Our Education Specialist has compiled a collection of Scots War poetry, suitable for teaching purposes. 

The collection of poems, obtained from the Scottish Poetry Library, contains writing from Neil Munro (whose poem, 'Hey Jock, are ye Glad ye 'Listed?' is quoted in the SPL poster pictured), Violet Jacob, J.B. Salmond, Marion Angus and Mary Symon.

Neil Munro's poem, 'Mother' is a dramatic monologue from the perspective of a stoic mother talking to her son.

Dramatic monologue also features in J.B. Salmond's 'Any Private to Any Private', where a soldier laments the death of a friend, acknowledging that he leaves a widow behind.

Mary Symon's poem, 'The Soldier's Cairn', narrates the building of a memorial for soldiers and reflects on the feeling of helplessness felt by those left behind.

Lesson Ideas

• Write a dramatic monologue from the perspective of the son in Neil Munro's poem 'Mother'.

• Analyse the use of contrast in 'Jock, to the First Army' by Violet Jacob.

• Examine how the use of language in 'Any Private to Any Private' by J.B. Salmond reveals the friendship between the speaker and the fallen soldier.

• Comment on the use of imagery in Marion Angus' poem 'Remembrance Day'.

• Discuss how Mary Symon creates a sense of place in her poem 'The Soldier's Cairn'.