Annotation prompts for James Fenton’s ‘In Paris with You’. In ‘In Paris with You’ the persona in the poem seems to have recently been in a relationship with someone that was unsuccessful. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on James Fenton’s ‘In Paris with You’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource can also be found, in video format, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’. ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue, set in Ferrara (a town in northern Italy – has broad streets / many palaces dating from the 14th and 15th centuries). The persona is presumably the Duke – speaking to an ambassador of the family of his prospective new wife. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Margaret Atwood’s ‘The City Planners’. ‘The City Planners’ is a criticism of uniform structure and conformity. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Margaret Atwood’s ‘The City Planners’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Margaret Atwood’s ‘The City Planners’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Mimi Khalvati’s ‘Ghazal’. ‘Ghazal’ is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain (recurring phrase – especially at the end of a stanza). It originated in Arabia – long before the birth of Islam. Ghazal can be an expression of the pain of loss / separation / beauty of love in spite of pain. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Mimi Khalvati’s ‘Ghazal’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Mimi Khalvati’s ‘Ghazal’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Seamus Heaney’s ‘Death of a Naturalist’. ‘Death of a Naturalist’ focuses on collecting frogspawn and the reaction to the tadpoles developing into frogs. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Seamus Heaney’s ‘Death of a Naturalist’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Seamus Heaney’s ‘Death of a Naturalist’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Seamus Heaney’s ‘The Forge’. ‘The Forge’ is about a local blacksmith (Barney Devlin) who Heaney used to pass by on his way to school, at Hillhead near Bellaghy, in rural County Londonderry. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Seamus Heaney’s ‘The Forge’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Seamus Heaney’s ‘The Forge’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’. ‘Storm on the Island’ is about a storm striking an unspecified island. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Ted Hughes’ ‘View of a Pig’. ‘View of a Pig’ is about someone observing a swine that has died. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Ted Hughes’ ‘View of a Pig’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Ted Hughes’ ‘View of a Pig’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Vernon Scannell’s ‘Nettles’. ‘Nettles’ is written from a father’s perspective – he witnesses his son falling into a bed of nettles, before attempting to eradicate them. Metaphorically it represents parents not being able to protect their offspring from life’s impending problems. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Vernon Scannell’s ‘Nettles’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Vernon Scannell’s ‘Nettles’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for W B Yeats’ 'To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Nothing’. 'To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Nothing’ is addressing a companion whose work has been futile or unproductive. It is about maintaining dignity and integrity in the face of defeat. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on W B Yeats’ 'To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Nothing’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of W B Yeats’ 'To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Nothing’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for W H Auden’s ‘O lurcher-loving collier, black as night’. ‘O lurcher-loving collier, black as night’ is a poem that describes a collier (a coal miner or person who carries or sells coal). The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on W H Auden’s ‘O lurcher-loving collier, black as night’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of W H Auden’s ‘O lurcher-loving collier, black as night’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’. ‘Sonnet 116’ is taken from Shakespeare’s collection of 154 sonnets – published 1609. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

This essay is based on ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ and ‘The Changeling’. It would be helpful to A Level students studying these texts. It is approximately 2,040 words long and 4 pages in length. The essay answers the following question: Compare the ways the writers of Lady Chatterley’s Lover and The Changeling portray women choosing self-fulfilment over duty? For more learning resources, please visit Poetry Essay’s website.

This poster contains a range of important quotations that are associated with Paris in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. The Paris key quotes poster has been created in high resolution – up to A0 size (841mm x 1189mm) – so that you can use it as a classroom display. However, it will print perfectly well in other paper sizes, such as A4. Two copies of the Paris poster have been included, with different backgrounds: white and a black chalkboard one. For more learning resources, please visit Poetry Essay’s website.

This poster contains a range of important quotations that are associated with Lady Capulet in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. The Lady Capulet key quotes poster has been created in high resolution – up to A0 size (841mm x 1189mm) – so that you can use it as a classroom display. However, it will print perfectly well in other paper sizes, such as A4. Two copies of the Lady Capulet poster have been included, with different backgrounds: white and a black chalkboard one. For more learning resources, please visit Poetry Essay’s website.

Annotation prompts for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’. ‘Jabberwocky’ is a nonsense poem. It was first written in the sequel to ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, called ‘Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There’ (1871). The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Philip Larkin’s ‘Born Yesterday’. ‘Born Yesterday’ was written for Kingsley Amis’ newborn daughter, Sally Amis (1954). The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Philip Larkin’s ‘Born Yesterday’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Philip Larkin’s ‘Born Yesterday’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Philip Larkin’s ‘Toads Revisited’. ‘Toads Revisited’ is a follow up to Larkin’s poem ‘Toads’. It was written eight years after ‘Toads’ in 1962. The persona’s attitude to work appears to have shifted somewhat during this time period. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Philip Larkin’s ‘Toads Revisited’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Philip Larkin’s ‘Toads Revisited’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Simon Armitage’s ‘Harmonium’. ‘Harmonium’ is a nostalgic poem about someone rescuing a harmonium from being skipped. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Simon Armitage’s ‘Harmonium’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Simon Armitage’s ‘Harmonium’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.

Annotation prompts for Ted Hughes’ ‘Tractor’. ‘Tractor’ is about someone trying to start a tractor in a hostile winter environment. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further poetry analysis and interpretation. Resources included: an editable PowerPoint presentation on Ted Hughes’ ‘Tractor’; a poetry planning table; 20 poetry analysis questions; and a booklet containing the poetry questions, with space to respond. This poetry resource complements the video annotation of Ted Hughes’ ‘Tractor’, on Poetry Essay’s YouTube channel.