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This is Poetry HL 2023
The Bight
Watch Video 1, which depicts Key West Harbour. What three adjectives would you use to describe the harbour? Is it a place you would like to visit? Give a reason for your answer.
The Prodigal
Watch Video 2, which features the biblical story of the Prodigal Son. Were you familiar with this story? Do you think that the father’s treatment of his two sons was fair? Give a reason for your answer.
A Bird, came down the Walk
Watch Video 3, which is a trailer for the TV series Dickinson.
• Mention three things it suggests about Dickinson's life.
• Mention three things it suggests about her personality.
• Did this portrayal fit with your own mental image of the poet?
I could bring You Jewels – had I a mind to
Watch Video 4, which provides a virtual tour of Homestead, the house where Dickinson spent her adult life. Based on your viewing of the video, pick three adjectives that, in your opinion, best describe the poet's personality.
Song: Go, and catch a falling star
Watch Video 5, which features a reading of the poem by actor Richard Burton. Pick out three words or phrases to which he gives particular emphasis while he reads. Identify one place where he speeds up his reading and one place where he slows down.
The Flea
Watch Video 6, which features a dramatised reading of 'The Flea'. Identify two emotions displayed by the female actor throughout the piece and two emotions displayed by the male actor. Did you find the performance effective or silly and over-the-top?
Raglan Road
Watch Video 7, which features legendary folk singer Luke Kelly.
• What impression of Kavanagh emerges from Kelly's introduction?
• Did you enjoy Kelly's performance of 'On Raglan Road'? Give a reason for your answer?
• During which stanza, in your opinion, did his performance become most emotional in your opinion?
The Hospital
Watch Video 8, which features a reading of the poem by the poet himself. • Would you describe Kavanagh's reading as highly performative or matter-of-fact? • Are there any words or phrases that he particularly emphasises as he reads? • What is the main emotion that comes across in the reading?
As it Should Be
Watch Video 9, which depicts a scene from the 1982 film Rambo: First Blood and answer the following:
• Pick two adjectives that describe the sheriff's attitude towards the drifter.
• True or false: The sheriff would like to see a diverse range of people settling in his town.
• Do you get a sense that the sheriff cares about his community?
A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford
Watch Video 10, which features a reading of the poem by actor Stephen Rea.
• Pick out three words or phrases to which he gives particular emphasis while he reads.
• Identify one stanza where the reading slows down.
• Do you think the musical accompaniment suits the atmosphere of the poem? Give a reason for your answer
The Pattern
Watch Video 11, which features a reading of the poem by the poet herself. • Mention three things we learn about the poet's mother from the introduction to the reading. • Pick out two or three words or phrases that Meehan particularly emphasises as she reads. • During what section of the poem did the poet's reading become most emotional? Give a reason for your answer.
The Statue of the Virgin at Granard Speaks
Watch Video 12, which is the first part of a documentary about the tragic death of Ann Lovett.
• Mention three things you learned about Irish society in the 1980s.
• Has Irish society changed completely since that time?
• Are any aspects of Irish society the same?
My Father Perceived as a Vision of St Francis
Watch Video 13, which is a scene from Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
• Who has St Francis come to visit and what does he want?
• Do Francis and his followers seem to fit in in this location? Give a reason for your answer.
• Pick three adjectives that best describe your impression of St Francis's personality
The Uncle Speaks in the Drawing Room
Watch Video 14. How would you describe the atmosphere of the crowd? What are they talking or complaining about? Do you imagine that they will take action to get what they want? What form do you imagine this action taking?
Diving into the Wreck
Watch Video 15, which contains footage from an expedition to the Titanic in 2004. Then answer the following questions:
• What is the condition of the ship’s hull?
• What objects and details does the camera focus on?
• In your opinion, what is the most striking and dramatic shot in this video?
Power
Watch Video 16. What most impressed you about the life of Marie Curie?
Easter 1916
Watch Video 17 and explain in your own words why the Rising happened. What did those who organised it hope to achieve?
The Second Coming
Watch Video 18. Based on your viewing of this video, what topics do you anticipate will be tackled by ‘The Second Coming’?
The Stare’s Nest by my Window
Watch Video 19 and answer the following questions:
• Why was Thoor Ballylee so important to Yeats?
• In what year did he move from this tower?
• What happened to the tower after he left it?
• What happened to the tower in 2015?
In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz
Watch Video 20, which depicts Lissadell House in Co. Sligo, and answer the following questions:
• What recent projects have been undertaken with regard to the house and its gardens?
• What features of the house and its gardens strike you as appealing? Are there any features of the property that strike you as unappealing?
• Is it a place where you personally would like to live or spend part of every year? Give a reason for your answer.
Swift’s Epitaph
Google the term ‘satire’; then watch Video 21. Who or what is being satirised in this extract? How is the satire being carried out? Is it easy to see why creators of satire, like Swift, might require moral courage?
Politics
Watch Video 22, which contains newsreel footage from 1938, the year in which the poem was written. What significant political events were happening in Europe? How would you characterise the mood and atmosphere of the time, based on watching this footage?