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English Literature: Close Reading Modern Poetry With Seamus Heaney Presented By Dr Jeremy Noel-Tod From University of East Anglia
2nd December 2025 @ 11:10 - 12:00
In this session, Dr Jeremy Noel-Tod from the University of East Anglia will lead a skills and insight workshop on close reading poetry written in the twentieth century. Using two poems by Seamus Heaney, including one that will be unknown to students studying his New Selected Poems, we will compare and contrast the effect of different poetic techniques in expressing our often-conflicted experience of the modern world. The session will help students to respond to poems, seen and unseen, using a toolkit of strategies, explained and applied through live participatory exercises.
Jeremy will address the following three areas:
- Close reading the words of a poem
- Talking about the sound, rhythm and shape of poetic form
- Drawing on historical context to explore the meaning of a poem
Lecturer Profile: Dr Jeremy Noel-Tod
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. There is no charge to take part.
As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.
Suitable for: Aged 16+ pre-university students studying, or with a possible interest in studying, English Literature and related disciplines. Student groups as well as students and teachers joining individually are very welcome.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions relating to study at university.
The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the speaker via typed comments and questions and/or via a microphone. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.
Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: