Sort these images into three
categories and explain how
you sorted them.
WALT: explore the theme of CONTROL in Les
Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
power
What is ‘control’?
If you control
someone, what are
you doing?
influence
manipulation
coercion
force
rule
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
If someone were to describe you using these images,
how would you feel about it?
?
What words would you
use to describe such a
person?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
If someone were to describe you using these images,
how would you feel about it?
?
What words would you
use to describe such a
person?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
If someone were to describe you using these images,
how would you feel about it?
?
What words would you
use to describe such a
person?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Men were my buttresses, my
castellated towers… The peacocks and
the cockatoos, the nightingales, the
strutting pink flamingos.
Men were my dolphins, my
performing seals; my sailing-ships…
the rocking-horses… monkey-men.
• How does she feel about MEN?
• How do we feel about HER?
• How is CONTROL shown in these
verses?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Molloy uses SEMANTIC FIELDS (or groups of language) to
show how the character controls men
Animals
Strength
Birds
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Portrayal
of
Men
• romantic
•
• attractive
dependable
•
patronising
Task: Find at least one quote from
the poem to suggest each feature
attractive
Extension:
What other attributes of men can you
find in the poem?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Molloy uses SEMANTIC FIELDS (or groups of language) to
show how the character controls men
GROUP TASK: Work in threes. Each
person chooses a different semantic
field. Answer the question below for
your chosen field. Help each other to
achieve a complete answer.
Easy: Birds
Medium: Animals
Hard: Strength
Qu: How does Molloy uses semantic fields to show
CONTROL of men?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Qu: How does
Molloy uses semantic
fields to show
CONTROL of men?
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
WALT: explore the theme of CONTROL in Les
Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
PLENARY:
What do you
understand now by
the term ‘control’?
Answers on an exit
card!
Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy
Extension Questions
1. What semantic fields are used? Why does she use them? What do
they suggest?
2. The only meaningful words to be repeated in the poem are men
and played. Why do you think these words are repeated?
3. What can you comment on, regarding the structure? How does
language change the focus of the poem in the last two stanzas?
4. There is another shift of focus in the final stanza. Which word
signals that shift? Why is it used?
5. Why is “(yes, overnight)” placed in brackets? What is the effect of
this?
6. How does the language of the poem alter in the final stanza? What
is the writer implying about male attitudes here? What is the writer
implying about women’s roles here?