Tasks: Elephant in the Room by Lemn Sissay

1. What does the elephant in this room represent? What do you think this conflict is about?

2. There is clearly an unspoken conflict between the couple that we meet in the poem. Give examples of words and expressions that Lemn Sissay uses to emphasise this conflict.

3. The poem plays with the idiom and uses it literally rather than figuratively. What is achieved by doing this?

Lemn Sissay has also recorded the poem as a short film. To find this, use the search query 'A poem about drifting apart | Elephant in the Room by Lemn Sissay'

Watch the film and discuss:

How does this film intensify the feeling of alienation and obvious truths being ignored? Consider such things as camera angles, facial expressions, and the poet's voice.

1. Write a short story based on the poem 'Elephant in the room'. Who are the two people in the poem? What has happened that has resulted in this unspoken conflict and deceptive state of peace?

2. Write a text where you describe a situation in which you have experienced an elephant in the room. What was the conflict about? Why was it difficult to talk about? Was the situation resolved? If so, how? (The situation you describe doesn't have to be as serious and deeply personal as the conflict described in the poem).

Just like the idiom an elephant in the room, there are many other idioms that are based on animals and their characteristics.

Find the correct definitions of the different idioms.