of the people who live in that world, but the
people are not always aware that they are being controlled.
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Writing task on next page
Writing Task
Why is night-time dangerous in Northern Lights?
Write an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion to this question. You
can use the box below to plan your ideas, and you can write your response on the
next pages. You should use your two body paragraphs to explore two different ideas
about why night-time is dangerous.
Examples of night-time in Northern Lights…
-Lyra escapes from Mrs Coulter and has to explore London on her own
-Lyra is almost kidnapped by the Gobblers in London
-Lyra, Roger and Iorek are attacked in Lee’s balloon
-The Gyptians and some witches help Lyra and Roger free the children who the Gobblers have taken
-Roger is sacrificed by Lord Asriel to open the bridge to the stars.
Why are these dangerous?
Why do you think these things happen at night? Why has Philip Pullman chosen to set these moments there?
Extension: Think about the poem. There, night-time is shown to be a mysterious but wonderful time. Are there any examples of this in Northern Lights?
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Week beginning 22 nd June
Adventures of Isabel
Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didn't care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear's big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I'll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry.
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch
Isabel met a wicked old witch.
The witch's face was cross and wrinkled,
The witch's gums with teeth were sprinkled.
Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
I'll turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry,
She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,
But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.
Isabel met a hideous giant,
Isabel continued self reliant.
The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,
He had one eye in the middle of his forehead.
Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,
I'll grind your bones to make my bread.
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,
And when it was gone, she cut the giant's head off.
Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.
The doctor's talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctor's satchel bulged with pills.
The doctor said unto Isabel,
Swallow this, it will make you well.
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.
Ogden Nash
Questions on the next page
Page 12
Questions
What four things does Isabel face in this poem?
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Find a quote that shows how Isabel reacts to these things.
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Isabel is described as ‘self-reliant’. What does this mean?
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Why do you think the poet has chosen Isabel as the person to face these challenging things?
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What do you think the message of the poem is? What does the poet want us to be like?
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What similarities can you find between this poem and Northern Lights? On the left hand side find a quote, and on the right hand side explain its similarity.
Quote from the poem Event in Northern Lights
“Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.” Isabel faces each situation bravely, and Lyra does the same. Lyra doesn’t run away, but instead often runs towards, dangerous situations.
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Writing Task
Write your own version of this poem, but about Lyra. Instead of meeting a giant or a witch, choose strange events or people that Lyra encountered in Northern Lights. Your poem should follow the same pattern as the original.
Lyra met Iofur, an enormous bear,Lyra, Lyra didn’t care…
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Page 14
Week beginning 29 th June
A Light Exists in Spring
A Light exists in SpringNot present on the YearAt any other period —When March is scarcely here
A Color stands abroadOn Solitary FieldsThat Science cannot overtakeBut Human Nature feels.
It waits upon the Lawn,It shows the furthest TreeUpon the furthest Slope you knowIt almost speaks to you.
Then as Horizons stepOr Noons report awayWithout the Formula of soundIt passes and we stay —
A quality of lossAffecting our ContentAs Trade had suddenly encroachedUpon a Sacrament.
Emily Dickinson
Questions
Looking mainly at the first Stanza, what do you think the poet thinks about Spring?
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“That Science cannot overtake / But Human Nature feels.” Does the poet think scientific explanations are good enough to explain the light in Spring, and why?
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In the fourth stanza, what phrase gives us the impression that Spring is happening silently?
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In the last stanza, how does the speaker feel after the light has gone?
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What similarities does this poem have to Silver? Look at the third stanza to help.
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A Sacrament is a religious ceremony. Once the light has gone, the poet feels that it is as if something like trade or business has interrupted a religious ceremony.
How does this metaphor show us that the speaker is disappointed by the light disappearing?
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In Northern Lights, religion is in charge of society through a group called the Magisterium.
Why might A Light Exists in Spring be considered a religious poem?
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Writing Task
Write a piece of descriptive writing that describes how a scene looks at spring. You can choose which scene you want to describe, but could consider writing about Jordan College, or perhaps a place you know.
Think about how the place looks different at spring compared to other times of the year. What is the weather like, and how does it make everything look? How does it make people feel as they are walking past?
Use the word bank below to help you:
Sunlit crisp changing pastel clean brightbeautiful sparkling tender innocent
chirping cool relaxing soothinggrowing blooming pleasant rainy
gentle flowering young awakening freshblossoming joyful cheerful budding
refreshing newborn green peacefulsprouting mild greenery grassyblissful fragrant colourful lit
iridescent
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Page 18
Week beginning 6 th July
Matilda
Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one’s Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,
And would have done so, had not she
Discovered this Infirmity.
For once, towards the Close of Day,
Matilda, growing tired of play,
And finding she was left to alone,
Went tiptoe to the telephone
And summoned the Immediate Aid
Of London’s Noble Fire-Brigade.
Within an hour the Gallant Band
Were pouring in on every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs and Bow,
With Courage high and Hearts a-glow
They galloped, roaring though the Town,
"Matilda’s House is Burning Down"
Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
They ran their ladders through a score
Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House,
Until Matilda’s Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed
And even then she had to pay
To get the Men to go away! . . . . .
It happened that a few Weeks later
Here aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.
She had refused to take her Niece
To hear this Entertaining Piece:
A Deprivation Just and Wise
To Punish her for Telling Lies.
That Night a Fire did break out-
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
And throw the window up and call
To People passing in the Street-
(The rapidly increasing Heat
Encouraging her to obtain
Their confidence)-but it was all in vain!
For every time She shouted "Fire!"
They only answered "Little Liar!"
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were burned.
Hillaire Belloc
Questions on the next page
Page 19
Questions
What message might the reader, particularly a young reader, learn from this poem?
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Should Matilda’s Aunt have left her alone in the house? Why?
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Why might Matilda’s lies make people ‘stretch their eyes’ when they hear them?
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Why might it be ironic (expecting one thing to happen when something else happens instead) that trying to believe Matilda almost killed her Aunt, considering what happens at the end of the poem?
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Find three phrases which show us the Fire Brigade are heroic.
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What similarities are there between Matilda and Lyra?
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Can you think of any differences between them?
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Writing Task
Page 20
Matilda is not a particularly heroic character. However, we consider Lyra to be a hero, even though she also lies.
Write a short essay to answer this question:
Can Lyra still be a hero when she doesn’t always tell the truth?
Your response should have two body paragraphs and a conclusion, which should sum up your opinion on the question. Use the table below to help you plan your answer:
Lyra lies when… Lyra is/isn’t heroic because…
She meets Iofur Raknison and…
She is taken by the Gobblers and pretends to be Lizzie Brooks…
You can also use some of these sentence starters to help your answer:
Lyra is still heroic because…
This is shown when….
Lyra is not heroic because she tells lies…
Although… However… Alternatively… Perhaps…
In conclusion, it is clear that Philip Pullman shows the reader that Lyra…
Write your answer:
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Week beginning 13 th July
Page 22
The Token
SEND me some tokens, that my hope may live
Or that my easeless thoughts may sleep and rest ;
Send me some honey, to make sweet my hive,
That in my passions I may hope the best.
I beg nor ribbon wrought with thine own hands,
To knit our loves in the fantastic strain
Of new-touch'd youth ; nor ring to show the stands
Of our affection, that, as that's round and plain,
So should our loves meet in simplicity ;
No, nor the corals, which thy wrist enfold,
Laced up together in congruity,
To show our thoughts should rest in the same hold ;
No, nor thy picture, though most gracious,
And most desired, 'cause 'tis like the best
Nor witty lines, which are most copious,
Within the writings which thou hast address'd.
Send me nor this nor that, to increase my score,
But swear thou think'st I love thee, and no more.
John Donne
Questions
What phrase in the first two lines suggests that the speaker might be in love?
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If he is in love, why might he want a ‘token’ or gift from the person he is in love with?
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Find two things the speaker says they do not want as a token, in lines 5 and 7.
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The speaker says they do not want a picture of the person they love, but what do they say would be a good thing about receiving a picture?
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In the final line, the speaker says what they actually want from their love. It’s not a physical gift, but what is it?
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What gifts are given in Northern Lights that you could say are given out of love?
One example might be Iorek Byrnison naming Lyra ‘Lyra Silvertongue’. This is a sign of respect for Lyra managing to trick Iofur, and shows that Iorek has a lot of love for Lyra and what she has done.
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Writing Task
Who does Lyra love the most?
Write a response that has two paragraphs and a conclusion. Remember you are arguing your point, so you need to sound as persuasive and convincing as possible. You must say the same person in both your paragraphs, but offer two separate reasons as to why you think she loves that person the most.
You can use the space below to plan your ideas.
Here is an example to help you: In Northern Lights, Lyra could be said to love Lord Asriel the most. Although she barely gets the chance to see him – and he is often cruel to her – he is still the closest family member that she has. The fact she is willing to hide in the Retiring Room and spy on the Master for him, and that she saves his life from the Master’s poision, proves that she clearly has love and respect for him.
The character I think Lyra loves the most is ________________________
Why?
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Page 25
The Female of the Species
When the Himalayan peasant meets the
he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster,
who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends
the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more
deadly than the male.
When Nag the basking cobra hears the
careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and
avoid it if he can.
But his mate makes no such motion where
she camps beside the trail.
For the female of the species is more
deadly than the male.
When the early Jesuit fathers preached
to Hurons and Choctaws,
They prayed to be delivered from the
vengeance of the squaws.
'Twas the women, not the warriors,
turned those stark enthusiasts pale.
For the female of the species is more
deadly than the male.
Man's timid heart is bursting with the
things he must not say,
For the Woman that God gave him
isn't his to give away;
But when hunter meets with husbands,
each confirms the other's tale -
The female of the species is more
deadly than the male.
Man, a bear in most relations -
worm and savage otherwise, -
Man propounds negotiations,
Man accepts the compromise.
Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact
To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.
Fear, or foolishness, impels him,
ere he lay the wicked low,
To concede some form of trial even
to his fiercest foe.
Mirth obscene diverts his anger -
Doubt and Pity oft perplex
Him in dealing with an issue -
to the scandal of The Sex!
But the Woman that God gave him,
every fibre of her frame
Proves her launched for one sole issue,
armed and engined for the same,
And to serve that single issue,
lest the generations fail,
The female of the species must be
deadlier than the male.
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She who faces Death by torture
for each life beneath her breast
May not deal in doubt or pity -
must not swerve for fact or jest.
These be purely male diversions -
not in these her honour dwells.
She the Other Law we live by,
is that Law and nothing else.
She can bring no more to living than
the powers that make her great
As the Mother of the Infant and the
Mistress of the Mate.
And when Babe and Man are lacking and
she strides unclaimed to claim
Her right as femme (and baron),
her equipment is the same.
She is wedded to convictions -
in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children,
Heaven help him who denies! -
He will meet no suave discussion,
but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring
as for spouse and child.
Unprovoked and awful charges -
even so the she-bear fights,
Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons -
even so the cobra bites,
Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw
And the victim writhes in anguish -
like the Jesuit with the squaw!
So it comes that Man, the coward,
when he gathers to confer
With his fellow-braves in council,
dare not leave a place for her
Where, at war with Life and Conscience,
he uplifts his erring hands
To some God of Abstract Justice -
which no woman understands.
And Man knows it! Knows, moreover,
that the Woman that God gave him
Must command but may not govern -
shall enthral but not enslave him.
And She knows, because She warns him,
and Her instincts never fail,
That the Female of Her Species is more
deadly than the Male.
Rudyard Kipling
Questions on the next page
Page 27
Questions
What is the speaker’s opinion of women, which is repeated throughout the poem?
The speaker believes that… ___________________________________________________________________.
In the fifth stanza, the speaker says that ‘man accepts the compromise’. A compromise is an agreement between two people who have both changed their minds a little, in order to come to that agreement.
Can you think of a woman in Northern Lights would not accept compromises? Why do you think this is?
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The speaker often refers to ‘the woman that God gave him’. What does this tell us about how they view religion?
Religion is viewed as __________________________________________________ because ___________________________________________________________.
Using stanzas four and six, what is the speaker’s view of the relationship between a woman and the man she is married to?
The speaker believes that… ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
“the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring
as for spouse and child.”
What words or phrases from this quote show us that women are protective of their partners and children? Why do you think they give you this impression?
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Must command but may not govern -
shall enthral but not enslave him.
In this quote, ‘enthral’ means to interest someone strongly. What do you think the speaker’s opinion is of whether women should be in power? Do you agree? Why?
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Which characters in Northern Lights would disagree with the idea that women should be in power? Are there any characters who fight against that view?
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Do you think that the speaker has a positive or negative view of women? Why?
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Look over your answer to the question above. Rewrite your answer so that it contains any of these words or phrases:
although alternatively in Rudyard Kipling’s poem somewhat
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It is an important skill to learn in English, to redraft your work so it says exactly what you want it to say, but in as few words as possible. Look over your rewritten answer. Are there any unncessary words in it? Is there a way you could write it with less words? Have a go below.
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Writing Task
Imagine you are Mrs Coulter as a child of Lyra’s age. You have just read this poem for the first time. Write a first-person account explaining your reaction to it, and what you want to do when you’re older to challenge some of the ideas in it. Use the example below to get you started.
Today I read the poem ‘The Female of the Species’ by Rudyard Kipling. I liked some parts of it, however some parts of it I disagreed with…
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A Song of Travel
Where's the lamp that Hero lit
Once to call Leander home?
Equal Time hath shovelled it
'Neath the wrack of Greece and Rome.
Neither wait we any more
That worn sail which Argo bore.
Dust and dust of ashes close
All the Vestal Virgin's care;
And the oldest altar shows
But an older darkness there.
Age-encamped Oblivion
Tenteth every light that shone.
Yet shall we, for Suns that die,
Wall our wanderings from desire?
Or, because the Moon is high,
Scorn to use a nearer fire?
Lest some envious Pharaoh stir,
Make our lives our sepulcher?
Nay! Though Time with petty Fate
Prison us and Emperors,
By our Arts do we create
That which Time himself devours--
Such machines as well may run
'Gainst the Horses of the Sun.
When we would a new abode,
Space, our tyrant King no more,
Lays the long lance of the road
At our feet and flees before,
Breathless, ere we overwhelm,
To submit a further realm!
Rudyard Kipling
Vocabulary
Hero and Leander – a Greek legend. Hero is a beautiful priestess, who puts a lamp in her window to guide Leander, the man she is in love with, to her.Argo – a ship used on a quest by Jason and the ArgonautsTenteth – covered, like a tentSepulchre – a tomb
Questions
In the first stanza, what has happened to the torch that Hero once lit for Leander?
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What does the second stanza tell us has happened to lights from the past?
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‘Yet shall we, for Suns that die / Wall our wanderings from desire.’ In a poem that shows lots of different journeys and places around the world, what might the speaker be saying people have a natural desire to do?
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In the fourth stanza, what does Time do?
a.) Stop us from travellingb.) Encourage us to travelc.) Make us follow our destinies
What do we do in response to Time?
a.) Listen to it, and never try to travelb.) Fly close to the sunc.) Create machines and find ways to travel
How does the speaker feel about travelling and exploring new places?
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How does the speaker think that humans approach travel?
a.) Nervouslyb.) Hesitantlyc.) Breathlessly
What do you think this word shows about humans’ approach to travel?
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The poet makes travel sound exciting and adventurous towards the end of the poem. Is travel shown like this in Northern Lights, or does Lyra have a different opinion of travel? Explain why in your answer.
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Now rewrite your answer so it fits into one sentence. Think about each word – is every word you’ve used necessary? How could you say your point in a shorter way?
Think about the way that you write your sentence. Could you use any of these words to help you? Although because to an extent furthermore
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Writing Task
You need to write a poem about Lyra’s travels. You can make them sound adventurous or scary, it’s up to you!
In A Song of Travel, the poet talks about lots of old stories about travelling, before explaining that humanity will always want to travel. Perhaps you could start by talking about a journey Mrs Coulter or Lord Asriel went on, or about how Lyra has always dreamed of travelling with Asriel when she grows up?
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Aurora Borealis
The winter night is dark and drear,
No cheerful moon nor stars appear;
The scowling clouds are trailing on
To "sift their snows" o'er the arctic zone.
No sound is heard save the brawling din
Of shallow streamlet and mountain-linn;
Or the voice of the gale, now high, now low,
Tossing the heather to and fro,
Shaking the rushes and lady-fern
That grow round the buried warrior's cairn,
And seem like spectres to the eye
Of credulous fatuity.
In the cleft of a rugged, rifted rock,
Split by the howling thunder's shock,
An helpless Covenanter lay,
Who, fled from Bothwell's bloody fray,
Both wished and feared the coming day.
His war-worn limbs and aching head
Were wrapped in a damp and tattered plaid,
And famine, gaunt and grim, was there,
Ghastfully hovering o'er his lair;
And the brumal blast grew deadly chill,
And the night waxed darker, drearier still.
Horror, alas! had banished sleep,
He sobbed and moaned, but could not weep.
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When in the twinkling of an eye,
From palpable obscurity
Tumultuous streams of glory gushed,
Ten thousand thousand rainbows rushed
And revelled through the boundless sky,
In jousting, flashing radiancy.
Careering around the welkin's brim
Like bright embattled Seraphim;
Or soaring up to the dome of Night,
Flooding the Milky-way with light;
Or streaming down on the mountain peaks,
On the muirland wastes, and the heather brakes;
On lake and river, on tower and tree,
Showering a sky-born galaxy,
Like a storm of pearls and diamonds driven,
Imbued with the gorgeous hues of heaven!
The persecuted arose from his lair,
And poured forth his soul in praise and prayer;
His faith waxed strong, and his hope grew high,
As he upward gazed with intensity
On the lambent flames that blazed around,
And he deemed that he stood on holy ground!
"What mind," he said, "can conceive aright
The floods of uncreated light,
Which from eternity hath shone
Around the Everlasting's throne,
When such refulgent glories glow
Upon his footstool here below!"
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Questions
In the first stanza, what impression does the poet create of the environment?
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What are the only sounds that can be heard in the first stanza?
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In the second stanza, what might the ‘bloody fray’ be that someone has run from?
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Find three phrases in the second stanza that make the person’s fate seem dark or dangerous.
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In the third stanza, find a phrase used to describe the Northern Lights (the Aurora Borealis).
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Find two phrases in the third stanza that make the Northern Lights appear as a wonderful sight.
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Why do you think the poet has made the third stanza, when the Northern Lights first appear, the longest?
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In the second stanza, the man in the poem is upset and exhausted. What do the bright colours of the Northern Lights represent when they appear?
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In stanzas three to five three phrases which give the Northern Lights a religious significance.
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‘His faith waxed strong, and his hope grew high.’ How does this show the Lights have had a positive effect on the man?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Writing Task
Using the poem, the photo and the word bank below, write a descriptive piece of writing about the Northern Lights.
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Bright sparkling radiant astonishing iridescentblinding rainbow colourful shiningsilent sea of stars swirling indescribableunbelievable piercing colours godly luminouslight dancing violet silver spectrum
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Page 38
A Tale of Modern Britain by Caleb Femi
This is a video of Caleb Femi’s poem. Femi is a spoken-word poet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI_apMKa2c0
Questions
What do you think one of the differences between a poem and a spoken-word poem might be? (You’re not allowed to say that one is read aloud!)
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This poem was written for Heathrow Airport. Why do you think it works well as a poem for an airport?
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Listen to the poem again. Write down three phrases which stand out to you.
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‘This country is not a place for good weather, but it is a place for good people.’ What do you think this says about Britain?
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What impression does this poem give you of Britain? How does it make you feel?
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What similarity could you find between this poem and Northern Lights?
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Writing Task
Write your own poem about Britain – but in Lyra’s world!
What differences are there between Lyra’s world and ours?
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How do you think Lyra feels about her country?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Write your poem below.
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