English Tuition for Australia and New Zealand
XQUISITE TUTORIALS
Ekphrastic Poetry
Throughout history, artists and poets have used their work to challenge injustice, give voice to the oppressed, and inspire change. In this task, you will research and analyse two protest works — one visual artwork and one poem — that address a social, political, environmental, or cultural issue.
For each work, write a short analytical response (100 words each) that explores:
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The context of the work: Who created it? What issue or event does it respond to?
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The message of the work: What is the artist or poet protesting or advocating for?
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The techniques used: How do visual or literary elements enhance the protest message?
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The impact: How effective is the work as a form of protest?
One Nation Under CCTV
By Banksy
1. Identify the visual features.
2. What colours are used? Why did the artist choose these colours?
3. List the verbal techniques used.
4. Write a paragraph on the message the artist is portaying. How do the visual and verbal features add to contribute to this idea?
For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children’s mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours;
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.
Litany for Survival
By Audre Lorde
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They are kneeling upright on a flowered bed
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He
has just caught her there
and holds her still
Her gown
has slipped down
off her shoulder
He has an urgent hunger
His dark head
bends to hers
hungrily
And the woman the woman
turns her tangerine lips from his
one hand like the head of a dead swan
draped down over
his heavy neck
the fingers
strangely crimped
tightly together
her other arm doubled up
against her tight breast
her hand a languid claw
clutching his hand
which would turn her mouth
to his
her long dress made
of multicolored blossoms
quilted on gold
her Titian hair
with blue stars in it
And his gold
harlequin robe
checkered with
dark squares
Gold garlands
stream down over
her bare calves &
tensed feet
Nearby there must be
a jeweled tree
with glass leaves aglitter
in the gold air
It must be
morning
in a faraway place somewhere
They
are silent together
as in a flowered field
upon the summer couch
which must be hers
And he holds her still
so passionately
holds her head to his
so gently so insistently
to make her turn
her lips to his
Her eyes are closed
like folded petals
She
will not open
He
is not the One
The Kiss
By Gustav Klimt
Short Story on a Painting of Gustav Klimt
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The Scream
By Edvard Munch
1. Discuss the figure’s body language, positioning and expression. How do these visual elements help convey the central themes of the painting?
2. Which visual techniques do you think best help Munch depict psychological distress and existential fear?
Impact & Interpretation
3. Why do you think The Scream has become such an iconic image in modern culture? What aspects of the painting make it memorable or relatable today?
4. Art can be interpreted in many ways. Do you interpret The Scream as a literal depiction of fear, or something more symbolic? Justify your interpretation with reference to visual and contextual elements.
5. Explain how you anticipate or expect a poet to interpret the painting in an ekphrastic poem and why? What structural, sound or figurative elements will they emphasise?
Phan Thi Kim Phuc Fleeing By Nick Ut
War Poetry By Kate Daniels
A naked child is running
along the path toward us,
her arms stretched out,
her mouth open,
the world turned to trash
behind her.
She is running from the smoke
and the soldiers, from the bodies
of her mother and little sister
thrown down into a ditch,
from the blown-up bamboo hut
from the melted pots and pans.
And she is also running from the gods
who have changed the sky to fire
and puddled the earth with skin and blood.
She is running--my god--to us,
10,000 miles away,
reading the caption
beneath her picture
in a weekly magazine.
All over the country
we're feeling sorry for her
and being appalled at the war
being fought in the other world.
She keeps on running, you know,
after the shutter of the camera
clicks. She's running to us.
For how can she know,
her feet beating a path
on another continent?
How can she know
what we really are?
From the distance, we look
so terribly human.