Programme 6 - Activities

You can read the poems (below). The suggested activities, devised by qualified teachers, follow the poems.

Amyntas led me to a Grove,
Where all the Trees did shade us;
The Sun it self, though it had Strove,
It could not have betray'd us:
The place secur'd from humane Eyes,
No other fear allows,
But when the Winds that gently rise,
Doe Kiss the yielding Boughs.

Down there we satt upon the Moss,
And did begin to play
A Thousand Amorous Tricks, to pass
The heat of all the day.
A many Kisses he did give:
And I return'd the same
Which made me willing to receive
That which I dare not name.His Charming Eyes no Aid requir'd
To tell their softning Tale;
On her that was already fir'd,
'Twas Easy to prevaile.
He did but Kiss and Clasp me round,
Whilst those his thoughts Exprest:
And lay'd me gently on the Ground:
Ah who can guess the rest?

1 Look carefully at the punctuation in this poem. Why did Behn use capital letters for some words? How differently would the poem read without them?

2 The poem changes from the first to the third person. At what point in the poem does this change take place?

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I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltarton's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltarton's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

1 Compare and contrast this and Edward Thomas' poem, Adlestrop. Both capture a moment in time, both have war in common but what other differences and similarities are there?

2 In what ways do you think the poem is typical of its period? Is it conventional, do you think, or is it in any way challenging the reader's expectations?

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Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

1 Wordsworth writes this poem as though London were a person. This technique is called personification. With a partner, look through the poem and find evidence of this technique.

2 Towards the end of the poem, Wordsworth puts in three exclamation marks. Why do you think he used them? Would it change the poem if they were removed?

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EDWARD THOMAS (1878-1917)
Adlestrop (1915)

Yes. I remember Adlestrop -
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop - only the name

And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Then the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

1  This is a poem of remembrance where perception is heightened. Make a drawing of all the things that were noticed during the 'minute stop' at Adlestrop.

General activity
Several of the poems have a common theme or subject or some shared feature of approach, style or structure. For example, poems spoken by a character as monologues or themes such as nature, love, family and relationships, past and present, interesting characters, growing up... Having considered all the poems in Programme 6, make notes about the themes, styles and key images in each.

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