Analysing ideas of belonging and heritage in McKay’s ‘I shall return’

Hello, everyone. It's lovely to see you here today. My name's Dr. Clayton, and I'm here to guide you through your learning journey today. So today lesson is called Analysing Ideas of Belonging and Heritage in McKay's "I Shall Return". So we're going to be thinking about how we might interpret the use of the sonnet form and the euphonic sounds as a way of creating ideas of belonging. But then also we might see some of the irregularity in the structure of the poem as also creating ideas of discontent. We're going to think of how we can draw those ideas together to form a cohesive interpretation of the poem. So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop whatever you need for this lesson and let's get started. So by the end of the lesson, you will be able to analyse how McKay presents ideas of belonging and heritage in "I Shall Return". So we have five words today we're going to be using as our keywords. They'll be identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to point them out to you as well so you can see them being used in context. So our first keyword is belonging, which means a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group or in a particular place. Our second keyword is contentment, which means happiness and satisfaction, often because you have everything you need. Our third keyword is sustain, which means to support something or keep it going; to nourish it. We're going to be thinking about how we might interpret the sonnet form, the regularity in the rhyme, and the use of euphonic sounds in the poem as sustaining the speaker and creating these ideas of belonging and contentment. Our fourth keyword is heritage, which means the history, traditions, practises of a particular country or society. And our final word is discontent, which means a feeling of not being satisfied with your situation or with the way you're being treated. We're going to be thinking about how we might interpret the irregularity in the rhythm as creating these moments of discontent and how those moments might relate to the speaker's heritage. So, I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and their definitions. So pause the video, write them down now. Fantastic. Let's get started with the lesson. So, we have two learning cycles in our lesson today. For our first learning cycle, we're going to be thinking about how we might interpret the sonnet form, the regularity in the rhyme and the use of euphonic sounds in the poem as creating ideas of belonging and contentment. For our second learning cycle, we're going to be thinking how we might interpret the irregularity in the rhythm as creating these moments of discontent and how those moments might relate to the speaker's heritage. So, let's start off by thinking about the form of McKay's "I Shall Return". So McKay's "I Shall Return" is written in the sonnet form. Now the sonnet form has 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme. Now there are two traditional sonnet forms which are the Petrarchan and the Shakespearean. And the sonnet will be organised differently and have a different rhyme scheme based on which form it's following. So McKay's "I Shall Return" follows the Shakespearean rhyme scheme of AB, AB, CD, CD EF, EF, GG. Now the sonnet form in general, so both the Petrarchan and and the Shakespearean, are both associated with love. It's a traditional poetic form. The Petrarchan sonnet dates back to the 14th century and Shakespeare was writing in the 16th century. So this is a form that's been around for hundreds of years. So what I'd like you to think about is what do you think the significance of McKay's choice of the sonnet form is? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there. Let's talk through some of the things you might have said. So you might have thought about the fact that using the sonnet form connects the speaker's home with this concept of love. And you also might have thought about how it might associate his home with tradition and how the roots span back for hundreds of years. Now, as we mentioned, as part of the sonnet form, McKay's "I Shall Return" has a regular rhyme scheme. Now we might represent the regular rhyme scheme as a line running through the poem that has the same peaks and troughs. So we might see it as this regular line that runs through the poem and holds the whole poem together. So what I'd like you to think about is how do you think the regular rhyme scheme might relate to ideas of belonging? Now, belonging's one of our keywords, it means a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group or in a particular place. So how might the regularity link these ideas of happiness and comfort? Pause the video. Take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Some great ideas there. Now one of our Oak pupils, Aisha said, "I think maybe the regular rhyme creates the impression of peace and contentment. The speaker feels calm and relaxed when they think of their home and that's represented by the fact the rhyme ebbs and flows in the same way throughout the poem. Perhaps the unchanging rhyme could also represent how their feelings towards their home are unchanged?" So what I'd like you to do is think about whether or not you agree with Aisha. Why or why not? Pause the video. Take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Now, for me, I always think of regularity as bringing a sense of stability that runs through the poem and it might reflect how safe and content the speaker feels when they think of their home. So now for a quick check for understanding. What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false. So is it true or false the form and structure of McKay's "I Shall Return" associates positive emotions with the speaker's home? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Now the correct answer is true. Now I'd like you to tell me why it's true. So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Now, you might have said: The sonnet form alludes to ideas of love and the regular rhyme scheme arguably creates ideas of peace and contentment. So very well done if you've got those right. So now I'd like us to think about the sounds in the poem, because I think the sounds are a great way of thinking about the mood of the poem and how it makes us feel as the reader. So what I'd like you to do is read the following line aloud: "To laugh and love and watch with wonder-eyes." Now I'd like you to think about what you notice about how it feels to say the line aloud. So pause the video, read the line now. Welcome back, everyone. Now one of our Oak pupils, Jacob said, "It feels quite calming to say. It feels as if the words are creating long vowel and consonant sounds which slows the line down and makes it feel peaceful." So what I'd like you to think about is whether or not you agree with Jacob. Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Now I think there's a general consensus, there's something gentle about the line. It doesn't feel harsh or abrupt to say at all. Now the reason the line seems calming and gentle to say aloud is because the line contains euphonic sounds. Now euphonic comes from "eu," meaning good and "phonic" meaning sound. So it's a good sound. Soft consonants such as "l", "m", "n", "w" can create euphony when used in close proximity to each other. So what I'd like you to think about is what is the significance of McKay using euphony in the speaker's description of his home? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Some great ideas there. Now one of our Oak pupils Lucas said, "I think the use of phoney creates associations of peace with the speaker's home, because the sounds create a pleasing, harmonising quality. I think the fact that McKay used these sounds in the first line about the speaker's home is particularly significant because it suggests the speaker feels immediately a sense of contentment when thinking about their home." So what I'd like to think about is whether or not you agree with Lucas. Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Now I think this is why it's so important to read the poem aloud and see what it feels to say the words, because you get a real sense of the mood of the poem and how that links to the meaning. So now for a quick check for understanding. So which of the following do we typically associate with the use of euphony? Is it A: sense of pleasing harmony, B: a sense of abrupt harshness, or C: a sense of sinister fear? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Now euphony means good sounds. So the correct answer is a sense of pleasing harmony. So very well done if you got that right. So now let's think about some of the language the speaker uses. So when talking of the village dances, the speaker describes them as: "dear delicious tunes." And what I'd like to think about is what do you think the significance of the word "delicious" might be? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there. Let's talk through some of the things you might have said. Now you might have thought that typically we use the word "delicious" to describe food or sustenance. So you might think, perhaps, the thought of the village dances sustains the speaker. Now sustains is one of our keywords, it means to support something or to keep it going; to nourish it. So you might think the thought of village dances supports and nourishes the speaker. Now specifically the speaker says, "Dear delicious tunes that stir the hidden depths of native life." And what I'd like you to think about is how might this relate to ideas of the speaker's heritage? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there. Now we might connect those ideas together as it suggests it's the thought of speaker's heritage that is sustaining him. So now for a quick check for understanding. So what I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false. So is it true or false the speaker implies that thoughts of his home sustain him? Pause the video. Take a few moments to think about it. Now the correct answer is true. Now I'd like to tell me why it's true. So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. Now you might have said: By calling the dances "delicious," the speaker associates ideas of food and sustenance with his home. So very well done if you got those right. Amazing work, everyone. Now the first task of the lesson. So what I'd like you to do is create a single paragraph outline to answer the question: How does McKay present ideas of belonging in "I Shall Return"? Now a single paragraph outline contains the topic sentence that explains the focus of the paragraph. It contains supporting details, that are an analysis of methods that support the topic sentence. And a concluding sentence that summarises the paragraph with a focus on the writer's intentions. So pause the video, write your single paragraph outline now. Welcome back, everyone, some great work there. Now what I'd like you to do is think about Sofia's ideas and whether or not you agree. So Sofia's topic sentence was: "In 'I Shall Return,' McKay presents the concept of home as one that makes you feel contented and sustained." So here we can see the main focus of the paragraph is on how the speaker's home makes them feel comfortable and supported. For supporting details, Sofia referenced a sonnet form and how it creates ideas of love and tradition. How the regularity of the sonnet form creates ideas of love and contentment and how it potentially shows the speaker's love for the home is unchanging. Sofia also referenced the use of euphony and how that associates the speaker's home with pleasing harmony. Finally, Sofia also thought about the use of the word "delicious" and how it creates ideas of sustenance, specifically, the idea that thoughts of heritage are sustaining the speaker. For a concluding sentence, Sofia said, "Thus, McKay arguably suggests it's our connection to our home and heritage that sustains us and brings us peace." So it's referencing the bigger picture of what McKay might want us to think about ideas of belonging and where we belong. So pause the video, think about whether or not you agree with Sofia. Welcome back, everyone. Now we're going to move on the second learning cycle, where we're going to think about ideas of discontent that we might see in the poem. Amazing work, everyone. We're now moving on to the second learning cycle where we're going to think about where we might see moments of discontent in the poem and where those moments might come from. Now, although McKay presents the speaker's sense of belonging and contentment in relation to their home, there are also arguably moments of discontent. Now, discontent is one of our keywords. It means a feeling of not being satisfied with your situation or the way you're being treated. Now, though the poem is written in sonnet form, there are moments where the poem drops out of regular rhythm. So for example, the majority of lines have 10 syllables, however: "That bathe the brown blades of bending grasses" has 11 syllables, and "Of waters rushing down the mountain passes" also has 11 syllables rather than 10. Now, I always think it's useful to imagine the rhythm as a beat that flows through the poem, or to imagine it's representing someone's speaking voice. So what I'd like you to think about is how might irregularity in the beat or someone's speaking voice point to ideas of discontent? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there. Now you might have thought that moments of irregularity in an otherwise regular rhythm are jarring moments. And if that happened in someone's speaking voice, we might think of it as their voice cracking or them pausing because of hesitation or too much emotion. So now for quick chat for understanding. What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false. So is it true or false that arguably, the rhythm of "I Shall Return" creates ideas of discontent? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Now the correct answer is true. Now I'd like you to tell me why it's true. So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. You might have said: "By occasionally dropping out of the regular rhythm, McKay arguably creates a jarring effect that could represent ideas of discontent." So, very well done if you've got those right. Now, the final word of McKay's "I Shall Return" is "pain." I always think it's important to look at the final word because it's our lasting impression of the poem. Now arguably, this leaves the reader with a final impression of discontentment rather than contentment. So what I'd like to think about is why do you think McKay might reference ideas of discontent in the poem? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there. Let's talk through some of the things you might have said. Now, potentially the final word of "pain" highlights the fact the speaker wants to be in their home. They're not physically there. It could also emphasise the fact they're currently somewhere that makes them unhappy. So, now for a quick check for understanding. What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false. So is it true or false the final word of McKay's "I Shall Return" offers a sense of contentment? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. The correct answer is false. Now I'd like you to tell me why it's false. So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it. Welcome back, everyone. You might have said: "The final word is 'pain,' which arguably leaves the reader feeling discontented rather than content." So very well done if you got those right. Fantastic work, everyone. And now onto the final task of the lesson. Now some people interpret McKay's "I Shall Return" as a very optimistic poem about home and belonging. To what extent do you agree with that statement? I'd like to use evidence from the poem to support your answer. So pause the video, write your answer now. Welcome back, everyone, some great work there. Now I'd like you to think about Sam and Alex's ideas and think about whose ideas align most closely with your ideas. So Sam said, "I think it is an optimistic poem because the euphonic sounds show how much peace it brings you to be in a place where you belong." And Alex said, "I don't think it's an optimistic poem. because I think the word pain shows how people cannot adapt to being somewhere other than their home." So pause the video, think about whose ideas align most closely with your ideas. Welcome back, everyone. Now there's no right answer here. I think that's one of the most beautiful things about literature. It can mean different things to different people. We can all take something different away from the same words on the page. You all did amazingly well today, everyone. Here's a summary of what we covered. Arguably, the use of sonnet form associates the speaker's home with ideas of love. Specifically, the use of irregular rhyme could point to ideas of peace and contentment. Furthermore, the use of euphony associates ideas of peace and harmony with the speaker's home. The word "delicious" might suggest that the speaker's home and heritage sustains them. However, the references to discontent might represent how the speaker is not physically where they feel at home. I really hope you enjoyed the lesson, everyone. I hope to see you for another lesson soon. Goodbye.