Are you or your children or students struggling to remember the Power and Conflict poems?

Is it feeling overwhelming trying to revise all 15 poems?

Perhaps this is because many are visual learners who find it easier to watch and listen rather than read endless notes?

If so, this blog is for you.

I’ve created a TikTok series that breaks down each poem in under three minutes. It’s designed for students who need clear, fast, and visual content to help things stick.

Let’s explore how TikTok can be used for effective GCSE English revision…

Many of the students I teach are visual learners. They find it easier to remember a colour-coded image, a voiceover, or a quick video explanation than a dense paragraph in a textbook.

Each TikTok covers:

• 2 or 3 key quotes
• A quick overview of the poem’s message
• Visual cues to help with memory
• A focus on key techniques or structure
• Post-It-Notes with clear, short text to watch on mute or to music.

Many GCSE students are visual learners. A 2019 study by Durham University found that learners who watched short educational videos with visual prompts performed significantly better in conceptual tasks than those using text-based materials alone. (Fiorella & Mayer, 2019; Durham University co-authored study via arXiv:1701.04497).

This supports why platforms like TikTok – when used strategically – can become powerful revision tools. My TikToks and YouTube videos are designed with this in mind: short, clear, visual, and focused on key quotes and techniques.

But watching a video alone won’t get you a Grade 9. You still need to practise writing clearly and analytically. Let’s build on two example videos with paragraph models you can use for revision.

🎥 Watch the Bayonet Charge TikTok

In this TikTok, I focus on the panic and chaos of war. The video includes these two key quotes:

• “Suddenly he awoke and was running – raw” 
• “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera” 

Analysis:
Bayonet Charge explores the breakdown of rational thought during battle. Hughes opens with a jarring image: “Suddenly he awoke and was running – raw”. The adverb “suddenly” mirrors the soldier’s confusion, and “raw” shows that he’s been stripped back to instinct. Near the end, the listing of values: “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera” – with an almost sarcastic tone reveals how meaningless these ideals become in the face of real violence. Therefore, Hughes presents war as a terrifying and irrational experience.

🎥 Watch the Exposure TikTok

This video shows how nature becomes the true enemy. The key quotes featured are:

• “Merciless iced east winds that knive us…” 
• “But nothing happens.”

Analysis:
Owen presents soldiers not as heroes, but as victims. Nature is personified as violent and deadly: “Merciless iced east winds that knive us…” The violent verb “knive” sounds brutal and unexpected, which makes the weather seem like an attacker. The repetition of “But nothing happens” (a refrain) creates a feeling of futility. Owen’s message is clear: the real enemy in war is not always the opposing army – more likely it’s the poor living conditions, the bleak weather, the fear and the waiting.

1. Exposure
2. My Last Duchess
3. London
4. Storm on the Island
5. Ozymandias 
6. The Prelude (stealing the boat)
7. Charge of the Light Brigade
8. Kamikaze
9. Remains
10. Poppies
11. War Photographer 
12. Bayonet Charge 
13. Checking Out Me History 
14. Tissue 
15. The Emigree 

I’m currently putting together a free PDF to go alongside my TikTok series. It includes:

• Direct links to all 15 poem TikToks
• Key quotes and techniques for each poem
• Context notes
• Space to practise PETER+C-style paragraphs

You can download it here soon – but in the meantime visit my YouTube channel or sign up to my newsletter and I’ll email it to you when it’s ready.

“If you’re studying Love and Relationships, read the matching TikTok blog here.”