See also pages 144-148 of Imagined Corners. BEl DAO Declaration · Connotation: Choose particular lines for comparison and discussion. eg "will" and "testament" in 1.2; "to my mother" and "for my mother" in 1.3. · Cloze : Cloze words from McDougall version before presenting it to students. Compare their predictions with the actual McDougall version and then with the Fang Dai version. · Language: Study change of tense, especially in last lines. Discuss how tense can affect meanIng. · Students complete background research into the Red Guards and the Cultural Revolution. The Bell Look closely at the structure of The Bell - for example, how do the stanza lengths affect your understanding of the poem and the poem's meaning? Requiem What happened on June 4th? In what sense was "the end of hatred...hatred"? Gains Discuss the title. How does it relate to the poem itself? Who gains or loses in each stanza? What is the 'gain'? SUJATA BHATT The Langur Coloured Night Discuss the personification of the moon - what does it contribute to the poem? What does the poem say about humans and animals and the way we react to the natural world? The Stare / What Happened to the Elephant · What do students think the poet's attitude to animals is? · These two poems could lead to a discussion of moral / ethical questions such as using animals for experimentation and transplants and also animals in conservation parks and zoos. · The Stare could lead to a discussion of language and its functions and how we take it for granted. Teachers could discuss different communication systems eg Auslan. NINA CASSIAN Snowbound · Use this poem as a basis for discussion on being different. Look at how society treats those who are different. Has there been progress? · Discuss the metaphor in line 9 - how effective is it? Why is this poem called Snowbound? CAROL ANN DUFFY Never Go Back / Originally · .Use these poems as a starter for a piece of writing in which students tell the story of one of the characters. · Compare with Peter Skryznecki' s Migrant Hostel. · Do you think these poems are a good description of /testimony to the migrant's dilemma? Ask an immigrant to this country to tell you their experiences. Share with the class. Odysseus Elytis Compare The Sleep of the Brave with Wilfred Owen's Futility. What attitude do these poems convey about war? U A FANTHORPE BC:AD. Compare this poem with the usual version of the Christian story. What are the differences? Compare it also with Charles Causley's Ballad of the Bread Man. You Will be Hearing From Us Shortly Discuss why interviews are often structured in this way. How would students address the interviewer? Why do they think the interviewer has asked these questions? Not My Best Side · This poem is ideal for reader's theatre. Students can be divided into groups and asked to work on each part of the poem. They can discuss the results and the interpretations that arise from the performances. · Write the horse's point of view and discuss the connection with the poem. · Find a reproduction of U ccello' s painting of St. George and the Dragon. Look at the painting and discuss how Fanthorpe has interpreted the painting. Sunderland Point and Ribchester Why is this a good place to bring the kids? IVAN LALIC Young Woman From Pompeii Research Pompeii and find pictures of this young woman (and others like her). Do you think the poet captures the thought of this young woman in a convincing way? The Spaces of Hope Lalic's poem is quite visual in its use of imagery. Divide the class into groups and get each group to present a collage of their vision of hope. Ophelia · Use Hamlet (or the Lamb or Garfield story versions) to give the background to this poem. Find a reproduction of Sir John Millais's painting of Ophelia. What similarities do you find between the painting and the poem? What differences? (Sir John Millais was one of the leaders of the Pre-Raphaelite School of British painting, and his Ophelia is reproduced in most books on the group (e.g. Christopher Wood, The Pre-Raphaelites London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1981,1994) · What does the image of 'lying entwined with death' suggest? Letter from the Knight Sinadin · Compare this poem with Wilfred Owen's Spring Offensive. Discuss how the nature of war is presented. · Students to imagine they are filming this poem. Storyboard six frames of such a film and include information on shot composition and why they chose to compose each shot in that particular way. GWYNETH LEWIS Peripheral Vision / Good Dog! · Discuss anthropomorphism and our relationship to our pets and other animals. · Students should try their hand at writing the dog's view of humans. Flyover Elegies · Students can use this poem in a discussion of environmental issues, especially in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne with the extension of freeways etc instead of improved public transport. · Compare the poem with John Foulcher's poem Summer Rain. Fax X Examine the extended metaphor and the use of similes in this poem. Individually, what does each suggest (ie "Why THAT particular metaphor?")? The Reference Library Students can compose a series of questions they would need to answer in order to understand this poem. In pairs, they then try to answer one another's questions. Unanswered questions can be used for whole class discussion. MUDROOROO The Ultimate Demonstration Re-work as a newspaper article reporting on a demonstration for reconciliation. Tracks · What is the effect of the tense in this poem? · Why the change in the last five lines? What effect does it have on the reader's understanding of the poem? City Suburban Lines · Discuss the connotations of 'straight'. · What does the poem suggest about the way we live our lives? Through either research or a visiting speaker, contrast a traditional Aboriginal lifestyle with that of a white suburban dweller. DENNIS O'DRISCOLL In Office This poem is about the tedium of work in an office. Write a reply from an unemployed person's perspective. Annotate as a reading script. Fruit Salad · Divide into groups. If possible have in class the fruits in question. Closely examine the fruit (touch, smell and taste). How well has the poet captured the feel of each? · Try writing a similar verse for the pineapple. JANOS PILINZKY The French Prisoner Compare this poem with Wilfred Owen's Strange Meeting, about which Owen said he was expressing' the pity of war'. Fish in the Net · The net is a metaphor for war catching us all in its path. Discuss the religious allusion · to the "mighty fisherman". · Contrast the first line and the last four lines - "a net of stars" sounds beautiful while the rest of the poem speaks of suffering. How effective is this language in portraying the suffering of war? Passion of Ravensbruck / The Desert of Love Find photos of Word War II, especially post-war Europe and the death camps (The Best of Life, NY: Time-Life, 1971, is an excellent source). How effectively does Pilinszky translate these horrific images into words? TADEUSZ ROZEWICZ Mars This poem is ideal for readers' theatre. Students should try to catch the atmosphere of how everyday events can be overtaken by war. Make an anti-war poster of this poem using images in a collage. The Survivor · Try to have students interview, or listen to the story of, a 'survivor'. What is it they find so difficult about their experience? · Discuss how the media often intrudes on the suffering of survivors with inane questions. · Discuss, on the other hand, how survivors may become media celebrities. · Arrange a visit to the Jewish Museum or view the video Schindler's List, Sophie's Choice or Life is Beautiful. Use these as a basis for discussion on "Survival". Massacre of the Boys / Pigtail Completion Discuss these poems in the light of students' viewing of the videos named above. VITTORIAL SERENI First Fear / Second Fear Sereni's guilt about participating in war is obvious. Using these poems as a starting point, have students write about something they feel guilty about. Discuss whether the triviality or otherwise of their "guilty action" even matters. Madrigal to Nefertiti · Look at pictures of the sculptured head of Nefertiti and pictures of the painting of the Mona Lisa. Why have these portraits captured the imagination of millions? · Imagine / discuss what they may be thinking. · Compare the two images: what are the differences and similarities? GWEN STRAUSS / SUE STEWART Cinderella / Cinders · Using Roald Dahl's video or book Revolting Rhymes, discuss the 'fairy tale gone wrong'. Are we over-optimistic to believe in 'happily ever after'? · Gwen Strauss looks at the effect love can have on the young, especially first love and the pain of having to look one's best to keep up the perceived illusion. · Sue Stewart looks at the reality of life - the burst bubble. · How would you re-write the Cinderella story to fit in with your view of the world? You might precede this with a reading of Gwen Harwood's In the Park. The Waiting Wolf / Inside Wolf · Compare the two poems. Both poems seem to suggest Red Riding Hood's compliance with the wolf's desires. Does this reflect a change in attitude to the wolf - hitherto arch villain in the tale? · Look at how the wolf has been treated in history. Is the wolfs reputation deserved? (See the video Living with Wolves.) Also look at the picture book Wolf by Margaret Barbelet. Discuss Roald Dahl's version of the wolf in Revolting Rhymes. · The second of these poems seems to suggest that the evil in the wolf is somehow attractive to Red Riding Hood. Have students view an episode of Angel or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (looking at the character of Angel). This could lead to a discussion of morality and ethics. Does the fact that the wolf questions his acts somehow make him less of the villain? Are all villains evil? Are all heroes squeaky-clean? Who decides who is villain or hero? Is the line always clearly delineated? (eg look at some modem films like American Beauty). These films often question the motives of the character and ask the audience to decide who is good or bad. WENDY COPE Engineer's Corner In British cultural history, poets and dramatists such as Wordsworth and Shakespeare are revered and honoured. In Australia it would seem that sporting heroes are given similar recognition. Think of an unsung hero of society and write about why you think they deserve recognition (nurses, garbage collectors, plumbers etc). Reading Scheme This poem makes fun of the way "early reading" books portray our society ,eg the very old fashioned Janet and John and Dick and Jane readers have a fifties-style family set-up. Does this reflect the reality of today? SOPHIE HANNAH Symptoms Is love worth all this? Have students write a list of symptoms they have felt when hopelessly in love or infatuated with someone. Summary of a Western Write a summary of a typical action film. This could lead to a discussion of stereotypes and of genre. A Day Too Late Write a set of instructions to go into a teen magazine for letting someone down gently. TIM HOPKINS Snowy Woods Revisited · Compare with Frost's original Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. · Also look at Stopping by Books on a Snowy Evening by Desmond Lawrence. Have students write their own parody of the original poem. The Bystander Copy the poem and cut into stanzas. In pairs students can try to sequence the poem and then compare to the original. Cat Have students write a similar piece on an animal of their choice. What the Papers Say: Othello · Write a similar set of headlines for Hamlet or Macbeth. · Use the poem for media study: how headlines often twist the truth, sensationalised events etc. These poems could be used for a general discussion of light verse eg the elements of humour or satire etc. Why do you think Tim Hopkins or Sophie Hannah chose to write in this way? Take a class poll of which versions appeal the most - the originals or the parodies. Class could be divided into groups to create a poster collage of images discussed in the original poem and those images presented in the parody versions. Which posters appeal the most?