Unit of Work: The Poetry of John Keats

A unit of work on seven poems by John Keats:

• On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer
• When I have fears that I may cease to be
• Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art
• Ode on a Grecian Urn
• Ode to a Nightingale
• To Autumn
• La Belle Dame sans Merci

This unit is suitable for senior students in Years 10-12. It introduces them to the forms Keats used, and seven of his most famous poems.

• A research task with suggested reading and viewing gets students across Keats’ life and influences.
• ‘What is analysis?’ encourages them to think about exactly what literary analysis is, and how to go about it
• Explanation of the sonnet, ode, and ballad forms
• Explanation of Negative Capability
• Foray into critical reading
• Seven poems included with questions structured according to Bloom’s taxonomy
• Selection of senior-suitable essay questions