‘Stealing’ by Carol Anne Duffy

1. ‘Stealing’ by Carol Anne Duffy Poetry analysis.

2. Learning Intentions To understand how a poet uses structure and language for effect To learn how to analyse these structures and this language To practice writing about the poet’s techniques and the meaning they create for the reader To come to appreciate poetry

3. Success Criteria – how will I know I have succeeded with the learning intentions? I will have involved myself fully in the pair work I will have involved myself fully in the class discussion I will have identified particular ‘tricks’ used by the poet to create meaning/to tell their story I will be able to talk about these and write about these I will be able to back up my views by making reference to particular lines in the poem

4. First impressions. Read the poem to yourself several times. Think about the feelings and reactions you have to it. What is it about? How is the ‘story’ told?

5. Understanding the story. The first step is to be sure you understand what the poem is about. In your own words briefly explain what happens in the story. I also want you to think about who is telling the story Can you find lines in the poem to support what you are saying? To prove it?

6. ‘Unpacking’ the poem. Move into groups of three. On a piece of paper put the following table In each column write any lines that match the statement – you may use lines more than once…

7. Tone Tone is the way something is said or the emotional atmosphere created by the words. Tone is very important in poetry and is often created by punctuation. Consider these examples: The most unusual thing I ever stole? Life’s tough. I sigh like this – Aah. Again. Again. How does the punctuation and sentence structure force you to say these lines? What tone is created? Why? Choose one and explain your views in a paragraph. Make sure you use the line.

8. Other ‘tricks’ used. The sounds of words are important in this poem. ‘the slice of ice’ may be said with a hiss Alliteration can emphasise key words eg the first verse has a lot of ‘m’ words – how does this make a connection between these words? Why? Repetition – ‘Again. Again.’ – what emotion does this repetition of a single, ‘hard letter word’, suggest? Run on lines

9. Looking further 1. What is suggested by the time the snowman was stolen? 2. Why does the snowman appeal to him? 3. What seems to be the thief’s philosophy of life? What does he believe in? 4. Why do you think he needs to make a mess, to be a ‘mucky ghost’? 5. What do you think his life is like? Justify your answer by referring to at least two lines.

10. An introductory paragraph. The poem ‘Stealing’ by Carol Anne Duffy tells the story of a thief who once stole a snowman. The thief says this is the most ‘unusual thing’ they ever stole. Throughout the poem we learn a lot about the thief from what they say and the way they say it. The impression created by the poem is that the thief is a cold and heartless person who may have had an unhappy life. Do you agree that the thief is cold and heartless? Do you think he had an unhappy life?

11. Creating a poetry ‘mash-up’ A ‘mash-up ‘ is a text created by taking two or more texts and joining them together. It is not necessary to use all of both texts – you select the parts from each that you need to create your new text. Obviously you need to think about the effect you are trying to create with the new text – what message? What characterisation? What story are you trying to tell? A mash up may also use images and music to enhance the effect you want to create.

12. Mash-up of ‘Zombie’ and ‘In Flanders Fields’ (a song and a poem)

13. Mash-up of ‘Stealing’ and lyrics from ‘Been caught Stealing’

14. How do I do it? The previous examples were created using Photostory. Other programs you could use include Power point or Animoto. The most effective mash-ups are between texts with similar ideas or themes. Create your own mash-up using ‘Stealing’ and another text OR two different texts of your choice. Include images and music.