1. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
School subject: Polish
Lesson plan created by:KatarzynaOlejnik
Lesson subject: Word painters, and paintbrush poets- impressionism in literature, and
painting
Duration of the lesson: 90minutes
Grade: 11 (2nd
grade of the secondary school in Poland)
Aim: to present impressionism as a modernistic art, present in various forms of art; to
compare the means of expression characteristic for poetry and painting
Methodological solutions:
-kinds of work: collective and individual work
-methods of work: work with text, conversation, analysis of pieces of art intersemiotic
translation
Teaching materials:
-book “Understand the text- understand the man”, s.4
-J. Szermentowski “in front of a church”, Claude Debussy Arabeska II (CD added to the book)

2. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Lesson progress:
1. Teacher starts the lesson with creating the problematic situation- presents students J.
Szermentowski’s painting “In front of a church” (CD) and asks to compare the method of presenting
the similar subject in the works of polish realist and Claude Monet (Cathedral in Rouen, book p.61),
students attention probably will be dragged by such elements as:
-J. Szermentowski’s painting: genre scene (a group of people in the different poses in the
foreground), building with the landscape in the background, realism of the details
(clothes- showing the facture, and refraction, props- a bowl in the hands of a church
beggar, the look of a noble mansion in the background), classic composition, the first,
second and third plan),
-C.Monet’s painting: one plan (lack of a background), aspiration of catching the light
effects, blurred contours (hard to see the details), merging together different shades, of the
same colour.
2. Teacher names the subject and the aim of the lesson; emphasizes presence of impressionism various
fields of modernistic art (painting, literature, music). Students read the information about
impressionism (book p.60-62), C.Monet’s “Impresion”, “The sunrise” (book p.59) and with the poems
of KazimierzPrzerwa-Tetmajer: “in the woods” (book p.63), and “the melody of a night mist” (book
p.64). Basing on the lecture in the book, and individual analysis of all culture texts (two Tetmajer’s
poems, and two Monet’s paintings) students compare the impressionistic technique in variour fields of
art by the given criteria:

3. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Impressionism in painting Impressionism in literature
Subjectivity of vision The sunrise
− The painting of what painter
sees (sketchiness, fuzziness of the
second plan)
− Lack of details (humans,
harbour city )
Cathedral in Rouen
− Unusual perspective of a
buildingfacade of the temple fills
the entire painting
In the woods
− Speaker isn’t revealed, but his
melancholic mood is exposed by
personification in the last strophe
(here comes the musing)
The melody of a night mist
− World seen by mists (in the
move, and from above)
Script of impressions
(of a fleeting moment)
The sunrise
− Morning in the Hawrharbor
(moment of a sunrise, mist)
− Boats stopped in the movement
− Waving of a water and colour
reflections in the river
Cathedral in Rouen
In the woods
− Volatility caused by a
movement (clouds walk, gliding
swallow through the sky)
− Fleeting phenomenon, sudden
change of colour and intensity of
light (swallow will silver, sun is
throwing a bundle of rays)

4. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
− Changing Reality depending on
the parts of the day and the year
Melody of a night mist
− Accumulation of verbs ( dance,
rise, fly, race) and other figures of
speech naming the movement (
dances, takeoffs)
− Transitory objects (the star is
falling, dandelion fluff, moths,
filmstrip, owls’ fluffy feathers)
− Evanescence, looseness of
poem’s characters (mists)
Performance’s
sensuality
Sun rise
− Colour contrast between orange
sun and grey water
− Blurring contours, painting
with colour patch (pointillism)
− Pastel colours
Cathedral in Rouen
− Diversity of colour palette at
In the woods
− Accumulation of painting
epithet (silver frames, opal flux,
gold stains)and noun definition of
colours (sky, emerald)
− Characteristic complex epithets
(golden-white clouds)
− Metaphorical epithets (blue
musing)

5. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
both paintings − Pastel colours are responded by
silence in the nature (meadow
silent)
− Colour contrast (solver and
black of a passing by swallow)
The melody of a night mist
− Mixture of sensory impressions
(let’s absorb the murmur of the
streams; let’s drink the flowers’
smell, sonorous flowers)
− The impression of silence,
achieved by repeating the
metaphorical epithet sleeping
water, comparison (it flies as
silently as we do), repetition (quiet,
quiet)
The role of a light Sun rise
− The light of a rising sun brings
out the outlines of objects
− The contrast between the light
− Accumulation of words
belonging to the same semantic
field (shine, sparkle, flashes, rays)
− Sunlight or moonlight; play of

6. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
and a shadow on the river
Cathedral in Rouen
− Volatility od lightening causes
gaining different objects
light and shadows
1. Teacher indicates the diversity of art. Material in painting and poetry and announces listening to
Arabeska II by Cloude Debussy as an example of impressionism in music. Students try to answer
the question, what is the similarity of the piece to the painting and poetic realization of
impressionism.
2. Teacher underlines, that musicality and also constitutive feature of literary impressionism.
Students gain the confirmation of this fact by doing exercises 2 and 3 p.6, applying to the acoustic
and music effects in Tetmajer’s poem „the melody of a night mist”
3. In the end teacher quotes C.Monet’s words, indication the impressionism as a direction in plastic
art. Taking the pattern from artist’s words, students make aphoristical definitions of literary
impressionism.
You need to think that way: here I see the square of blue, here the line of rose and paint it as you see
it, keeping their shape and colour, until making the personal, naive vision of a scene that you’re
looking at

7. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
I have to find what I’m looking for: transitory transient of light covering everything, and spilled
everywhere
Impressionism is the feeling of a moment(…)it’s a question of instinct
Notes:
Activities are for students representing at least average level and having basic knowledge of stylistic.
The hard part may be the examining the structure of poem and comparing it with the other piece of art.
Nevertheless, the subject is crucial on the extended level.
The lesson plan was translated by KatarzynaSkiba a student of the 3rd grade of middle school.