Robert Frost - Death of the Hired Man

Designed to accompany the Robert Frost poetry anthology for CIE AS English, but will be appropriate for any senior study of the poem Death of the Hired Man. This lesson (intended to be taught over three periods - it’s a long poem!) introduces students to the process by which Frost characterises the four main characters in the dramatic poem. The main part of the lesson focuses on analysis, suggesting useful vocabulary and appropriate language techniques necessary for studying the poem, identifies the speaker and situation, takes students through the poem and then sets comprehension questions. After a short starter activity matching descriptive words to characters, the second lesson then moves on to close analysis of the second half of the poem, encouraging students to demonstrate their learning through discussion questions and an evaluation of relevant contextual knowledge. A blank and annotated copy of the poem are also included with this resource.