lesson
The speaker is a constructed voice
1 · Learn
Original lines: 'Keep your bright map. / I know this road by the places / where the names have worn away.' The speaker rejects one kind of guidance and claims experience of another. The speaker is not automatically the poet speaking autobiographically.
Tone can be defiant, weary or quietly confident depending on emphasis, but justify it through words and form. Do not invent a complete biography from three lines.
2 · Worked example
I suggest quiet confidence from 'I know this road', while 'Keep your bright map' may sound dismissive. The worn names imply familiarity with an imperfect place rather than a perfect official guide.
3 · Your turn
Which statement explicitly claims knowledge? What does the poem not establish about the speaker?
Check your answer
'I know this road.' It does not establish a name, age or complete personal history.
4 · Apply your learning
Perform two defensible tones and explain how emphasis changes the relationship with the listener.
Adult guidance and safety
Require precise evidence and allow defensible alternative readings. Give feedback on sustained writing, not only short answers. These original short texts support skills but do not replace whole-book study, two authors in depth each year, stage-wide Shakespeare or a varied reading programme.
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