Transcript The Dragon that Died in the Winter Rain

Phillip Rees, Pontllanfraith
Primary School
Comprehension.
Lesson aims :
The Dragon that Died
in the Winter Rain
Dafydd Rowlands
•Continue to develop your
inferential reading skills
•Improve your
understanding of authorial
/ poetic technique
•Develop your ability to
justify opinions about
poetry
Phillip Rees. Pontllanfraith
Primary School
The Dragon that Died
in the Winter Rain
This poem explores the feeling of
Welshness and our national
identity. Read the poem
carefully, discuss each question
in your group and write notes
together before you answer the
questions in your own books.
Phillip Rees. Pontllanfraith
Primary School
Is this dragon
really dead?
It sleeps in our eyes,
burns within our being,
swims in our blood,
we still talk about that
dragon;
but it died in the winter rain.
The dragon represents the spirit of Wales, of Welshness.
Discuss and try to explain the phrase “burns
within our being”.
What evidence is there
in this verse to suggest
Dafydd Rowlands
belives that this dragon
lives within all of us?
Phillip Rees. Pontllanfraith
Primary School
Write about how the poet and his
friends interacted with the dragon.
Describe how they played with it.
This dragon is very real to the poet at some time of his life – when?
How old do you imagine him to be? Could you write a similar
poem?
What part does this dragon play in Dafydd
Rowlands’ childhood?
We mounted that dragon in our beds
we rode that dragon down the valley smoke,
we drove that dragon up the chapeled hills,
we whipped that dragon through the crumbling sea,
and that dragon died in the winter rain.
Where is this verse is set? Compare the place you imagine to your home
community. Think about noting down similarities, differences and comparisons
in your writing.
Phillip Rees. Pontllanfraith
Primary School
What does
“mythical”
mean? Use a
dictionary for
help, if you like.
Gives a historical view of the dragon and how the poet and
others interact with it.
That dragon we talked about;
mythical creature that swam in our blood,
That burned within our being,
slept in our eyes as we lay in the summer grass;
What do you
think “slept in
our eyes”
means?
the dragon that died in the winter rain.
What contrasts have you read? Write down
the contrasts and opposites you have
noticed.
Who is the poet referring to when he
says “our”?
Phillip Rees. Pontllanfraith
Primary School
The Dragon that
Died
in the Winter Rain
That dragon we talked about…
We mounted that
dragon in our beds…
It sleeps in our eyes…
Return to
first page.
Return to
Introduction
Powerpoint
presentation.
•Did you pick up clues as
you read each verse closely?
•Have you used the text to
justify your opinions?
•Do you have greater
awareness of Dafydd
Rowlands’ authorial
technique?