Hi everyone! Today, I had the pleasure of observing Eireyna’s Year 10 English session, where she worked closely with her student on a scene analysis of Romeo and Juliet. The session was structured to dive deep into the key scenes of the play, focusing on understanding major themes etc. It was inspiring to watch Eireyna guide the student through this literary exploration with attention to detail.
To kick off the session, Eireyna helped the student create two seperate quote banks on core ideas. They went through pivotal lines in each key scene, annotating these with insights about language devices such as metaphor, personification, and oxymoron. Not only did this help the student build a solid foundation for essay writing, but it also allowed them to start seeing how Shakespeare’s language choices add depth to the characters’ emotions and the play’s form, and dramatic tension. Eireyna encouraged the student to write out the analysis in their own words to cement their understanding, and so that they could refer to these pieces of analysis again.
Throughout the analysis, Eireyna made sure to highlight the importance of each language device in conveying the play’s key themes. For example, she showed how the use of oxymoron in Romeo’s speech—such as “loving hate” and “feather of lead”—captures the turbulent nature of young love, aligning it with the theme of conflict. This was useful for the student to understand the importance of language devices in English, and particularly in the play. Eireyna took the time to break down these devices, ensuring the student understood both their meaning and purpose.
Eireyna also guided the student to think critically about these themes, posing thoughtful questions like, “How does this scene shift the balance between love and hate?” or “In what way does this line hint at the inevitable tragedy?”
The session’s best highlight was Eireyna’s supportive teaching approach. Once the student had built a comprehensive quote bank and gained confidence annotating key scenes, they felt reassured. It was wonderful to see the student leave with a deeper appreciation of Shakespeare’s work and positive feedback.
Eleni Nicholas
