John Donne Holy Sonnets: 8 A Level Teaching PowerPoints

Eight teaching PowerPoints covering John Donne’s Holy Sonnets, built for A Level English Literature.

This bundle brings together the A Level AHEAD teaching decks for eight of Donne’s Holy Sonnets, giving you a coherent route through the sequence: from the opening plea of Thou hast made me to the late, grieving Since she whom I loved.

Poems included

• Holy Sonnet I: Thou hast made me
• Holy Sonnet IV: O my black soul
• Holy Sonnet V: I am a little world
• Holy Sonnet VI: This is my play’s last scene
• Holy Sonnet VII: At the round earth’s imagined corners
• Holy Sonnet X: Death, be not proud
• Holy Sonnet XI: Spit in my face
• Holy Sonnet XVII: Since she whom I loved

How the PowerPoints work

Each deck is organised around a four-phase learning continuum: Connect, Activate, Demonstrate and Consolidate. There is no fixed lesson structure, so you can sequence the slides across one, two or three lessons to suit your own timetable and your group.

Activity slides include suggested timings, discussion prompts and clear teacher-facing instructions. Each deck moves from first responses to the poem, through close reading of language, form and structure, to critical perspectives and wider synthesis, supporting work across AO1, AO2, AO3 and AO5.

Why use this bundle

• Covers eight sonnets in one purchase, ready for whole-sequence teaching or comparison work
• Consistent design and structure across every deck, so students know what to expect
• Fully editable, so you can adapt slides for your own classes
• Written by a former Principal Examiner, HMI Inspector and Headteacher

Suitable for: A Level English Literature and equivalent courses studying Donne’s Holy Sonnets and metaphysical poetry.

Free seminar videos on these poems are available on the A Level AHEAD website