Video: Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

﻿Hello, and welcome to your English lesson, where today we will be exploring the poem, Rosa, by Rita Dove, but as always, I need you to make sure that you have something to write with and something to write on. If you don't have that now, you can pause the video here and go and grab it. I'd also like you to make sure that you've put all distractions out of the way, so you can fully focus on today's lesson and the poem we will be exploring. If you've got everything, let's begin, let's begin our lesson, as always, by considering our agenda. We're going to start with an introduction to Rosa Parks and her role in the Civil Rights Movement. Then we're going to move forward and read Rita Dove's poem, Rosa, and explore it in further detail before finishing our lesson by writing about the poem, Rosa, by Rita Dove. So if you're ready, let's get started with an introduction to the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was an ongoing fight for racial equality that peaked during the 1950s and 1960s. Important voices include Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, who we will be looking at in further detail later in the lesson. Now you may be wondering why, why did this movement even need to happen? Why was there a fight for racial equality? Well, let's consider exactly why. Segregation and the Jim Crow laws. Unfortunately, during this time, many Southern states in America treated African American citizens like they were second class citizens. Laws were created to separate black and white people in society. The law suggested that they would keep black people separate but equal. As you are about to learn, this was certainly not the case. Black people were not able to use the same toilets as white people. They were not allowed to eat in the same restaurants. They were not allowed to attend the same schools. There were other racist laws created under the name Black Codes that prevented black people from voting and entering well-paid jobs. Black people were given a designated area to sit on the bus. They were not allowed to sit at the front of the bus and if a white person needed their seat, they had to stand up and give it to them. So let's consider Rosa Parks' role in the Civil Rights Movement. Before we look at this, it's important to note that Rosa Parks and her husband had already joined the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, but it was this day, on December 1st, 1955, the day that truly sparked change, an important day in the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks boarded a bus and took a seat at the front of the bus where, technically, according to these laws, she was not allowed to sit. The bus filled quickly and when a white man boarded, Rosa was told, with the other African American passengers, that she needed to stand and move and give up her seat. The other passengers obeyed, but Rosa refused. She refused to stand, and in doing so, she was standing up for her rights and the rights of her fellow African Americans. As a consequence of this, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for not standing up and giving up her seat to a white man. We must note here that it was the laws that were wrong, these racist laws. It was not to Rosa Parks, it was not her action. Her actions sparked change. So using the information I've presented you on Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement, I would like you to answer the following questions in full sentences. Number one, what was the Civil Rights Movement? You can begin, The Civil Rights Movement was. You might want to consider exactly what it was and when it peaked. You can also add who were the important voices in this movement. Number two, what caused the Civil Rights Movement? I want you to note the segregation laws and the Jim Crow laws. And finally, what's happened to Rosa Parks? I want you to detail the events that occurred on the bus, December 1st, 1955, and why they were so important in the Civil Rights Movement. Please pause the video here and complete your task and resume the video when you are done. We are now going to spend some time reading the poem, Rosa, by Rita Dove. The poem, as you will see, is only a very short one. As we read and later annotate the poem, I suggest you copy down the poem in order to make your annotations. So, let's read the poem, Rosa, by Rita Dove, How she sat there, the time right inside a place so wrong, it was ready. That trim name with its dream of a bench to rest on. Her sensible coat. doing nothing was the doing. The clean flame of a gaze carved by a camera flash. How she stood up when they bent down to retrieve her purse. That courtesy. So, the she that the first line refers to is, of course, Rosa Parks, and this very short poem details the events that occurred on December 1st, 1955. So I would like you to begin by writing for me three words to describe the poem. Think about its length, think about whether it's complex or simple. Pause the video here and write down three words to describe the poem. Please resume the video when you are done. Great, I'd love to hear your words. So after three, tell me your three words that you have written down to describe the poem. One, two, three. Thank you. I put down the following. It's simple, it's short, and it's modest. It's not over the top. Now, I would like you to write for me three words to describe Rosa Parks' actions on this day. Pause the video here and write down three words to describe Rosa Parks' actions on this day. Please resume the video when you are finished. Thank you. I'd like to hear what words you've come up with. After three, please tell me the three words you have written down to describe Rosa Parks' actions on this day. One, two, three. Thank you. I wonder whether any of them match mine. She was courageous, she was bold, and she was triumphant. Her actions sparked change. Hopefully, you can see how the words to describe the poem here, simple, short, and modest, contrast enormously the words I've chosen to describe Rosa Parks' actions, courageous, bold, and triumphant. I would like to hear your initial response to Rosa by Rita Dove. Firstly, how does the poem make you feel? Secondly, I'd like you to answer, how would you describe Parks' actions? And finally, I want you to consider why the poem is so simply told. Please pause the video here and resume when you are finished. Great. Number one asks how does the poem make you feel? I'd like to hear how the poem makes you feel, as this is a really personal response. So after three, please tell me how the poem, Rosa, makes you feel. One, two, three. Great, thank you. Number two asks how would you describe Parks' actions? We've already looked at some words on the previous slide, perhaps courageous, so brave, bold, and triumphant, because it was an important moment in the Civil Rights Movement. It sparked change. It was Rosa Parks' own mini-revolution. And finally, why is the poem so simply told? Well, if we consider the enormity of her action, the courageous, brave, and strength that it took her to refuse to give up her seat. She knew the consequences. She was likely to be arrested. She was likely to be punished. In this case, she was fined. So the poem is so simply told because it doesn't need any pomposity. It doesn't need to be over the top. Her actions speak for themselves, and that is echoed in the simplicity of Rita Dove's poem. Great, let's move forward and look at the poem in more detail. As I suggested earlier, we're going to make some annotations to the poem. The poem is only a very short one so I suggest you copy out each section as we annotate it. Let's start with the first three lines of the poem. They read, how she sat there, the time right inside a place so wrong, it was ready. Now, when the writer suggests that the time was right, she is referencing Rosa Parks' role in the Civil Rights Movement. The time was right because it was time for a necessary change. I've introduced you to the racist laws that existed during the 1950s into the 1960s. I'm sure you'll agree that this was a time for change. But the phrase, time right, contrasts the phrase, a place so wrong. We've got the juxtaposition between wrong and right here. And so why does Rita Dove suggest the place was so wrong? Well, she here is referencing where Rosa Parks was sitting, at the front of the bus. Remember, from earlier in the lesson, this went against the Jim Crow laws that existed at the time. The place was so wrong because she was breaking the law. She was not allowed to be sitting there. Now, remember it was the laws that were wrong and not her actions, but that is why she was arrested, and that is why she was fined, and that is why it was such a courageous move from Rosa Parks to refuse to stand on that day. So I suggest you get down some annotations for this section of the poem. If you need to pause the video here, you're welcome to, but please resume as we're going to continue our exploration on the next slide. That trim name with its dream of a bench to rest on. Her sensible coat. Now, what do you notice about the images here? Trim name, trim just sort of means short and modest. It's not over the top, it's not fancy. Dream of a bench, well, I'm sure we've all got dreams, big, wild, fantastical dreams, but this dream suggests a bench, a seat, to rest on, and in that final sentence, the writer says her sensible coat. Once again, Rosa Parks is described in a very simple, unassuming, modest way. Let's look at this a bit further. Trim name simply echoes the modest nature of Rose's character. If you're modest, you're not over the top. You're the complete opposite to that. The dream of a bench, it's a seat. It's a simple wish. The simplicity of the action contrasts the enormity of the action in the long term. She wanted a seat. She deserved a seat. She had a right to sit there. It seems simple, but actually, by not giving up her seat, by refusing to stand, she sparked change. Metaphorically, this action was enormous. And finally, her sensible coat, it completes the pattern of small and simple things that Dove has used in relation to Rosa Parks. It's suggesting that Rosa is a humble and a quiet character, and that contrasts the huge presence that she has in history. Doing nothing was the doing. The clean flame of a gaze carved by a camera flash. So once again, Dove is suggesting that it was her action, doing nothing, not standing up, that was the doing. She was going against the laws at the time. And she moves on, the clean flame of a gaze carved by a camera flash. Now here, we're moving forward slightly. We're imagining that there are press and media that have turned up to this scene where a woman has simply refused to stand up on a bus, but because she was breaking those laws that existed at the time, this was seen as a huge story. And of course, it was a huge action because it sparked change. It was a really important moment in the Civil Rights Movement. So nothing is an interesting word here because, of course, Rosa Parks did quite the opposite of nothing in a metaphorical sense. Literally, the nothing refers to her refusal to stand, but metaphorically, this was an enormous decision that she took, to go against the laws that existed at this time. The flame of a gaze, now, this image of a flame we associate, don't we, with fire and the idea of a burning idea and a passion. Now, this flame image contrasts the very simple description of Rosa Parks, and it suggests that, actually, burning inside her was a fire, this strength and a power that she had to stand her ground. And so while on the outside, she may have appeared a modest, unassuming, simple character, her trim name, her dream of a bench, her sensible coat, on the inside, there was a fire that was burning, which could present, represent perhaps, the change that she wished for in society. And finally, the camera flash. This is, of course, a reference to the media and it highlights the enormity of her action in the wider world. Originally, if I was to say to you, before we'd even looked at Rosa and looked at the Civil Rights Movement, what would you say if someone refused to get up on a bus? You probably wouldn't think anything of it, but this was a huge action because it was breaking the laws at the time, and so the wider world wanted to note it. And so they did. The media attended the scene, taking pictures, and of course, this is a moment that has gone down in history. So finally, how she stood up when they bent down to retrieve her purse. That courtesy. Now this is an interesting end to the poem because it appears that Rita Dove has imagined this situation where Rosa stands up. Now here, perhaps Dove is returning to the humble and polite image of Rosa Parks as the poem reaches its end. The image of her standing contrasts, of course, the image of her sitting and her, the image of her sitting is the image she is most famous for, but also, could Rita Dove be referencing the fact that Parks, Rosa Parks stood up for all African Americans? In a metaphorical sense, she was standing up for their rights by sitting down. And that final fragment, that final phrase, that courtesy, we can perhaps imagine here that someone, we don't know who, has bent down to retrieve and to pick up Rose's purse for her. It may have fallen down, and we're imagining that she stood up in thanks for this. And so that courtesy perhaps is Dove returning once again to the humble and polite image of Rosa, as the poem reaches its end, to highlight that Rosa Parks has an awareness of human dignity and human decency and the way we should act towards one another. If someone does something for you, even something as small as picking up your purse, you should thank them. And she thanks them by standing up. And this highlights the fact that she was not shown any human decency, any human dignity, when she was told to move. All the way through the poem, Rita Dove highlights the simple, modest, humble nature of Rosa Parks, and that completely contrasts the enormity of her action. By refusing to stand, she sparked change, she sparked movement, and her name has gone down in history, and rightly so. This poem details Rosa Parks' own mini-revolution in the fight, in the quest, for racial equality. Once again, you're welcome to pause the video here and add any annotations to your poem. So I would like you to pause the video and answer this question in a paragraph. How does Dove present revolution in Rosa? How does Dove present revolution in Rosa? Now I have given you an outline here using the what, the how, and the why. So in your what, in your opening sentence, I want you to suggest that Dove uses simple language, that it highlights the enormity of Rosa Parks' actions, and that her actions actually sparked a revolution and were important in the Civil Rights Movement. Then you're going to move on to the how, and this is probably the biggest section of your paragraph. You're going to use quotes from the second stanza and contrast these with the quotation, she stood up. So I want you to use quotes from the second stanza, use the annotations that you've made, that emphasise the modest and simple nature of Rosa Parks sitting on that bus. Unassuming, humble, she had on her sensible coach, she has a trim name. Her dream was just to sit on a bench, and you're going to contrast that with the final phrase, she stood up, and think about what, in reality, she was standing up for. She was standing up for her rights and the rights of her fellow African Americans. And finally, why does the writer do this? What is her message? You might want to begin, here, Dove. And what is she doing? Is she criticising something? Is she highlighting something? Is she educating us about something? So please pause the video here to complete a paragraph to answer the question, how does Dove present revolution in Rosa? I would like you to spend around 10 to 15 minutes writing your paragraph, so you produce something that you're really proud of. Please resume the video once you are finished. Great, now you've had some time to write a paragraph of your own, I'm going to talk you through a model answer. You are welcome to make any necessary amendments and edits to your own paragraph if you wish to. So let's start by considering where this writer has used the what. The what comes, as it should do, in the first sentence. And it states, in Rosa, Rita Dove uses simple language to contrast the enormity of Rosa Parks' actions that sparked revolution in the form of the Civil Rights Movement. Great. Then we've got the how, so we want to see how this person has used quotations from the poem and how they have explored that language. The simplicity of Dove's description echoes the modest nature of Parks' character, as she is described as having a trim name and sensible coat. Great, so this person has introduced the quotations, trim name and sensible coat, and now they're going to analyse them in further detail. Dove's pattern of simple images presents Parks as a humble and quiet character who has quite the opposite effect on history, as her actions were an important moment in the pursuit of racial equality. Excellent, so this person here has zoomed in on the fact that the images presented of Rosa Parks are very simple and humble and unassuming, and they contrast, don't they, very notably, the enormity of her action, that refusal to stand and breaking those laws that should never really have existed. Dove continues to use these simple images as she states in stanza four that Rosa stood up. While the action of standing up appears on the surface, a relatively insignificant one, so if something's insignificant, it's not important, perhaps Dove is referencing the fact that Parks stood up for the rights of her fellow African Americans on this infamous day. Great, we've now gone into further detail during our how, by contrasting the simplicity of her trim name and her sensible coat with the fact that she stood up. Once again, another simple action, but in reality, it had an enormous effect. And finally, the why. Here, the simplicity of Dove's language forces the reader to stop, listen, and really think about the enormity of Rosa Parks' actions to perhaps inspire further action against oppressions that still exist today. Great, we have considered in that final sentence the why, why did Rita Dove write this poem? Perhaps she is suggesting that we as society still need to move forward, we still need to promote further action against oppressive societies that still exist today. Great. You are more than welcome to pause the video here and make any additions to your own analytical paragraph based on this model. Please resume the video once you are done. As always, thank you for your hard work and engagement during today's lesson. Please don't forget to complete the end of lesson quiz and I will see you next time, bye.

Exit Quiz: Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

Completed: Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

In this lesson, you will explore The Civil Rights Movement before considering Rita Dove's presentation of Rosa Parks in her poem 'Rosa'.

English

Y8 English

Key Stage 3

Year 8

Miss

Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

Revolutionary and Protest poetry: ‘America’ Claude McKay, ‘Rosa’ Rita Dove, ‘Torture’/ ‘We alone can devalue gold’ Alice Walker, ‘Good Bones (2016)’ Maggie Smith, 'To the Indifferent Women' Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘Caged Bird’ Maya Angelou

English

Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

Video

Final Quiz

Lesson Complete