Shelley - England in 1819

This full lesson guides the class through the poem with an introduction to Shelley and context regarding the events at St Peter’s Field in Manchester in 1819. Students are shown the sonnet form for comparison with the innovative changes made by Shelley in England in 1819 and invited to discover the impact of the use of form and structure to add power to the language and ideas of the poem. Poetic techniques and their impact are explored and linked to understanding of meaning(s). The lesson closes with an exam-style comparative question and some suggestions about productive links and contrasts to observe in a response.