English Lit Poetry Analysis PDF

English lit form 4 mid yearly First day at school Stanzas: three Verses in each stanza: different Rhyme scheme: none Narrator: first person narrator Childish vocabulary- he is scared and insecure because he is far away from home where his mother is Personification as he is taking the expressi...

English lit form 4 mid yearly First day at school Stanzas: three Verses in each stanza: different Rhyme scheme: none Narrator: first person narrator Childish vocabulary- he is scared and insecure because he is far away from home where his mother is Personification as he is taking the expression literally The persona fells small he is also intimidated by the other children. He can tell that they have been at school for a long time and are used to it Games that are rough- personification Swallow you up- metaphor We assume that the persona is a boy but there is no direct indication Must have been born in uniform/lived all their lives in playgrounds/spent the years inventing games- hyperbole Repetition of the word railings- this gives the poem a childish feel as children usually do this Continuous use of questions as the student is feeling scared and insecure More repetition of the word "things" The poet misspells the word lessin to show that the persona is a young child. More repetition of the word lessin Alliteration- lessin looks like Consonances- sounds small and slimy The poet gives uses the literary devices to give the poem a sing along feel like a nursery rhyme Verse 18: They keep them in the glassrooms The persona mistakes the word classrooms for glassrooms this shows that the persona is a young child The persona cant remember his name as he or she is too young and nervous Yellowwellies- childish vocabulary Knowing your name at school is as useful as wearing yellowwellies in the rain to keep your feet dry She- his/her mother- he wants her for security More childish vocabulary as the persona thinks the teacher makes tea We are going to see the rabbit The poem presents a completely urbanised England. This shows a bleak future. Nature has been destroyed that even an animal as common as a rabbit is close to extinction as this rabbit is the last rabbit in England. The repetition of the words we, which and the creates a mood of excitement Why is there need for so much lights? Is the rabbit being guarded by the wired fence? Is it dangerous? Or is the rabbit under threat? There is curiosity reflected by the rhetorical question The rabbit is kept under close surveillance (lighting and fence) There seems to be quite a lot of technology. Has it helped people or made it sound more complicated? The rabbit is presented as a commodity There is irony in the fanfare as it is tragic that this is the last rabbit left in England Cesura in verse 37 What has gone wrong? - rhetorical question. What has gone wrong with the world? What is wrong with people? The central attraction has failed to make an appearance Anti-climax: after all the build, up there is disappointment as the rabbit did not show up. Everyone is let down Man is self-centred. They don't realise how the rabbit must be feeling. There is a short soliloquy spoken by the rabbit here. The humans are enjoying watching this lonely rabbit for satisfaction and distraction. On the other hand the rabbit is facing the end of its species Slow reader At the start of the poem the poet suggests that the boy struggles to read but he is good at many other things like making sculptures, machines, inventing games, telling games and giving adult advice. The persona is a young boy as the adult takes him one her knee, he is also reading a ladybird book. The boy is also gazing into the air and sighing and shaking his head. This shows that he does not like to read. The poem is written through the boy's perspective therefore it is written in the first person. The poet uses a simile as he compares the boy reading to an old man who knows the mountains are impassable, just like the boy knows he will never be a fluent reader. The word toys suggests that the boy is making little effort to read. Here we find two figures of speech- metaphor in the verse "letting them go cold" as words can't go cold and a simile which compares the cold words to gristly meat. Gristle means the though inedible tissue in meat. The persona gives up and lets the boy wriggle free as he is disinterested in reading. The boy is now free like a fish returning to its element (the water). The child feels free and relieved, like the fish returning to the water. There is also a likeness in the wriggle motion that both the child and the fish do when they are set free. One can refer to this literary device as a metaphor. A colt is a young horse. It is understandable that the colt is shying away from the bit as if the bit is put in its mouth, it will never run quite free again until it is taken out. Once again, the poet makes use of a metaphor to show that the boy resents reading and shies away from reading like a horse shying away from the reigns. Fireworks The poet opens the poem with the use of a poem as he compares the fireworks to fiery flowers. Two reasons why the flowers could be compared to fireworks are because both are colourful, and both rise like a growing flower or like a flower closing its petals at night and opening them during the day. We also find an alliteration in the phrase "fiery flowers." The adjective burst in verse two is an onomatopoeia. Once the fireworks burst, they then fall to the ground like burning showers. This is a metaphor. While they are falling to the ground, they are still burning in beautiful colours such as crimson (deep red), blue and white We have an extended simile of the flower as buds which are flowers that still need to bloom re likened to the fireworks. The fireworks are now referred to as a miracle. This literary device is a metaphor. The adjective unfolds refers to the movement of the firework just like the petals of a flower. Continuation of the flower simile. The catherine wheel is compared to whirling marigolds. The adjective whirling refers to the movement of the catherine wheel. Marigolds are usually orange in colour suggesting the colour of the fireworks. Reeves is using this metaphor to describe the multi coloured fireworks which burst open and make the sky look like an orchard. The reader imagines a sky full of orange, green, red -- resembling fields full of oranges, apples and other fruit. The trees in the orchard are magical. This a continuation of the metaphor. Orchard- sky/ magic trees-fireworks. The audience are watching the fireworks with gazing eyes. The sea Reeves compares the sea to a hungry dog- extended metaphor The dog is giant and grey- the reader imagines the grey sea of the English shores, the Atlantic Ocean. The dog is rolling on the beach all day- the reader pictures the waves rolling across the beach Lines 4 and 5 are enjambment The word clashing is an onomatopoeia. It appeals to the readers sense of hearing as the reader imagines the rough waves clashing against the rocks Rumbling and tumbling rhyme. This is an internal rhyme. They are both examples of onomatopoeia In the 7^th^ verse there is the repetition of the word bones. This word is normally associated with dogs. Verses 8-10: The giant sea dog moans, licking his greasy paws The word moans is an onomatopoeia. This onomatopoeia makes the reader imagine the rough sea and the waves crashing against each other and the rocks. The dog licking its greasy paws is connected to the sea Verse 11 deals with the night wind which is said to roar. This is a metaphor. It is also an onomatopoeia as one imagines the sound of the wind on a stormy night In verse 11 the moon is said to rock in the stormy clouds. The reader imagines a grey sky full of dark clouds and the moon hidden beneath them. This is a metaphor Snuffs and sniffs are onomatopoeia. Furthermore it is also a consonance with the repetition of the "s" sound. In verse 14 the reader imagines a dog shaking his wet fur coming out of the sea. Verse 15 Reeves makes use of an alliteration in the words howls and hollos One can also notice a consonance on the l sound in howls hollos long and loud Both howls and hollos are onomatopoeia Reeves employs diverse literary devices which focus on sound. This helps the reader imagine the stormy weather and its effect on the sea. In these 3 verses the movements as well as sounds can be attributed to the sea, as the waves crash, and the water splashes about on this stormy day. Reedy tune as the wind has calmed down and its not blowing like it was blowing during the winter, everything has calmed and quietened down. The dog is now lying with his head between his paws which means he is relaxed- he snores sometimes but hardly. In the last verse we see the repetition of the letter s throughout the verse- hence creating a consonance. The s sound creates peace and relaxation as it is soft on the ear. This is done to help the reader imagine the serenity on these beautiful spring days on the shore. There is a transition between the first two stanzas and the third as we see a change of season, from the harsh winter to the peaceful spring/summer. There is also a change in the dog's behaviour as he is sleeping soundly at the end of the poem where at the beginning, he is hungry, sniffing, jumping and rolling around. His behaviour corresponds to the sea. Night mail The poem consists of 12 stanzas, 8 of which are rhyming couplets. The other 4 stanzas have a different number of lines letters for the poor, The shop at the corner, the girl next door. The poem was written about 87 years ago. The night mail is being delivered by train and the staff who work on it. In the first rhyming couplet the train is crossing the border between England and Scotland. Amongst different kinds of post one can find cheques, postal orders, letters for rich people, letters for poor people, letters addressed to the shop in the corner and the girl next door Past cotton-grass and moorland boulder Shovelling white steam over her shoulder, Auden uses a personification as he refers to the train as her. She is shovelling white steam over her shoulder. The personification is used throughout the whole poem, therefore it is an extended personification Between the 1^st^ and 2^nd^ verse of the 4^th^ stanza on can note an absence of punctuation hence there is an enjambment. This quickens the pace of the poem hence reflecting the pace of the train Birds turn their heads as she approaches, Stare from bushes at her blank-faced coaches. In the 5^th^ stanza the poet makes use of an onomatopoeia through the word snorting. The trains loud noises clashes against the silence of the British countryside. Stanza 5 contains an enjambment The coaches on the train are described as blank faced as there is nothing drawn or written on the exterior of the coaches. This is another personification used by Auden as the train coaches do not have faces. In these verses one can also note the use of a sibilance on the letter S. this mimics the sound of the steam as it leaves the train Stanza 9: Dawn freshens, Her climb is done./ Down towards Glasgow she descends,/ Towards the steam tugs yelping down a glade of cranes/ Towards the fields of apparatus, the furnaces/ Set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen./ All Scotland waits for her:/ In dark glens, beside pale-green lochs /Men long for news. Stanza 9 breaks the sequence of rhyming couplets "Dawn freshens"- metaphor, dawn is here, and the sun is starting to rise. The train has begun to descend. The train is now heading to Glasgow There is a consonance in these two verses "dawn freshens, her climb is done/ down towards Glasgow she descends" there is a consonance on the d sound Note: three different transitions - Nighttime to dawn - Uphill to downhill - Countryside to city Lines 3 and 4 of verse have an anaphora as they start with the same word The train is heading towards Glasgow, Scotland is now much less natural and peaceful. As she is leaving the beautiful countryside to the hustle and bustle of the city There is a metaphor in field of apparatus and there is a simile in set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen. This alludes to planning, building and working Fields of apparatus- large areas of land filled with tools and apparatus used for construction All of Scotland is waiting for the night mail. Stanza 10- Letters of thanks, letters from banks,/ Letters of joy from girl and boy,/ Receipted bills and invitations/ To inspect new stock or to visit relations,/ And applications for situations,/ And timid lovers\' declarations,/ And gossip, gossip from all the nations,/ News circumstantial, news financial,/ Letters with holiday snaps to enlarge in,/ Letters with faces scrawled on the margin, /Letters from uncles, cousins, and aunts,/ Letters to Scotland from the South of France,/ Letters of condolence to Highlands and Lowlands /Written on paper of every hue,/ The pink, the violet, the white and the blue,/ The chatty, the catty, the boring, the adoring,/ The cold and official and the heart\'s outpouring,/ Clever, stupid, short and long,/ The typed and the printed and the spelt all wrong. Stanza 10 is the longest stanza in which Auden describes all the different types of letters being delivered. From love letters, to condolence letters, letters full of gossip, letters from the bank, bills and invitations amongst others. Stanza 11- Thousands are still asleep,/ Dreaming of terrifying monsters/ Or of friendly tea beside the band in Cranston\'s or Crawford\'s: While the night mail is still being delivered, people are still asleep- dreaming nightmares or beautiful dreams Stanza 12- Asleep in working Glasgow, asleep in well-set Edinburgh,/ Asleep in granite Aberdeen, /They continue their dreams,/ But shall wake soon and hope for letters,/ And none will hear the postman\'s knock/ Without a quickening of the heart, /For who can bear to feel himself forgotten? The people are still asleep but shall wake soon enough and hope to receive the letter they have been waiting for. In lines 1 and 2 of stanza 12 one can find an anaphora When the postman knocks, they will feel excited and happy not to have been forgotten The poem ends with a rhetorical question. We refugees Number of stanzas: 10,8 stanzas of which are: quatrains,Rhyme scheme: none Stanza 1: I come from a musical place Where they shoot me for my song And my brother has been tortured By my brother in my land. The poet starts off the poem with the pronoun 'I' making it very personal. He claims to come from a place which is musical, but he gets shot for his song. This seems to suggest there is no freedom of speech. There is also a sense of betrayal as the locals are tortured by other locals in the land. There is a sense of connection through the word brother but sadly this connection has been depleted, as instead of helping each other the locals are hurting each other. It is important to note that Zephaniah is not a refugee himself. But he was bullied because of his colour of skin when he was young. Stanza 2: I come from a beautiful place Where they hate my shade of skin They don't like the way I pray And they ban free poetry. Zephaniah explains that the place he comes from is beautiful but the people in control are discriminative- they discriminate against peoples skin colour, religion and we are once again told there is no freedom of speech as they ban free poetry. There is a contrast between 'beautiful' in the first verse against the words hate, don't like and ban in the following lines. Poetry or songs can make people revolt as they can relate to people's feelings this is probably why free poetry is banned in this country as the people want to stay in control. One can notice an anaphora in the first verse of the first and second stanza. This is used throughout the rest of the quatrains in the poem. The first verse of every quatrain reveals something beautiful about the place he is from, the rest of the stanza presents a shocking contrast as Zephaniah illustrates the harsh reality of the way people are treated. Stanza 3: I come from a beautiful place Where girls cannot go to school There you are told what to believe And even young boys must grow beards. Stanza 3 starts with the same line as stanza 2. Once again the poet comes from a beautiful place but girls cannot go to school, you are told what to believe and even young boys must wear beards. Stanza 4: I come from a great old forest I think it is now a field And the people I once knew Are not there now. The beautiful forest he came from has now turned into a field. The leaders in the country are not only driving people out of the country by their unfair treatment but they are also destroying nature -- deforestation. The people he once knew are no longer there. Did they move to a safer place? Are they trying to seek refuge somewhere else? Or did something more terrible happen? Stanza 5: We can all be refugees Nobody is safe, All it takes is a mad leader Or no rain to bring forth food, We can all be refugees We can all be told to go, We can be hated by someone For being someone. This stanza breaks the sequence of quatrains to a stanza that measures eight lines. In this stanza he draws the readers attention to the message of the poem. The use of 'we' and 'all' compounds the sense of connection and culminates into a powerful projection of this message. The repetition of someone in the last two lines of the stanza shows the discrimination against refugees. Zephaniah suggests that it would be easy for circumstances to change and things to end up differently. Discrimination based on where we come from is ridiculous as we all come from refugees. Stanza 6: I come from a beautiful place Where the valley floods each year And each year the hurricane tells us That we must keep moving on. Stanza 7: I come from an ancient place All my family were born there And I would like to go there But I really want to live. Zephaniah continuous to explain, that although the place he comes from is beautiful, it is often hit by natural disasters, and it is hard to settle in certain areas as they destroy their homes and their belongings. The poet also appreciates the fact that the place he comes from is ancient. It is also very special to him as all his family comes from there. He also says he wants to go back but he is afraid that if he goes back, he will be killed Stanza 8: I come from a sunny, sandy place Where tourists go to darken skin And dealers like to sell guns there I just can't tell you what's the price. Once again, we are reminded of the natural beauty of this place. It is sunny and sunny hence attracting many tourists to its beaches. However it is also a place where dealers sell guns, and the price one pays is not discussed. Stanza 9: I am told I have no country now I am told I am a lie I am told that modern history books May forget my name. The anaphora 'I am told' is repeated three times in consecutive lines. This suggests people are lecturing Zephaniah, even though this is a personal (I) problem that he knows much more about. The refugee seems to have lost his sense of belonging as he is told he does not have a country; he is a lie and people will forget his name. he has been stripped of all his rights. He has been made to feel like a nobody and he doesn't belong. Stanza 10: We can all be refugees Sometimes it only takes a day, Sometimes it only takes a handshake Or a paper that is signed. We all came from refugees Nobody simply just appeared, Nobody's here without a struggle, And why should we live in fear Of the weather or the troubles? We all came here from somewhere. Someone else's actions can affect our fate in life, to the extent that one has to leave his homeland, Zephaniah explains it can only take a handshake, signed paper or a day for one to become a refugee. His message is emphasising the injustice in having to live in fear of what the weather or the authorities might bring your way, and we should all be understanding and empathetic we all come from refugees. Caged bird Number of stanzas: 6,Lines per stanza: irregular,Rhyme scheme: irregular Stanza 1: A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. The first stanza is a description of the actions of the bird that is not caged. The bird 'leaps on the back of the wind'-personification and then 'dips his wing/in the orange sun rays/ and dares to claim the sky'- metaphor These figures of speech show that the bird is living with freedom any flies wherever he wants without constraint Stanza 2: But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. Contrary to the caged bird the caged bird cannot fly freely so he stalks 'down his narrow cage. He can seldom see through his bars of rage- metaphor The word bars refer to the bars on the cage but also refers to the anger that the caged bird is feeling as he can't see past his frustrations He cannot fly as his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so the only thing he can do is sing- personification. Stanza 3: The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. The caged bird sings a fearful trill. His song is not happy as he wants something he has never experienced (freedom) Stanza 4: The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn and he names the sky his own. This is the only stanza with a steady rhyme scheme- AABB- these are two rhyming couplets The poet describes the free bird's thought of another breeze and the 'trade winds soft through the sighing trees. The 'trade winds soft'- metaphor The adjective soft reminds us of something positive as opposed to the trauma of the caged bird The trees are said to be sighing. This is a personification and an onomatopoeia. Apart from the onomatopoeia one can notice a consonance on the t and s sounds. This makes the reader imagine the bird flying contently through the trees. 'dawn bright lawn'- metaphor The poet also uses imagery as he makes us imagine a lawn lit by the orange hues of the sun during dawn. Stanza 5: But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. In contrast to the freedom felt by the bird in the previous stanza the caged bird 'stands on the grave of dreams'- metaphor. His freedom has been taken away, along with his dreams. 'his shadow shouts'- personification 'his shadow shouts'- alliteration 'in a nightmare scream'- metaphor In this stanza we have the repetition of the verses: 'his wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing' The bird cannot explore the world so he does the only thing he can- sing. Humans may find this sweet but Angelou describes the harsh reality of it. Stanza 6: The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Here we have a repetition of the third stanza. Ozymandias Tone: pride and power Mood: despair, fear and intimidating Theme: power, destruction, time, power of art and power is not permanent I -- persona. The persona is saying what he was told, he is reflecting like us Verse 1: assonance on 'a' Antique land- Egypt Sibilance in verse 2 -- the sibilance highlights the sound of the desert Verse 2: vast and trunkless- irony it was once so big and it is now nothing Enjambment between lines two and three The hourglass links the theme of time, the desert and sand. The sand is the fragments of the things left by time. Verse 3 and 4: caesura The constant use of caesura reflects the braking down of the statue Verses 4 and 5: imagery. Shows the rulers character and the state of the statue Verse 5: alliteration of the 'c' sound. The harsh sound reflects the harsh rule of Ozymandias. Verse 8: paradox. Survive and lifeless are opposite, it is ironic because his legacy didn't survive despite what he thought Verse 9: mocked. Double meaning Verse 9: heart that fed- personification Verse 12: 'look on my work' contrasts with the surrounding ruin, the ruler misplaced his confidence. He was so arrogant he thought his legacy would remain forever. It is ironic, his self-glorification is made meaningless by the ruins Verse 14: 'colossal wreck'- paradox. What was beautiful in the past is now ruins. Verse 14: alliteration on 'b' sound. Creates an echo like you would hear in the desert Verse 15: consonance on 'l' creates an echo sound Verse 15: sibilance. Creates a sense of infinity contrasting with Ozymandias's desire for infinite power The imagery in the final three lines convey how the sand which is time and nature have outlasted human ambition. The final lines encapsulate the poems message. Human power and achievements no matter how grand are always temporary Speakers in the poem: persona, the traveller and Ozymandias Ozymandias is a mixture of a Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet. The rhyme scheme is A-B-A-B-A-C-D-C-E-D-E-F-E-F. the two broken sonnets resemble the broken statue. The people don't have to follow Ozymandias's rule as he is dead so the poet does not follow the rules of the sonnets.