Year 10 Sonnet Slam

During our recent English Week, Year 10 students were lucky enough to take part in a Slam Poetry performance and Q&A with poet, Harry Baker. To follow up on this during Well-being Week, some Year 10 students organised their own Sonnet Slam.

As students are studying sonnet form as part of their IGCSE Literature course, students chose their own sonnet from any literary period and prepared a performance for their peers. It was an inspiring way to spend the last lesson on a Friday afternoon.

Performances included a variety of Shakespeare’s sonnets, naturally, including Nos. 1, 18, 60, 116, 106, but also Wilfred Owen’s WWI sonnet Anthem for Doomed Youth, Shelly’s Ozymandias, and Robert Hayden’s Those Winter Sundays, to name but a few.

Most performers were also happy to say a few words about their choice of poem, and it was fascinating to see, not only the variety of poetry performed but students’ passion for poetry. Who would have thought it? Students’ comments included: 

"It was really engaging and we got to listen to different poems and learn a lot through literature." - Leonard

"I really enjoyed the Sonnet Slam. It was nice to hear new poems and discuss them as well. It was a relaxing lesson but highly educational." – Reka

"It was fun and refreshing. It was nice learning in such a different way and we could see different perspectives." – Fiona

"We should do it more often as it was a great way to see what others liked and how they performed the poems." – Bruno

"The Sonnet Slam showed me how diverse this type of poem can be and I really enjoyed listening to many examples!" - Barbara

"It was extremely interesting to see who would choose what type of poems and learn more about them." - Tian Yi Wei
 

Douglas Allan

English Teacher