England in 1819

England in 1819 – Percy Bysshe Shelley – AQA GCSE English Literature Teaching Resource

This two-lesson teaching resource is designed for AQA GCSE English Literature students studying England in 1819 by Percy Bysshe Shelley from the Worlds and Lives poetry anthology. Fully aligned with the AQA specification, it offers everything you need to teach the poem’s context, language, structure, form and themes in depth.

Students explore Shelley’s radical political views and the historical background of 1819, including the Peterloo Massacre and the widespread social unrest that inspired his writing. Through detailed analysis, learners examine how Shelley uses the sonnet form to criticise England’s corrupt institutions and express his revolutionary hope for renewal.

What’s Included

41-slide PowerPoint presentation and three printable worksheets (covering two full lessons)

Contextual study of Shelley, Romanticism and early 19th-century England

Close reading and poem breakdown with guided questions and model answers

Language and imagery analysis with examples and discussion prompts

Form and structure focus – rhyme scheme, rhythm, subverting the sonnet, etc

Theme mind-maps on political corruption, oppression, hypocrisy and hope

Essay-writing guidance with model GCSE responses and comparison practice

Activities comparing England in 1819 with George Eliot’s In a London Drawingroom

Comprehension, cloze and analytical exercises to reinforce understanding

Perfect for whole-class teaching, this engaging and fully editable resource helps students build the critical and contextual knowledge needed to approach comparative poetry questions with confidence.