Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn by Tim Turnbull

This resource is a fully planned lesson (or potentially two lessons’ worth of material) designed for A Level English Literature students studying the Edexcel qualification (9ET0). It focuses on Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn by Tim Turnbull, from the Poems of the Decade anthology, and offers a comparative approach ideal for teachers whose class also studies John Keats as the chosen poet for the pre-1900 poetry component.

The lesson draws out the parody and intertextual references to Ode on a Grecian Urn, and works best when students and teacher have a loose knowledge of Keats’s life, themes, and poetic style.

The resource includes reading, discussion, group analysis, and contextual exploration, encouraging students to critically engage with both Turnbull’s poem and its classical influences.

• Starter: Imaginative museum-based task to introduce the concept of ekphrasis and future perspectives on art.
• Contextual Introduction: Guided questions exploring who Grayson Perry is, what an urn represents, and the influence of Keats. Key Concepts: Definitions and discussion of parody, ode, and ekphrasis.
• First Reading: Whole-class reading of Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn with guided questions for first impressions.
• Comparative Task: Reading and comparing with Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats.
• Class Discussion: Thematic connections between the two poems (e.g. immortality, truth, beauty, social commentary)
• Individual/Group Task: Students generate their own thematic statements about Turnbull’s poem.
• Language Analysis: Group annotation activity — one stanza per group, focusing on key lines and Turnbull’s use of language. Students select and ‘explode’ a quotation.
• Form and Structure Focus: Teacher-led unpacking of Turnbull’s formal techniques and how they parody Keats.
• Plenary/Reflection: Students consider which poem they prefer and why, drawing together comparisons of tone, structure, and message. An alternative task is included.