1. Now compare Change by Dave Calder and Teacher by Carol Ann Duffy.

You should compare:

• what the poems are about and how they are organised

• the ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about

• the poets’ choice of words, phrases and images and the effects they create

• how you respond to the poems

Change

For months he taught us, stiff-faced.
His old tweed jacket closely buttoned up,
his gestures careful and deliberate.

We didn’t understand what he was teaching us.
It was as if a veil, a gauzy bandage, got between
what he was showing us and what we thought we saw.

He had the air of a gardener, fussily protective
of young seedlings, but we couldn’t tell
if he was hiding something or we simply couldn’t see it.

At first we noticed there were often scraps of leaves
on the floor where he had stood. Later, thin wisps
of thread like spider’s web fell from his jacket.

Finally we grew to understand the work. And on that day
he opened his jacket, which to our surprise
seemed lined with patterned fabric of many shimmering hues.

Then he smiled and sighed. And with this movement
the lining rippled and instantly the room was filled
with a flickering storm of swirling butterflies.

Dave Calder