JC
A lot of the texts we study in the English classroom do explore ideas about loss. And if there’s someone who knows a thing or two about loss, it’s Lewis Capaldi! Let’s see how he can help us with our Literature studies…
ACTIVITY 1
Watch the BRIT Awards video and listen to the two podcast clips. You’ll hear Lewis Capaldi touch on a few different types of loss.
ACTIVITY 2
What kind of losses does Margaret Atwood explore in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’? Think about what Offred has lost and society as a whole. Make a list of ideas. (Or apply the same question to any play or novel that you’re studying).
ACTIVITY 3
Okay, so whether you’re listening to Lewis Capaldi or reading an A-Level text, when thinking about loss, it’s not just the obvious lost thing (be it love or freedom or whatever) we should be considering. When we lose something big, we lose so much with it. So, for example, we lose love, we might lose confidence or optimism. We will also gain that something from loss. It might be perspective, it might be determination, it might be empathy.
Here’s Lewis Capaldi again. Listen to what he says about his ‘Someone You Loved’ megahit, watch as he performs at Glastonbury in 2023, then hear him discuss that Glastonbury experience. Finally, watch the video for his 2025 comeback song, ‘Survive’.
ACTIVITY 4
Explore the significance of loss in ‘Someone You Loved’.
We are going to identify the key techniques in Lewis Capaldi’s lyrics and explain how they help create a sense of loss (mainly the loss of love) and the impact of that loss. Essentially, we’re going to plan our answer to the significance of loss task.
‘Someone You Loved’ was released in 2018. Consider the broader context of the song (of love and its place in the late 2010s). How does this thinking help us understand the song’s significance beyond the feelings/actions of the speaker? Think about what you know about Lewis Capaldi and about how his Tourette’s might be indicative of a wider issue.
Lewis Capaldi, ‘Someone You Loved’
I’m going under, and this time, I fear there’s no one to save me
This all-or-nothing really got a way of driving me crazy
I need somebody to heal, somebody to know
Somebody to have, somebody to hold
It’s easy to say, but it’s never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain
Now the day bleeds into nightfall
And you’re not here to get me through it all
I let my guard down, and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
I’m going under, and this time, I fear there’s no one to turn to
This all-or-nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you
Now I need somebody to know, somebody to heal
Somebody to have, just to know how it feels
It’s easy to say, but it’s never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape
Now the day bleeds into nightfall
And you’re not here to get me through it all
I let my guard down, and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes
I fall into your arms
I’ll be safe in your sound ’til I come back around
For now, the day bleeds into nightfall
And you’re not here to get me through it all
I let my guard down, and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
But now the day bleeds into nightfall
And you’re not here to get me through it all
I let my guard down, and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
I let my guard down, and then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
ACTIVITY 5
Use your plan to write an essay in response to that task: Explore the significance of loss in ‘Someone You Loved’.
Or write an essay in response to the task: Explore the significance of loss in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (or any text of your choice).
Watch Lewis Capaldi perform at Isle of Wight Festival!