Poetry Basics

Poetry: The Ruined City (Figurative Language)

Objectives Resources
Starter:
W7b work out the meaning of unknown words using  OHP
context, syntax, etymology, morphology and other factors  OHTs
 OHT pens
Main part of lesson:
W11 Appreciate the impact of figurative language in texts

TLW6 Experiment with figurative language in conveying a

sense of character and setting

STARTER (10 minutes)

 Establish objective
 Ask pairs to work out the precise meaning of the underlined words, reinforced,
elaborate, prosperity, endure, lacquer (see Resource 1 - Ruined City OHT), and
to work out any information they can about each word - see Teacher’s guide
sheet (1) (Resource 2)
 Take brief feedback

MAIN (15 minutes)

 Establish lesson objectives and meaning of figurative (creating pictures in
reader’s mind, but more specifically, using similes and metaphors)
 Show Ruined City OHT (Resource 1). Read it to class
 Ask for initial reaction with focus on the mood of the poem
 Talk through use of adjectives and similes, and their effects - see teacher guide
sheet (2) (Resource 3)
 Ask pairs to fill in the blanks in fourth-from-last line
 Talk through their choices and what their choices reveal about how they are
reading and responding to the poem

DEVELOPMENT (10 minutes)

 Give different groups of four pupils different sections of the poem (Resource 4)
and ask them to comment on the underlined bits: are they adjectives, similes or
metaphors? What is their effect? What mood do they create? They should also
discuss and fill in the blanks appropriately
 Give two groups copies of their part of the poem on an OHT (Resource 5) so that
they can annotate and complete it ready to report back to the class

PLENARY (10 minutes)

 Refocus on the objectives
 Take feedback
 Ask the OHT groups to present their ideas to the class
 Ask the class, in pairs, to finish off the last line of the poem

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 Take some suggestions. (The original words were “lie beneath the dreary stones
and barren earth”)

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Resource 1 OHT

The Ruined City

Pao Chao (China 467)

In its golden past,

axles of chariots and carts
often rubbed against each other
like men's shoulders.
Shops and houses stood row upon row
And laughter and songs rose up from them.
Glittering and white were the salt fields;
Gloomy and blue were the copper mines.
Wealth and talents
And cavalry and infantry
Reinforced the strict and elaborate
Regulations and laws.
moats and walls
Were dug and built, to ensure
That prosperity would long endure.
Red lacquer was applied to doors and gates.

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Resource 2

Teacher guide sheet (1): word information

WORD MEANING INFORMATION

 Affixes: re, in, ed. What do
these ‘do’ in other words?
 Other contexts: reinforced
concrete
made sure (they)  Words-within-word: ‘Force’
reinforced
were obeyed suggests something about
the whole word’s meaning.
What?
 Word class: adjective, noun,
verb, etc
 Other context: football –
“over elaborate play”. What
do commentators mean by
elaborate complicated that?
 Word class: adjective, noun,
verb, etc: adjective
 Related words: prosperous
prosperity wealth  Affix: ity. What does this ‘do’
in other words?

endure last  Related words: endurance

 Other languages: does the

lacquer varnish word sound foreign? Which
language?

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Teacher guide (2): figurative language in verse one of ‘The Ruined City’
Simile, suggesting strength and
togetherness
(idea reinforced by “row upon
row” in next line)
Simple description using obvious
adjectives suggests the
simplicity and optimism of life in
the city
The city knows it needs to
defend itself and hang on grimly
to its wealth. The adjectives
“winding” and “lofty”, however,
are more factual than figurative
and atmospheric. What words
did students use to supply the
gaps? What do their choices
suggest about how they were
reading the poem?
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Poetry Basics
Resource 3
In its golden past,
axles of chariots and carts
often rubbed against each other
like men's shoulders.
Shops and houses stood row upon row
And laughter and songs rose up from them.
Glittering and white were the salt fields;
Gloomy and blue were the copper mines. BUT the next few lines
suggest a different view
Wealth and talents of the city: regimented
And cavalry and infantry and rather grim
Reinforced the strict and elaborate
Regulations and laws.
Winding moats and lofty walls
Were dug and built, to ensure
That prosperity would long endure.
Red lacquer was applied to doors and gates.
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The Ruined City (Teacher sheet – not for students!!!!!)

Pao Chao (China 467)

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In its golden past,
axles of chariots and
carts
often rubbed against
each other
like men's shoulders.
Shops and houses stood row
upon row
And laughter and songs rose
up from them.
Glittering and white were the
salt fields;
Gloomy and blue were the
copper mines.
Wealth and talents
And cavalry and infantry
Reinforced the strict and
elaborate
Regulations and laws.
Winding moats and lofty walls
Were dug and built, to ensure
That prosperity would long
endure.
Red lacquer was applied to
doors and gates.
The strongholds and
fortresses
would see to it
That for a myriad generations
the family's rule
should last.
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But after five centuries or
three dynasties
The land was divided like a
melon,
Or shared like beans.
Duckweed flourishes in the
wells
And brambles block the
roads.
Skunks and snakes dwell on
sacred altars
While muskdeer and squirrels
quarrel on marble steps.
In rain and wind,
Wood elves, mountain ghosts,
Wild rats and foxes
yawp and scream from
dusk to dawn.
Hungry hawks grind their
beaks
As cold owls frighten the
chicks in their nests.
Tigers and leopards hide and
wait
for a drink of blood
and a feast of flesh.
A solitary reed shakes and
twists,
And grains of sand, like
startled birds,
Poetry Basics
are looking for a safe
place to settle.
Bushes and creepers,
confused and tangled,
seem to know no
boundaries.
They pull down walls
And fill up moats.
Deep in my thoughts, I sit
down and listen
To this awesome silence.
Behind the painted doors and
embroidered curtains
There used to be music and
dancing.
Hunting or fishing parties
were held
In the emerald forests or
beside the marble pools.
The young girls from east and
south
Smooth as silk, fragrant as
orchids,
White as jade with their lips
red,
Now lie beneath the dreary
stones and barren earth.
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 Poetry Basics
Resource 4

The Ruined City

Pao Chao (China 467)

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The strongholds and fortresses
would see to it
That for a myriad generations
the family's rule should last.
But after five centuries or three dynasties
The land was divided like a melon,
Or shared like __________.
Duckweed __________ in the wells
And brambles block the roads.
Skunks and snakes dwell on sacred altars
While muskdeer and squirrels quarrel on marble steps.
In rain and wind,
Wood elves, mountain ghosts,
Wild rats and foxes
yawp and _________ from dusk to dawn.
Hungry hawks grind their beaks
As ________ owls frighten the chicks in their nests.
Tigers and leopards hide and wait
for a ________ of blood
and a feast of flesh.
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Poetry Basics
A solitary reed shakes and twists,
And grains of sand, like startled birds,
are looking for a safe place to settle.
Bushes and creepers, confused and _________,
seem to know no boundaries.
They __________ walls
And fill up moats.
Deep in my thoughts, I sit down and listen
To this awesome silence.
Behind the ________doors and embroidered curtains
There used to be music and dancing.
Hunting or fishing parties were held
In the ________ forests or beside the _______ pools.
The young girls from east and south
Smooth as silk, as orchids,
White as jade with their lips ________,
Now…….. (don’t fill this in)
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Resource 5

Tigers and leopards hide and wait

for a ________ of blood
and a feast of flesh.

A solitary reed shakes and twists,

And grains of sand, like startled birds,
are looking for a safe place to settle.
Bushes and creepers, confused and _________,
seem to know no boundaries.
They __________ walls
And fill up moats.

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 Poetry Basics

Resource 5 (contd)

Deep in my thoughts, I sit down and listen

To this awesome silence.

Behind the ________doors and embroidered curtains

There used to be music and dancing.
Hunting or fishing parties were held
In the ________ forests or beside the _______ pools.

The young girls from east and south

Smooth as silk, as orchids,
White as jade with their lips _____

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