Compare the two poems, 'The Best of School' and 'Last Lesson of the Afternoon' by DH Lawrence.

Poetry Coursework Compare the two poems, 'The Best of School' and 'Last Lesson of the Afternoon' by DH Lawrence. D H Lawrence became a qualified teacher in 1908, he took up a post at Davidson Road School, Croydon. The school had some very poor boys and it was not to be an easy introduction for the young schoolmaster. However, he was dedicated and innovative. For example he encouraged the boys to act out 'The Tempest', rather than sitting at their desks reading it. The poem The Best of School is written through the eyes of a teacher. It is an optimistic vision of young boys learning in the classroom. Last Lesson of the Afternoon is also written through the eyes of the teacher but it shows a more negative approach by the students and the teacher. The poems both have a different layout, The Best of School has a more irregular pattern, sentences are of varying lengths and each stanza is also of different length. The layout for Last Lesson is much more regular, the sentences are of regular length and the stanzas are the same size. Also in Last Lesson the sentences go onto the next line enjambed. Last Lesson of the Afternoon opens with the line, 'When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?' From this line we can tell that the teacher is facing an uphill struggle and he is waiting for the bell to ring so he can be relieved of teaching these children. The first stanza refers

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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