The Schoolboy - teaching resource

The Schoolboy – Eduqas GCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology Resource

This teaching resource for William Blake’s The Schoolboy is designed for the Eduqas GCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology. It includes a 39-slide PowerPoint and 3 worksheets, providing a complete two-lesson unit to support GCSE exam preparation.

The two-lesson unit explores the poem in depth through:

• Context and the Poet – introduction to William Blake, his life and times, and the background to The Schoolboy within Songs of Experience.

• Language and Imagery – detailed analysis of key quotations, metaphors and poetic techniques such as the skylark, the caged bird, and the tender plant.

• Structure and Form – exploration of rhyme, rhythm, stanza form, and Blake’s use of caesura and rhetorical questions.

• Themes and Ideas – including childhood and growing up, education and oppression, freedom versus restriction, and the natural cycle of life.

• Exam Support – model answers, sample essay openings, and detailed analysis to build GCSE exam skills.

• Activities and Worksheets – structured tasks for quotation analysis, theme exploration, imagery work, and exam-style practice questions.

This GCSE poetry teaching resource is fully editable, making it perfect for classroom teaching or revision. To preview The Schoolboy in detail, click ‘View All Slides’.

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