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Presented by Brendan Starling

2005W
bstarling2@hotmail.com

In this lesson, students are asked to analyze the poem "Thistles" by Ted Hughes. Through individual, group, and class discussions, students will develop a personal interpretation of the poem's theme, content, and imagery. Students will be asked to write a response to George Macbeth's reading of the poem as a culminating activity to the lesson.

Level: Grade 10
Length: 70 minutes

Curriculum Organizers

1. Connection
Context: The historical and social aspects of the text

2. Craft
Language: The features of diction, style, grammar, rhetoric

3. Engagement
Personal: Immediate, analogous, empathetic

Objectives
Comprehend and Respond (Engagement and Personal Response)

• Indentify and explain connections between what they read, hear, and view and their personal ideas and beliefs.
• Consistently consider more than one interpretation of the communication they read, view and listen to.
• Develop imaginative and creative responses to share their ideas.

Comprehend and Respond (Critical Analysis)

• Demonstrate their awareness of how the artful use of language can affect and influence others.

(Source: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/ela810/elatoc.htm∞)

Classroom Setup
Desks arranged in groups of 4 students

Materials
Copies of the poem
Copies of in class worksheet
Copies of assignment handout
Dictionaries (one per group)

Lesson

1. Introduction: concern and inspiration (2 mins)
One of the great pleasures of reading poetry is to analyze it amongst a large group of people. This way everyone can see the poem from a variety of viewpoints. The great poet T.S. Eliot once said that "there may be much more in a poem than the author was aware of" (McMaster, 1970). If we don't discuss poetry then we would never find these the different hidden personal meanings that T.S. Eliot is talking about. Ted Hughes' poem "Thistles" was chosen because I believe that it is a poem that creates vivid imagery and can create different meanings to different people. The inspiration for this class is to challenge the students to become actively engaged in creating a personal interpretation of the poem.

2. "The Hook": Reading the poem aloud (5 mins)

http://www.inmygarden.org/archives/thistle-grayrock-062204_300.jpg∞
(Source: www.inmygarden.org/archives.thistle-grayrock-062204_300.jpg)

Thistles

Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of
Thistles spike the summer air
And crackle open under a blue-black pressure.

Every one a revengeful burst
Of resurrection, a grasped fistful
Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up

From the underground stain of a decayed Viking.
They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects.
Every one manages a plume of blood.

Then they grow grey like men.
Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear
Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.

By Ted Hughes

http://www.alanpotter-publicart.com/Pagemill_resources%201/Andover%20Web/W-Andover%20viking.jpg∞
(Source: www.alanpotter-publicart.com/Pagemill_resources%201/Andover%20Web/W-Andover%20viking.jpg)

After reading and distributing copies of the poem to the students invite an open class discussion on their immediate reactions to it. Within this discussion ask the students: i) What is the theme of the poem? Clarifiy the term theme by developing a class definition. ii) Review the term Metaphor.

3. Group Work: 4 students per group (10 mins)
Go over class protocol for group discussion. Each group appoints: i) a mediator and ii) a reporter
Mediator: Controls the group discussion and makes sure everyone contributes their ideas
Reporter: Records the groups ideas and reports back during entire class discussion (every student should record)
Group work activities:
i) Discuss possible themes of poem
ii) As a group students should paraphrase each line of the poem. The dictionaries can be used to look up words that are not understood. The group should indentify any lines of the poem that they cannot understand and be ready to present them for a class discussion.

4. Class Discussion: Report back on group themes (7 mins)
i) On the projector or board the teacher should create a visual map of the classes interpreted themes for the poem.
ii) Discuss any troublesome lines or words in the poem. Encourage students to respond with their interpreted meaning. For this lesson it is important to stress the students interpretation rather than be concerned they understand Ted Hughes' personal meaning of the poem. Refer back to the T.S. Eliot quote in the class introduction.

5. Introduce Ted Hughes: Bio and quote (3 mins)
Ted Hughes was one of the most successful and influential English poets of the 1960s and 70s. He was born in 1930 in Yorkshire. He began studying and writing poetry at Cambridge University. His poetry is often described as "powerful" with his poems creating a dense imagery for the reader. He was married to Sylvia Plath another well-known poet. His marriage to her was one of turmoil, Hughes has often been accused of being untrue to her. Tragically, Sylvia committed suicide in 1963. Her life story can be seen in the recent major motion picture "Sylvia." Ted Hughes was awarded numerous awards for his work and was appointed poet laureate in 1984. He died in 1998.
(Source: Macbeth, George. (1979).Longman English Series: Poetry 1900 to 1975. London: Longman.)
(Source: http://www.poemhunter.com/ted-hughes/biography/poet-6616/∞)

Read the Ted Hughes quote to the class.
"History becomes interesting, however, just as soon as we begin to see vividly, and sense the living presence of, the people who created it. Then we begin to imagine how this person looked and felt during these events, and as soon as our imaginations are engaged, the whole thing becomes exciting, and we can learn from it."
(Source: Hughes, Ted. (1967). Poetry in the Making. London: Faber and Faber.)

6. Handout Worksheet (15 mins)
WorkSheet
Students should work independently to complete the worksheet.

7. Imagery Making (6 mins)
In a class discussion ask the students to share their responses to these questions from the worksheet:
What history is present in the poem?
What are the most important words in the poem?
What images are produced in your mind as you read this poem?

Focus on the words that the students feel create images for them and connect the words back to the themes recorded on the board or projector earlier in class.
Example list of words: spike, crackle, revengeful, resurrection, fistful, Icelandic, Viking, blood, feud, weapons, fighting.

8. Focus on "revengeful" (10 mins)
Ask the class to consider the role of revenge in the poem. Instruct students to do a brief "think, pair and share" activity with a partner next to them. Students should discuss their beliefs about revenge. Ask the students to think of an event in history or in current world affairs they would consider to be a revengeful act. Bring the class back together and discuss the "think, pair, share" findings. Focus on the metaphorical aspects of revenge from the poem. Possible questions to ask the class: Is revenge ever justified? What do you feel Hughes stance on revenge is?

9. Introduction of Assignment (5-10 mins)
AssignmentHandout
Clarify Macbeth's quote and any lines in the poem that may not be fully understood with the students yet.

Rubric For Assignment
The Holistic Rubric: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8658/holistic.html∞

Resources

Hughes, Ted. (1967). Poetry in the Making. London: Faber and Faber.

McMaster, R.J. (1970). Fire and Ice Toronto: Longman.

Story of the Thistle - http://www.scotlandsource.com/about/ctva2d.htm∞

CategoryPoetry | EnglishTeaching | BrendanS