Part II: Programmes 5 - 8
Arrows of Desire explores the great diversity
of English verse from the sixteenth century to the present day.
Forms covered include love poems, satires, nature poems, elegies, devotional poems and comic verse. The poems range in level of difficulty from lower secondary to advanced study.
The second series in this anthology of work features the readings and work of established figures such as Thomas Hardy, John Clare, WB Yeats, William Wordsworth, John Donne, DH Lawrence, Aphra Behn, Edward Thomas, Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman together with contemporary poets such as Stevie Smith, Denise Levertov, Lavinia Greenlaw, Carol Ann Duffy and Seamus Heaney.
Curriculumn relevance
This series provides the opportunity to look at a poem in terms of
the conventions and expectations of its period, theme and form, and
to ask whether the poet brings to it something that is original and
whether that is of interest or value.
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland
Teachers familiar with the list of major poets published in the En2
reading requirements for English KS3 and 4 in England will value
Arrows of Desire's treatment of both pre- and post- 1914
Poetry.
The series features works by poets included in a range of GCSE, A and AS level and Scottish Standard Grade, Higher and Higher Still syllabuses and offers opportunities for
- reading
- experiencing poetry and the work of individual poets
- exploring a range of forms and styles
- analysing the presentation of ideas
