Keats’ Romantic Relationships: Isabella Jones + Fanny Brawne

John Keats and Isabella Jones Keats’ romantic relationships had a significant impact on his poetry: he met a lady called Isabella Jones in 1817 while on holiday in Hastings. She was a beautiful, intelligent, wealthy and well-read woman, and it is thought that she and Keats had a secret romance for a time; remaining close […]

Summary of “Isabella, or the Pot of Basil” by Keats

Here’s a summary of John Keats’ poem “Isabella, or the Pot of Basil”. What a sad poem! It’s very tragic and quite gothic too, kind of grotesque and beautiful and a bit absurd. Keats took the inspiration for this poem from Bocaccio’s story of the same name, and the narrative form of the poem makes […]

SIX AMAZING SHORT STORIES – For anyone who wants to improve their reading and thinking skills

Here are Six Amazing Short Stories to help you improve your writing, reading and thinking skills. To write well, you have to be a good reader. Read that again. It’s something that’s so often overlooked by many of my creative writing students – it’s hard to juggle the balance of reading and writing for sure. […]

‘The Schooner Flight’ by Derek Walcott— Poem Analysis

Below, you will find a detailed analysis of the poem ‘The Schooner Flight, Chapter 11: After the Storm’ by Derek Walcott. Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more help with Derek Walcott’s poetry analysis, you can see our full course here. 11 After the Storm “There’s a fresh light that follows a storm while the whole […]

To Kill A Mockingbird Extract + Comprehension Tasks + Essay Questions

Below, you’ll find a ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Extract – The Radley’s Place, along with some comprehension tasks, essay questions, and close reading tasks. TASK 1: COMPREHENSION What reaction does Dill have to The Radley Place? Why do you think this is? How is the house described? What atmosphere does this create? Find two examples […]

A Reading List for Students Who Want To Improve Their Comprehension and Literacy Skills

It’s so important to read consistently, from a young age – and so many of my students admit to me, ashamed, that they never really find the time to read – or they don’t enjoy it – or they find it boring or too hard. Well, I’m telling you now – if you don’t read […]

An Inspector Calls: A* / L9 Example Intro + Paragraph

Here are some samples of an essay on An Inspector Calls, on the theme of responsibility. I wrote these myself as a teacher to show students an example of the standard required to get a high level at GCSE. I’ve also broken down the structure below so you can see what to put into each […]

A* Grade Robert Frost Essay: Compare the effects of two poems which Frost sets in wintertime.

This A* grade Robert Frost essay was completed by one of my students – not in timed conditions. She planned and thought thoroughly before writing, and edited the piece before handing it in. According to the mark scheme it received 23/25 (92%), which would translate to an A* grade at A-Level. However, the piece can […]

What is Unseen Poetry?

Lots of students find a section called ‘Unseen Poetry’ cropping up on their English exams. It’s quite a confusing term at first! It basically means that you have to read and react to a poem that you’ve never seen before, and write an essay on it in response to a question or prompt – all […]

Macbeth: The Best Key Quotes

Here’s a list of the best quotes for the character ‘Macbeth’ in Shakespeare’s play of the same name. I’ve been teaching Macbeth for years and these quotations are the ones that I find myself returning to over and over again. They have lots of techniques and imagery in them, and they relate to a huge […]