LAMB Envy

This PowerPoint lesson guides the class through Mary Lamb’s poem ‘Envy’ as part of the OCR Conflict Anthology. The context - both Lamb’s autobiographical context and the context of the production of the poem - is explored to ensure that helpful comparisons can be made with other appropriate poems in the collection. The class are guided through a full analysis of the poem, encouraged to understand it as in the didactic mode of the Lambs writing for the edification of children. The Romantics are considered - helpful as this links the poem to several others in the collection from writers of this era and with similar poetic interests - and comparisons between ‘Envy’ and ‘A Poison Tree’ are made in some detail to demonstrate how to answer an examination-style question. Class discussion points are also included to animate learning and encourage a personal engagement with the text. 17 slides.