‘Hurricane Hits England’ At a Glance
Use this activity sheet to record your ideas about the poem ‘Hurricane Hits England’ as
you study it. Keep this in your notes for revision.
Language: Structure/
Form:
Storm - connection between free verse - reflects the
Guyana and Britain introspective nature of the
- metaphor for the poet’s thoughts
confusion the poet is feeling - unpredictability and
Hurricane described as a ‘ship’ - changing rhythms of the
> impression of billowing sails hurricane
and choppy seas, transporting
something - an eventual peace o Structure:
of mind o Acknowledgement of the storm
‘ancestral spectre’ - o Questioning its purpose and
emphasizing the fact that it is presence
both ‘fearful’ because of o Final acceptance
strength and brute force, but o Impersonal beginning - 3rd
also ‘reassuring’ because of person
connection w. her personal o Shift to 1st person -> 2nd stanza
history
Use of questions - reflects her
turmoil
Context: ‘Hurricane Hits Potential
England’ Comparisons:
Grace Nichols born in Guyana in To Autumn -
1950. How weather/environment can
Moved to the UK in 1977. bring one closer to a landscape
Feels at home in both Guyana
and England Adlestrop
Explores how a moment in time
can create a strong connection
Poem inspired by the Great to a place
Storm - hit England in 1987,
killed 18 people & uprooted
>15million trees.
Hurricane Hattie - devastating
cyclone, hit the Caribbean in
1961, killed >300 people in
Belize & left thousands
homeless.
Use this activity sheet to record your ideas about the poem ‘Hurricane Hits England’ as
you study it. Keep this in your notes for revision.
Language: Structure/
Form:
Storm - connection between free verse - reflects the
Guyana and Britain introspective nature of the
- metaphor for the poet’s thoughts
confusion the poet is feeling - unpredictability and
Hurricane described as a ‘ship’ - changing rhythms of the
> impression of billowing sails hurricane
and choppy seas, transporting
something - an eventual peace o Structure:
of mind o Acknowledgement of the storm
‘ancestral spectre’ - o Questioning its purpose and
emphasizing the fact that it is presence
both ‘fearful’ because of o Final acceptance
strength and brute force, but o Impersonal beginning - 3rd
also ‘reassuring’ because of person
connection w. her personal o Shift to 1st person -> 2nd stanza
history
Use of questions - reflects her
turmoil
Context: ‘Hurricane Hits Potential
England’ Comparisons:
Grace Nichols born in Guyana in To Autumn -
1950. How weather/environment can
Moved to the UK in 1977. bring one closer to a landscape
Feels at home in both Guyana
and England Adlestrop
Explores how a moment in time
can create a strong connection
Poem inspired by the Great to a place
Storm - hit England in 1987,
killed 18 people & uprooted
>15million trees.
Hurricane Hattie - devastating
cyclone, hit the Caribbean in
1961, killed >300 people in
Belize & left thousands
homeless.
