Cemetery trip sparks creative and critical thinking

Year 12 English Literature students visited Highgate Cemetery as part of their studies on Christina Rossetti’s poetry. Student Eva S shared the following report…

Our A level English Literature trip to Highgate Cemetery gave us the opportunity to see Rossetti’s grave in person and learn more about her life, as well as the wider context of her family.

In addition to visiting her grave, we were taken on a tour of the cemetery by Nigel, our engaging guide. He shared a large amount of information about the cemetery and about some of the remarkable individuals buried there. The cemetery itself was beautiful, and we were fortunate to visit on a sunny day, which made the experience even more enjoyable.

After our tour, we returned to school for a lecture on one of Rossetti’s poems, Goblin Market, delivered by two engaging speakers.

We were first introduced to a range of possible interpretations of the poem and then took part in a debate, discussing which interpretation we felt was the most convincing.

Following this, we were set a creative task to write our own version of a verse from Goblin Market, derived from the interpretation we each found best fit.

Next, children’s book illustrator Robyn introduced us to the illustrations of the poem, originally created by Christina Rossetti’s brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. She demonstrated how visual interpretation can better our understanding and also change our perception of the poem.

We were then set the task of creating our own illustrations, based on how we personally perceived the goblins to be.

Overall, the day was enriching and helped deepen our understanding of Rossetti’s life and work, while also encouraging us to engage with her poetry in both analytical and creative ways.

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