ENGLI

SHHOMELANGUAGE2023~2024

NO POEM POET
1 Sonnet130 Wi
l
li
am Shakespear
e
Thechil
dwhowasshotdeadbysol
dier
sin
2 I
ngr
idJonker
Nyanga
3 AtaFuneral Denni
sBr
utus
4 Poem ofRet
urn Jof
reRocha
5 Tal
ktot
hePeachTr
ee Si
phoSepaml
a
6 Pr
ayert
oMasks Léopol
dSédarSenghor
7 Thi
sWi
nterComi
ng Kar
enPr
ess
8 Sol
i
tude El
l
aWheel
erWi
l
cox
9 TheMor
ningSuni
sShi
ning Ol
i
veSchr
einer
10 I
tisabeaut
eousev
eni
ng,
cal
m andf
ree Wi
l
li
am Wor
dswor
th
11 Fer
nHi
l
l Dy
lanThomas
12 TheShi
pwr
eck Emi
l
yDi
cki
nson
Si
ncer ethanksandgrati
tudetoal
lwhohavecontr
ibut
ed,dir
ectl
yorindi
rectl
y.Iti
snot
possibletoacknowledgeever
yperson.Thesenot
esmi ghthav
eerrors,
incorr
ect
i
nterpretat
ions,
typos,et
c.
Pleaseamend/ addto/updat
eandsendacopyt oasmhaffej
ee@mail.
com
Thanky ou.
~1~
 SONNET130–WI
LLI
AM SHAKESPEARE

1 Mymi str
ess’ eyesar enot hinglikethesun;
2 Cor alisfarmor ered, t
hanherl i
psr ed:
3 Ifsnowbewhi t
e,whyt henherbr eastsaredun;
4 Ifhairsbewi res,blackwi resgr owonherhead.
5 Ihav eseenr osesdamasked, r
edandwhi te,
6 Butnosuchr osesseeIi nhercheeks;
7 Andi nsomeper f
umesi st heremor edel
ight
8 Thani nthebr eatht hatfrom mymi str
essreeks.
9 Ilovet ohearherspeak, yetwel l Iknow
10 Thatmusi chathaf armor epleasingsound:
11 Igr
antInev ersawagoddessgo,
12 Mymi stress,whenshewal ks,t
readsont heground:
13 Andy etbyheav en, It
hinkmyl ov easr ar
e,
14 Asanyshebel i
edwi t
hf alsecompar e.

BACKGROUND
Thisissonnetnumber130inaseriesof154sonnets.Itpar
odiesthefamous( andoftenover-
the-t
op)Pet r
archan
sonnetsinwhichpoetsdescri
bedthei
rpar
tner
sinhighlyexaggeratedandunreali
sti
cway s.Al
thought hi
spoem
contai
nssimilart
hemesasf oundi
nt r
adi
ti
onalsonnets(FemaleBeauty,LoveandAdmi rati
on),Shakespearedoes
notideal
isehi
sbeloved.Hedescri
besherinwayswhichar ereal
ist
icand,ther
efor
e,mor eaccurateand‘real
’.

Thi
sisaShakespeareanorEli
zabethansonnet
.Itconsi
stsofthr
eequatrai
ns(4l
ineseach)andar hy
mi ngcoupl
et
(2l
ines).
Therhymingcoupl
etservesasafinalar
gumenttodri
vehomet hespeaker’
spoi
nt.Thereisalotofhyperbol
einthe
poem: al
loft
hecomparisonsareexaggerat
edtoemphasisetheabsurdi
tyofPet
rarchani
deals.

SUMMARY
Shakespear euseseight‘anti
-compliment s’
(negati
vecompar i
sons)todescr i
bet heuniquenessandbeaut yofhis
bel
ov ed.
Howev er,
int hecouplethest at
esthatBECAUSEshei snormaland‘real
’
,hedoesnotneedt oexaggerateherlooks
orhisloveforher.Hel ovesherjustthewayshei s–per f
ectinheri
mper fecti
on.I notherwords,sheisperfectto
HIM –hedoesnotneedani deali
sedandsuper f
ici
alwoman.
Alt
houghheseemscr it
icalandratherrudei nthefi
rst12li
nes,ther
eaderr eal
isest hatheis,i
nfact,si
ncereinhis
l
ovef orher.Hedoesnotneedexagger atedandunr eal
ist
iccomparisonstodecl arehisgenuineloveforher.In
bei
ngsobr utal
lyhonest,hehasi r
onicall
ygiv enheraheight
enedbeaut y
,simplybecausehedoesnotdot eonher
outwardappear ance.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
ThisisaShakespeareanorEli
zabet
hansonnet.Itconsi
stsoft hr
eequatr
ains(4li
neseach)andarhymingcouplet
(2li
nes).Therhymeschemei sconsi
stentwit
hthisformat:ababcdcdefefgg.Thecoupletser
vesasaf i
nal
argumenttodriv
ehomet hespeaker’
spoint.Therhythm ofthepointi
sconsist
ent,
too,andfol
l
owstradit
ional
i
ambi cpentameter
.Thereare10syll
ablesi
neachl i
ne.

LINE1
Mymi str
ess’eyesar
enothi
ngli
kethesun;
Mistr
ess–t hi
swasamor egeneralref
erencemeaning"mylove"or"
mydar
li
ng"
,andnotaswoul
duset
het
erm
today.Whenweuset heword"
mistress,
"it'
susual
l
yt or
efertoawomanwhoisdati
ngamarri
edman.

WhenShakespear ewaswr i
tingthissonnetitwasal l
ther agetocompar ealover'seyestothesunand
sunl
ight—Shakespear
ecompl et
elynegatesthi
s,usi
ngt hephrase'nothi
ngli
ke'toemphasi sethefactthatthis
female'
seyesarenotbright.Inthi
ssimil
e,themistress’ eyesarebeingcompar edt othesun.Thesuncr eatesthe
i
mageofsomet hi
ngbrightandshi ny
.Howev er,
sincet hemi st
ress’eyesar
e“ nothing”li
kesun,hereyesar ethe
opposit
eofbrightandshiny.Thespeaker ’
suseoft hesi milei
ndicat
esthatthewoman’ seyesarejustplai
nand
~2~
or
dinar
yornot
hingspeci
al.

LI
NE2
Corali
sfarmor
ered,
thanherl
i
psr
ed:

Coral– ahardstonysubst
ance,t
ypi
cal
lyf
ormi
ngl
arger
eef
sinwar
m seas.Knownf
ori
tsbr
ightr
edorpi
nkcol
our
.
Thiswas
theperf
ectcolourf
ortheperf
ectf
emale.

Herl
i
psar
enotasr
edascor
al;
ther
eisnot
hingspeci
alaboutt
hecol
ourofherl
i
ps.Shehasor
dinar
yli
ps.

LI
NE3
I
fsnowbewhi
te,
whyt
henherbr
east
sar
edun;

Dun–adul
l
,gr
eyi
sh-
browncol
our

Atthatti
me,i
twasahugecompl i
mentt
ohaveyourski
ncomparedtosnow.Hismi
str
esshasadul
lcomplexi
on.
“Dun”isawordof
tenusedtodescri
bet
hecol
ourofahorse,
andnotsomethi
ngawomanwouldbethr
il
ledtohear
about.I
tmakeshersoundugl
y.

LI
NE4
I
fhai
rsbewi
res,
blackwi
resgr
owonherhead.

Hai
rwasof
tencompar
edtogoldent
hread.Thi
smetaphorcomparesherhai
rtobl
ackwir
es.I
tisnotsoftand
f
lowi
ng,
buthar
dandspiky
.Shehasfr
izzybl
ackhai
r.TheW-al
li
ter
ati
onemphasisest
hatshei
snotperfect
.

LINES5-6
Ihaveseenr
osesdamasked,redandwhit
e,
ButnosuchrosesseeIi
nhercheeks;
Damasked–apat t
ernofmixedcolour
s.

Hehasseenbeauti
ful
rosesindamask(pi
nki
shcolour
),r
edandwhi t
e,buthismistr
ess’
scheeksdon’
tremi
ndhi
m
oft
hem atal
l
.Heseesnosuchr oses(
colour
)inhi
smistress’
scheeks:Hercheeksarepal
e.Thisemphasi
sest
hat
hi
smist
ressisnott
heperfectf
emalemodel.

LINES7-
8
Andinsomeper f
umesist heremoredeli
ght
Thaninthebreat
hthatfr
om mymi st
ressreeks.
reeks–av er
ystr
ong,unpleasantsmell

Someperfumesarefarmor efragr
antthanthesmel
lofherbr
eat
h.Thi
sisdeli
beratel
yshockingandof
fensi
ve,
to
emphasi
sethatsheisjustanor di
nar
yperson,shei
shuman.
Thi
sideaofherbei
nganor dinaryper
son,andnotagoddess,
isf
urt
herexpl
ainedinli
nes11-12

LI
NES9-10
Il
ovetohearherspeak,
yetwel
lIknow
Thatmusi
chathaf armorepl
easi
ngsound:

Headmi
tst
hathewoul
dlov
etohearherspeak,
butt
hesoundofmusi
cisbet
tert
hant
hesoundofherv
oice.

LINES11- 12
IgrantIneversawagoddessgo,
Mymi stress,whenshewal
ks,t
readsont
heground:
Treadsont heground–sheisnotver
ygr
acef
ulwhenshewal
ks.

Headmit
st hathehadnev
erseenagoddessmove.Shei
snotagoddesst
hatf
loat
sorgl
i
deswhenshewal
ks.She
i
saveryrealpersonwhoi
sjustanav
eragehumanbei
ng.

LI
NES13-
14
~3~
Andyetbyheaven,
Ithi
nkmyloveasrar
e,
Asanyshebeli
edwithfal
secompar
e.

And–i nt
roducesachange
yet,byheaven–Hedeni esthatshepossessesanyheav
enl
yqual
i
ties,
yetheswear
sbyheav
ent
hathi
slov
eis
sincere.

Thespeakerthinksthathi
smi str
essisaswonderfulandunique("r
are")asanywoman("anyshe")whowasev er
misr
epresented("bel
ied"
)byanexagger at
edcompar son(
i "fal
secompar e")
.
Thecoupletdri
veshomet hespeaker'
smainpoint
,thatunl
ikeotherpeoplewhowri
tesonnets,hedoesn'tneed
fl
owerytermsorf ancycomparisons.Hecanjustt
ellhi
smi str
ess,pl
ainlyandsi
mpl
y,t
hathel ovesherforwhoshe
i
s.Heembr acesherflaws.Helovesherjustt
hewayshei s.

THEMES
 Escapef r
om I deal
ism –Shakespear edoesnoti deali
sehi sbelov ed.Sheinunl i
kethePet r ar
chani deal–
sheis“ real”,andhel ovesherdespi teherimperfecti
ons.Hest atesclearlyinthecouplett hatpeopl ewho
describet heirpartnerswi thideali
sedcompar i
sons,areliars.Thisemphasi sestheabsur dityofIdeali
sm.
 Femi ninit
y–Thi ssonnetaddr essest heproblem ofstereotypingf emalebeaut ybysettingunr eachable
standar dsfori t
.Thef i
xed‘ defini
ti
on’ ofbeautyisunrealist
icandwi l
lmakef emalesinferiorbynot
achiev i
ngt heideal st
andar dsofbeaut y.Hequestionsreal l
ove–weshoul dl oveourpar tnersinspiteof
thei
ri mper fecti
ons.
 Love–Thespeakerexpr esseshi slovef orhi
sbeloved.Hedescr ibeshisv aluesoflove.Hest atesthatr
eal
loveisnotbasedonout war dsappear ancesandi deal
isedl ooks.Hi sloveisbasedonconnect ionand
emot ion,nott hesuper f
icial.
 Real l
ov edoesn’ tneedf alset r
ibut
es, anywomancanbebeaut if
ul .

TONE
 Si
ncerit
y
 Appr
eciative
 I
mpassi oned
 Mocking
 Sat
ir
ical

QUESTI ONS
1. Expl ai
nhowt hestr
uctur
eandt oneoft hispoem all
owst hepoett oemphasi sethecent ral
message.
(3)
2. AreShakespear e’
sobservati
onsi nthequat r
ainscynicalornot?Explainy ouranswer . (
2)
3. Whoi sthespeakerr idi
culi
ngi nthepoem?Whydoeshedot his?
(3)
4. Expl ai
nwhati smeantby :“Mymi st r
ess,whenshewal ks,t
readsont hegr ound. ”
(2)
5. Ref ertoline12.Commentont heef fectpacehasont hemeani ngofthel i
ne. (
3)
6. Showhowt helastli
necompl eteshi sargument.Refer,i
npar t
icul
ar,tothewor d“false”.
(2)
7. Ident i
fythreesensor yi
magesi nt hispoem andhowt heyrelat
et othecent raltheme. (
3)
8. Ident i
fythet oneinli
nes1-12andhowt hiscontrast
swi ththetoneint helasttwol ines.Isthi
san
effectiveshiftintone?Justif
yy ouranswer . (
3)
9. Expl ai
nt heuseof“ byheav en”inline13.Whyhast hi
sphr asebeeni ncluded? (
2)

~4~
 THECHI
LDWHOWASSHOTDEADBYSOLDI
ERSATNYANGA–I
NGRI
DJONKER

1 Thechi l
disnotdead
2 thechildraiseshisf i
stsagai nsthi
smot her
3 whoscr eamsAf ri
ca scr eamst hesmel l
4 offreedom andheat her
5 inthelocat i
onsoft hehear tundersiege
6 Thechi l
dr aiseshisfistsagainsthisfather
7 inthemar choft hegener at
ions
8 whoscr eam Af ri
ca scr eam thesmel l
9 ofjusti
ceandbl ood
10 i
nthestreetsofhi sar medpr ide

11 Thechildisnotdead
12 nei
theratLanganoratNy anga
13 noratOrlandonoratSharpevi
l
le
14 noratthepoli
cestati
oninPhil
ippi
15 wherehel i
eswithabull
etinhishead

16 Thechil
distheshadowoft hesoldi
ers
17 onguardwithgunssar acensandbatons
18 thechi
l
di spresentatallmeeti
ngsandl egi
slat
ions
19 thechi
l
dpeepst hr
ought hewindowsofhousesandi ntotheheart
sof
mothers
20 thechi
l
dwhoj ustwantedt opl
ayinthesunatNy angaiseverywher
e
21 thechi
l
dwhobecameamant rekst
hroughallofAf r
ica
22 thechi
l
dwhobecameagi antt
ravel
sthroughthewhol ewor l
d

23 Wi
thoutapass

BACKGROUND
Ingri
dJonkerhadwrit
tenthepoem foll
owingav i
sitt
othePhili
ppipol
icestat
iontoseethebodyofachildwhohad
beenshotdeadinhismot her’
sarmsbyt hepoli
ceinthetownshipofNyangainCapeTown.Ithappenedinthe
after
mathofthemassacreof69peopl einSharpevil
l
e,southofJohannesbur
g,inMarch1960.Theyweremarching
tothepoli
cestat
iontoprotestagai
nsthavingtocarr
ypassbooks.
NelsonMandelareadthi
spoem i nt
heor i
ginal
Afri
kaans,duri
nghisaddressattheopeni
ngofthefi
rstdemocrat
ic
parli
amentonMay24, 1994.

THETI TLE
TheChi l
d–Sy mbol ofalltheinnocentchil
drenwhower ekil
ledbysoldiersunderApart
hei
di nSAbecauseheonl y
“wantedtoplayi
nt hesun” .
ShotDeadbySoldier s– emphasi sestheext
r emebrutal
it
yoft hesol
diers
Thetitl
eevokesasy mpat heticresponse.Achi ldisv
ulner
abl eandhelplessagai
nstarmedsoldier
s.Itshowst he
cruel
tyandsensel
essnessoft hi
sdeath.Thet i
tl
emakesi tcleart
hatthisisprot
estpoem agai
nstApartheid.Thi
s
chil
d'sdeathhasinspiredot herstotakeupt hecauseoffreedom &gi vennewener gytot
hest r
uggleagainst
~5~
apar
thei
d.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Althought hi
spoem issepar atedint
of oursecti
ons,
iti
sdevoidofaspeci
fi
crhymeschemeorr hyt
hm.I ti
s,
therefore,
inf r
eeverse.Theisolatedfi
nal l
i
neemphasisesthepoet’
smessage:f
reedom i
sneeded!Thef ourt
h
stanzadev elopstheideaoft hi
schild’
swast edli
fe–whathecouldhavebecome,hadheli
ved.Thereisapar al
lel
struct
ur ei
n“ notat”r
epeatedi nthethir
dstanza.Thi
srhet
orical
devi
cegiv
esexamplesofwherepolicebrutal
ity
occurred.Itgivesanhistor
icalaccuracytothepoem.

SUMMARY
Thepoem refl
ectsonthepasslawsofApart
hei
dSouthAfri
ca.Jonkerwrot
ethispoem inr
eacti
ontotheshooting
ofay oungchi
ldinhismother
’sarmsduri
ngaprot
estagai
nstthePassLaws.ThishappenedinNyangatownshi p,
nearCapeTown.Thechi l
dwaskill
edwhil
eonhiswaytothedoctorwithhi
smot her–thesensel
essnessofhis
deathisaresul
tofthesensel
essnessoft
heApart
hei
dlaws.Thischil
dremainsnamelesstorepr
esentall
innocent
l
ivestakenduri
ngAparthei
d.

Thepoem highl
i
ghtstheideathatviolencewi t
hinacount rydestr
oysinnocentmembersofsociet
y(womenand
chi
ldr
en)anddamagest hecountryandi tsfuture.Thischi
ld’
sdeat hhasinspi
redother
stotakeupthecauseof
fr
eedom andgivennewenergytot hest r
uggleagai nstApart
heid.Jonkeryear
nsforatimewhenanychil
dcangrow
andmakehis/herimpactonthewor ld,withoutrestri
cti
onsofthePassLaws.

STANZA1
LI
NE1
Thechi
l
disnotdead

Ther
epet
it
ionof“thechi
l
d”thr
oughoutt
hepoem emphasi
sestheageandinnocenceoft
heyouthandhi
ghl
i
ght
s
howmanychil
drenwerekil
l
edbecauseoft
heapart
hei
dlaws.Thi
srepet
it
ioniscall
edananaphor
a.

i
snotdead–cont radi
ctsthetit
le:
metaphor
ical
l
yhewi l
ll
iv
eonbybecomi
ngasymbol.Thechil
disasy
mbolofthe
growingsenseoff
reedom inthehear
tsofpeopleagai
nstt
heApar
thei
dSy
stem.Thechi
ldbecomesametaphorof
resi
stance,
hopeandinnocence.

LINE2
thechi
l
drai
seshi
sfi
stsagai
nsthi
smot
her

Thepoet
’sdi
cti
onconv
eyst
hedi
str
essoft
hechi
l
dandot
her
sdur
ingt
hesensel
essApar
thei
der
a.

scr
“ eams”and“
rai
seshi
sfi
sts”hi
ghl
i
ght
shi
sanger
.

fists–symbol
ofresi
stanceandr
evol
uti
on:
thedi
cti
onconv
eyst
hedi
str
essandt
heangeroft
hechi
l
d/t
hey
ounger
gener
ati
oni
srebel
li
ng.

Againsthi
smother–t hechi
l
disnothappywi
tht
heparents’/
theol
dergener
ati
onssubmi
ssi
veat
ti
tude–t
heydi
d
notfighthardenough.Theresi
stanceoft
hey
oungergenerati
onwi
llnotbepassi
ve.

LI
NES3- 4
whoscreamsAfri
ca screamst
hesmel
l
off
reedom andheat
her

Ther
epet
it
ionof“
scr
eams”emphasi
seshi
sanger
.Themi
xi
ngoft
hesensesaddsemphasi
s.

S-
all
i
ter
ati
on–emphasi
sest
heur
gencyanddesper
atecr
iesoft
heoppr
essedpeopl
e.

Theext
endedspacei
susedi
nst
eadofpunct
uat
i weenAf
onbet ri
ca scr
eams.

Heather–aplantwit
hsmal
lflower
s.Jonkerconnect
sfr
eedom t
othesmel
lofflower
s;f
reedom wi
l
lbel
i
ket
he
sweetscentofflowers.

LI
NE5
i
nthel
ocat
ionsoft
hehear
tundersi
ege

l
ocat
ions–pun:bl
ackt
ownshi
psorwher
esomet
hingi
slocat
ed.Thechi
l
d’smessage(
aspi
rat
ionsoft
hebl
ack
~6~
popul
ati
on)wi
l
lcont
inuei
nthehear
toft
hepeopl
e.

hear
tundersi
ege–peopl
ewhoar
eoppr
essedorsegr
egat
edf
rom t
hemai
nst
ream.

STANZA2
LI
NE6
Thechi
l
drai
seshi
sfi
stsagai
nsthi
sfat
her

Theyoungergener
ati
onrebel
snotonl
yagainstthesy
stem butal
soagai
nstt
heol
dergener
ati
on.Therefer
enceto
adif
fer
entparent(
li
ne2)emphasi
sesthegenerati
ongap;t
hatiti
snowtheti
meoftheyout
htotakeupthefight
.

LI
NE7
i
nthemar
choft
hegener
ati
ons

mar
ch–al
l
udest
omi
l
itar
yact
ion

gener
ati
ons–t
heyoungerpeopl
ewerepr
epar
edt
ogof
urt
her
;theywer
epr
epar
edt
ousev
iol
ence.Manyj
oinedt
he
ANCmi l
i
tar
yar
m,uMkhontoweSizwe.

LI
NES8- 9
whoscr eam Afr
ica scr
eam thesmell
ofj
usticeandblood
T
herepetit
ionofli
ne3emphasisesthei
ranger
,thedesper
atecr
iesoft
heoppressedpeopl
eandurgencytof
ight
.
ofj
usticeandblood–They oungergener
ati
oniswil
li
ngtospil
lbl
ood/
sacr
if
icethei
rli
vesfort
hei
rfreedom.

LI
NE10
i
nthest
reet
sofhi
sar
medpr
ide

i
nthestr
eets–Theyar
epr
epar
edt
ofi
ghtagai
nstt
hesol
dier
swhopat
rol
l
edt
het
ownshi
ps.Al
sosy
mbol
i
cofa
popul
arr
evolt
.

ar
medpride–t onei
sver
ypassi
onat
eandi
nspi
ri
ng.Emphasi
sest
hatt
heywer
ewi
l
li
ngt
ofi
ghtt
orest
oret
hei
r
di
gni
ty(
pride)
.

STANZA3
LI
NE11
Thechi
l
disnotdead

Ther
epet
it
ionofl
i
ne1emphasi
sest
hatt
hechi
l
disphy
sical
l
y&medi
cal
l
ydead,
butnotspi
ri
tual
l
yorpoet
ical
l
y.

LI
NES12- 13
nei
theratLanganoratNy
anga
noratOrl
andonoratShar
pevi
l
le

Langa,
Nyanga–Bl
ackt
ownshi
psi
ntheCape

Or
lando,
Shar
pev
il
le–Bl
ackt
ownshi
psi
nGaut
eng

Thesewer esi
tesofvi
olentpr
otest
sagai
nstApart
hei
d.Al
soshowst
hatpr
otest
shadspr
eadt
hroughoutt
he
country
.
Sharpevi
ll
e–al l
usi
ontotheSharpevi
l
leMassacr
e

LI
NES14-15
noratt
hepoli
cestat
ioninPhi
l
ippi
wherehel
ieswit
habulleti
nhishead

~7~
Phi
l
li
ppi–CapeFl
atst
ownshi
pwher
eJonkersawt
hebodyoft
hechi
l
dthatpr
ompt
edt
hispoem.

Theparadoxhi
ghl
i
ghtst
hef actt
hatthi
schil
ddiedphy
sical
l
y,buthei
sst
il
lal
i
vei
nthehear
tsofal
lAf
ri
cans.He
becomesthesymbol
ofinnocence,
resi
stance,
andhope.

STANZA4
LI
NE16
Thechi
l
dist
heshadowoft
hesol
dier
s

Themet aphorcomparesthechi
ldt
ot heshadowofsol
dier
s.Thi
sisawar
ning/r
emi
nderoft
hepossi
bil
i
tyof
vi
olenceandthathopeforchangel
ieswiththeyout
h.

LI
NE17
onguar
dwi
thgunssar
acensandbat
ons

Saracens–Anar mouredcarthatissynonymouswithApart
hei
dinSouthAfr
ica.Thesol
dier
swer
eful
lyequi
pped,
showingt hatt
heywoulduseforcetosuppresstheBl
acks,
notcar
ingaboutwhodied,
beitwomenorchi
ldr
en.
Theaut hori
ti
eswant
edt opr
otectthestatusquo.

LINE18
thechi
l
dispr
esentatal
lmeet
ingsandl
egi
sl
ati
ons

Thedeat
hofthechil
disdi
scussedbyal
lpeopl
e,theapar
thei
dgov er
nmentandtheBlackpeopl
e.Theapar
thei
d
gover
nmenttr
iedt
ointr
oducenewlaws(l
egisl
ati
on)whil
eBlackpeoplewer
einspi
redtofi
ghtagai
nstt
he
gover
nment.

LINE19
thechi
l
dpeepst
hrought
hewi
ndowsofhousesandi
ntot
hehear
tsofmot
her
s

thechi
l
dpeepst
hrought
hewi
ndows–peopl
ewi
l
lal
way
srememberandwer
edet
ermi
nedt
hati
twoul
dnothappen
agai
n.

LINE20
thechi
l
dwhoj
ustwant
edt
opl
ayi
nthesunatNy
angai
sev
ery
wher
e

Li
ne20cr
eat
est
hei
mageofachi
l
dwasani
nnocentv
ict
im,
hesi
mpl
ywant
edt
oenj
oyhi
schi
l
dhood.

LINE21
thechi
l
dwhobecameamant
rekst
hroughallofAfr
ica
becameaman–hegrewupt
ooqui
cklybytakingonther
esponsi
bil
i
tyoff
ight
ingf
orf
reedom.

Asasymbol,
thechi
l
daffect
sal
laspect
sofl
i
fe.Thechi
l
d,asasy
mbol
,wi
l
lbecomemor
epower
ful
:wi
l
linspi
ret
he
whol
econt
inent

LINE22
thechi
l
dwhobecameagi
antt
rav
elst
hrought
hewhol
ewor
ld

Gi
ant–thechildhasbecomelargert
hanli
fe.Thedeathofthechi
ldandother
swhof oughtf
orfr
eedom hashada
massi
veinf
luenceonthegrowingsenseoffreedom,
just
iceandresi
stancebyal
lthosewhoareoppressed.

tr
avel
sthroughthewhol
eworld–Whathappenedt
othechi
l
dwi
l
lhav
eagl
obal
eff
ect
:manycount
ri
espr
otest
ed
agai
nstthebrut
alandunj
ustsyst
em.

STANZA5
LI
NE23
Wit
houtapass

Thelastli
neoft hepoem formsthecoda.Acodaisanepil
oguet hatconcl
udesast ory
.Thiscouldbeanenti
re
chapter,
af ewpar agraphs,l
ines,
orasingl
esent
ence.)Thi
sconv eysthefi
nalmessageandi ronyoft
hepoem: The
deaddonotr equireapass;youfirsthavet
odietowalkaroundfreely
.
Passr ef
erstot heApar t
heidIDdocumentusedt
or est
ri
ctmov ementoftheblackpopulati
on.Thiswasthemain
reasonforv i
olentprotest
satLanga,NyangaandSharpevi
ll
e.ThePasssy stem causedthedeathofthechi
l
d,
~8~
causi
nghimt
obecomeasy
mbol
,abl
etocr
ossbor
der
sandcont
inent
sunr
est
ri
cted.Youcannotcont
rol
themi
nds
ofpeopl
e.

THEMES
 Freedom –ul ti
mat el
ythespeakerdreamsofat imewhenal lpeoplewillbefree.Thisfreedom i
ncl
udesthe
freedom ofspeech, movementandi nallhumanr i
ght
s.Freedom from Apartheidandi t
sbr ut
all
aws.
 Resi stance–Thi schildst
andsupf orwhatheknowsi tri
ghtandhe( thesy mbol )cannev erdi
e.Heisnota
phy sicalperson,butanidea.Ther
ei sresi
stanceagai
nsttheblatantbrutal
it
yandbar bari
sm agai
nstthe
innocent s.Hisraisedfi
stsymboli
sest heyearni
ngforfr
eedom, i
dentit
y ,
andpr otest.
 Pr otestandr esi
stance

TONE
 Defi
anceanddetermi
nation.
 Despit
ethesadnessaboutt heinnocentchil
d’sdeat
h,t
hetoneisnotsy
mpathet
icorsad.
 Thereisasenseofoutr
ageandl oss.
 Nati
onali
sti
c–Jonkerhighlight
st hefactthatevenani
nnocentchi
l
dunder
stoodtheval
ueoff
reedom and
equali
ty.
 Themoodi sangry
,prot
esting,andunr el
enti
ng.

QUESTI ONS
1. Commentont her eferenceto‘ t
hechil
d’inthetit
leoft hepoem.
(2)
2. Thet i
tler efer
st othe‘ dead’chil
d,yeti
nline1‘ t
hechi l
di snotdead’ .Discussthecont r
adicti
on/ di
chot
omy
byr ef
erringt other estofthepoem. (3)
3. Whatdoest heal t
eredr epeti
ti
onof“ Thechildli
ftshisfistsagai nsthismot her/father
”reveal about
thegener at
iongapt hatisrefl
ectedinrespondingt othel awsofapar t
heid?
(2)
4. Howdoest hedi cti
oni nstanzas1and2hi ghli
ghtt hedifferencebet weenmot her
sandf athers?
(3)
5. Commentont heef fectofthedeni al
sinthethirdstanza.
(2)
6. Criti
call
ycommenthowt heimager yusedinl i
nes20- 23cont ributestothemood.
(3)
7. Discusst heeffectivenessoft helast
,shortli
neoft hepoem. (2)
8. Duringt hePar l
iament ar
yaddr ess,Nel
sonMandel acomment edthat“inthemi dstofdespair,Jonker
celebratedhope. ”Doest hispoem celebrat
ehope?Di scussy ouranswerbr ief
ly.
(3)
9. “Thechi ld”isrepeat edtent i
mesi nthepoem.Howdoest hi
sr epeti
ti
onaddmeani ngtothepoem?
(2)

~9~
 ATAFUNERAL–DENNI
SBRUTUS

1 Black,greenandgol datsunset: pageantry

2 Andst ubbledgraves:expectant,ofeternit
y,
3 I
nbr ide’
s-whit
e,nun’s-whit
ev ei
lsthenur sesgushthei
rbount
y
4 Ofred-winecloaks,frothi
ngthebugl eddi r
gingsl
opes
5 Salute!"
henponderal lthi
shol l
owpanopl y
6 Foronewhosegi f
tst hemuddev ours,withourhopes.

7 Ohal lyoufr
ustr
ateones, powerstombedi ndir
t,
8 Abor t
ed,notbyDeathbutcar ri
onbooksofbi r
th
9 Ar i
se!Thebrassyshoutoff reedom sti
rsoureart
h;
10 Notdeathbutdeath’
s-headty r
annyscythesourground
11 Andplotsournar
rowcel l
sofpai ndefeatanddearth:
12 Bett
erthatweshoulddie,thanthatweshouldliedown

BACKGROUND
Brutuswasbor ni nSali
sbury,SouthernRhodesi aon28Nov ember1924t oSout hAfr
icanparent s.Hispar ents
mov edbackhomet oPortEli
zabethwhenhewasagedf our
.Hewasagr aduat eoftheUniversityofFor tHar e.He
taughtEngl i
shandAf ri
kaansatsev eralhighschool si
nSout hAfr
icaaft
er1948, butwasev entuallydismi ssedfor
hisvocal cri
ti
cism ofapar t
heid.
Brutuswasaco- founderoftheSout hAfricanNon- RacialOl
ympicCommi tt
ee( SANROC) ,anorgani sationthatwas
heavilyi
nf l
uentialinthebanningofapar theid-eraSout hAfri
cafr
om theOlympi cs.I
n1961, hewasbannedf orhis
polit
icalacti
viti
esaspar tofSANROC.
Whi l
einMozambi que,hewasar restedandr eturnedtoSout hAf
ricawhere,whiletr
yingtoescape, hewasshot .
Afterrecoveringf rom t
hewound, Br ut
uswassentt oRobbenI sl
andfor16mont hs.Hewasi nt hecel lnextto
NelsonMandel a's.
Afterhisreleasei n1965,BrutusleftSouthAf r
icaandwenti ntoexil
einBrit
ain.Heset t
ledintheUni t
edSt atesin
~10~
1971wher eheser v
edasprof
essorofAfr
icanLi
teratur
eatNorth-
westernUniver
sit
y.Hewasevent
ual
ly"
unbanned"
bytheSouthAf r
icangov
ernmentin1990andreturnedtoSout
hAf r
ica,basedattheUni
ver
sit
yofKwaZul
u-Nat
al.
Helatersett
ledi
nCapeTown, wherehediedofprostat
ecanceron26December2009.

THETITLE
Usual
lymypoemsdon'thaveti
tl
esbecauseIhopethatt
hepoem workssuff
ici
ent
lywel
lthati
tdoesn'
tneedakind
of
si
gnposttoi
t.I
nthi
scase,thepoem "
AtAFuneral
"neededati
tl
ebecauseIdon'tt
hinky
oucouldhaveguessed
ot
herwisewhati
twasallabout
.Also,
Idothi
nkitneedssomeexpl
icati
on.–

Thei
tal
i
csr
efert
othewor
dsofDENNI
SBRUTUS:ANI
NTERVI
EW ByWi
l
li
am E.Thompson

Thededicationbelowt heti
tl
esuggest
sthatthepoem isat ri
butetoVal
enciaMaj
ombozi.Thi
smakesi
tpersonal
:
herefer
st oaspeci f
icpersonandhasagr eateri
mpactont hereader
.
‘
shortl
yafterqualif
ying’– Emphasi
sesthatallherdr
eamsandhopeshav ebeendest
roy
edbydeat
h.Conveysa
senseoff r
ustrat
ionandabor t
edhopes.
‘
A’– cr eatesanimper sonalt
one.Thi
screatesacontrastwiththededi
cati
on.

FORM/STRUCTURE
Ther
earetwoequal
stanzasandaspeci
fi
crhy
mescheme(aaabab,cccdcd)int
hispoem.
Thefor
mali
tyoft
hepoem mirr
orst
heformalr
it
esandr
it
ual
sofaf uneralcer
emony.

SUMMARY
It
'saboutayoungwomancal ledValenci
aMaj ombozi ,
anAf ri
canwomanwhomanagedt oquali
fyasadoct orafter
enormoushardshipandsacri
ficebyherpar ents.Hermot hertookinwashingandi r
oni
ng,didthecleani
ngof
apart
mentbuildi
ngs,andputhert hr
oughUni versi
ty.Shegothermedi caldegreeandthen,byanincredi
bleirony,
j
ustafterVal
enci
ahadcompl et edheri
nternship,shedied.Iwenttoherf uneral
.Thepoem isabouttheyearsof
sacri
fi
cethatendinnothi
ng,andy oucouldr eadthepoem ent i
rel
yont hatlev
el,asj
ustanexpressionoffrustrat
ed
andabortedhopes.

ButIam alsoseei ngherasasy mbolofthepredi

camentoft heBl
acksasawhol ei
nSout hAfr
ica.Eightypercentof
the
peoplearevoiceless,
votel
ess,general
l
ydepr i
vedofeducati
on.Theirl
ivesarecont
rol
lednotsomuchbyt hepolice
andt hearmy,thoughthosearethereallt
het i
me,butt
helivesofBlacksinSouthAfri
caarecontrol
ledmor ebya
"conventi
on"-
somet hi
ngwhichpeopleagr eeon.Thi
sisacur i
ousthingcall
edaPassBook, whichev eryBl
ackmust
carryfr
om theageof16, whichcontrol
sy ourmovement,andevendet ermi
neswherey ouwil
lbebur iedwheny ou
die.

Thepoem i saboutherf uneral

ceremony.Thespeakercontrast
sthevibrantcolour
soft hescenewiththemudi n
whicht hecoffinisplaced.Hev i
ewst hecer
emonyas‘ hol
low’anda‘pageant’inthefaceoft hel
osthopesand
dreamsoft hi
swomanandherf amily
.Li
fe’
scruel
ti
escreatefur
thergri
efforthespeaker ,
andhepresentsthe
funeralasanoccasi ont orenewhi scommitmenttothestruggl
eforli
berati
on.Heext endsthisi
deabycompar i
ng
thebur i
al t
othosepeopl ewhosel ivesar
ebeingsmotheredbytheoppr essi
on.Oppressedpeoplecannotl i
vet
heir
l
ivesf ul
ly!Heur gesactiveresi
stance–“Ari
se!”
.Heulti
mat el
ystat
esthatdeathi sabetterfatet
hanyiel
dingto
“defeatanddear t
h”.

LI
NE1
Bl
ack,
greenandgol
datsunset
:pageant
ry

Black,greenandgol d–Thepoem i sal

sooper ati
ngonapol i
ti
callevel
, andI 'l
ltouchonaf ewoft hosethings.The
resi
stancemov ementi nSout hAfri
cahasitsownf lag,
asopposedt otheSt at
ef l
ag;theresist
ancemov ement '
sfl
ag
i
sbl ack,greenandgol d.Thechoi ceofthosecoloursatt hebeginningoft hepoem i snotanacci dent.Also,manyof
thecolleaguesoft hisdoctorat t
endedherfuneralwearingtheiruniver
sityr obes; t
hesewer eblackcapsandgowns,
butof t
enwi thagol dhoodi ndicati
nganartsdegree,greenindicati
ngasci encedegr ee;soagai n,youhav ea
combi nati
onofbl ack,greenandgol d.

atsunset–t
heendoft
hedaywhi
chi
ssy
mbol
i
cofdeat
h.Cr
eat
essombr
emood.Connot
ati
onsofdar
knessand
sadness.

~11~
Pageant
ry–t hefl
agispartofaceremonial
displ
ay,afor
malceremonywithsymboli
ccl
othi
ngandr i
tual
s.Thi
s
cr
eatestheimpressi
onthatiti
sjustf
ortheshow,becauseal
lofthatdoesnotmatt
ernowasallhopesanddreams
ar
elostwithherdeath.

LI
NE2
Andst
ubbl
edgr
aves:expect
ant
,ofet
erni
ty,

stubbl
edgr aves–stubbl
eisthestal
ksofcropslef
tsti
ckingoutaf
teraharv
est
,ort
heremainsofaperson’
sbear
d
l
eftont hei
rfaceaf
tershavi
ng.Thisi
mpliesthatt
hegraveswereinastat
eofnegl
ectandt
heylooked
unti
dy/unkemptastheyarecoveredindeadgrassstal
ks.

expect
ant,–t
hegravey
ardisportr
ayedasbeinghungr
y(Personif
icat
ion)formorebodi
esasdeathi
sinevi
tabl
e.
Thisemphasi
sest
hatweall havetodi
e.
ofeter
nit
y–ambiguous:ei
therdeadwil
lremaini
nthei
rgrav
esf oranet er
nit
y,ort
hebel
ieft
hatt
heafter
li
fewil
lnot
end.

LINES3- 4
Inbride’
s-whi
te,
nun’
s-whi
tev
eil
sthenur
sesgusht
hei
rbount
y/Ofr
ed-
winecl
oaks,
frot
hingt
hebugl
eddi
rgi
ng
slopes

Inbri
de’s-white,nun’
s-whit
ev ei
lsthenursesgusht hei
rbount
y/Ofr ed-winecloaks–Nur sesfr
om thehospital
att
endedt hef uneral
.InSouthAf r
icathenurseswearcloakswhicharelinedwi t
hbr i
ghtred-the"r
ed-wine."Other
nursesatt hefuneralworewhi t
e,whichechot henunsinthei
rhabit
s" I
nbr i
de'-
whi t
e,nun's-whi
tevei
ls.
"
Theold-fashionednurse’soutfi
twasawhi t
edr ess,wi
thashortwhiteveilandar edcloak.Theconnotati
onsof
“br
ides”and“ nuns”impliesinnocence,puri
ty,hol
inessandanewlife.

Gush–f
lowoutf
ast

Bounty–ref
erstosomethi
nginabundance.Manypeopl
eareshowingt
hei
rgri
ef.
“bount
y/ofr
ed-winecl
oaksfr
othi
ng”–thenursesi
nthei
rredcl
oaksandwhi
tedressesl
ookl
i
kef
rot
hingr
edwi
ne
surr
oundi
ngthegravey
ard.

Frothi
ngthebugl
eddi
rgi
ngsl
opes–Andawaybackbehi
ndt hehi
l
linthecemeter
y,ont
heedgeoftheghet
to,
there'
saBoyScoutwi
thatr
umpet,
blowi
ngt
helastPost
,"t
hebugleddir
ging.
"Thi
ssuggest
sthati
twasami l
i
tar
y
funeral
.

Frothi
ngmeanst obubbleov er
.
Dirgeref
erstoafuner
al song.
Slopes–meansgoi ngup/down.Thi scouldbethesoundofthebugl
e.Thesl
opesar
oundt
hegr
avey
ardar
eal
so
personif
ied,
asthoughthelanditsel
fismourni
ngtheyoungdoctor
.

LI
NE5
Sal
ute!"
henponderal
lthi
shol
l
owpanopl
y

Sal
ute!–meanstohonour
,orl
it
eral
l
ysal
utet
hedead,
asonewoul
dasol
dier
.
The‘!
’emphasi
sest
hatthi
sisacommand.

Ponder–t
othi
nkaboutsomet
hingdeepl
y.Al
soani
nst
ruct
ion.

Hol
l
ow–l
i
ter
all
yempt
ybuti
mpl
i
esmeani
ngl
essness;

Panopl
y–aspl
endi
ddi
spl
ay.

Thespeakeraskst
hereadertocont
emplat
et heimpli
cat
ionsofthi
sfuner
al,anddeat
hingener
al.Heencourages
ther
eadertolookf
urt
herthanthedi
spl
ay(funeralflower
s,all
thepeopl
e,thesadmusicet
c),whi
chlackssincer
it
y

LI
NE6
Foronewhosegi
ft
sthemuddev
our
s,wi
thourhopes.

Foronewhosegi
ft
sthemuddevour
s,wi
thourhopes–‘one’
ref
erst
oVal
enci
aMaj
ombozi
.‘Gi
ft
s’r
efer
stoher
abi
li
tyasadoct
ortoheal
andbr
ingcomf
orttoother
s.

~12~
Devour-eatgreedi
ly
,hungr
il
yorquickl
y.Themudofagravey
ardiscomparedt
oahungr
ymouth.The
personi
fi
cati
onemphasisesthatal
lherhopesandt
hoseofherpeopl
earenowbur
iedi
ntheear
th.Toneof
despair
/sadness.

LI
NE7
Ohal
lyouf
rust
rat
eones,
power
stombedi
ndi
rt
,

Ohal
lyouf
rust
rateones,
power
stombedi
ndi
rt–ThepoetusesApost
rophe(
Figur
eofSpeech)asheaddr
esses
t
hedeaddi
rect
ly.

Frust
rat
e– t oprev
entthesuccessofsomet
hingortocauseirr
it
ati
onandangerbypreventi
ngthi
ngsfrom
happeni
ng.
Thedeadar edescr
ibedas“powerstombedi
ndirt
”andas“ f
rustr
ate”(
aver
b)NOT“ fr
ustrat
ed”(anadj
ecti
ve)
becausetheyarepowerful
enoughtocausef
rustr
ati
on(tothegovernment
)rat
herthanbeingpassi
vel
yf r
ust
rat
ed.

LI
NE8
Abor
ted,
notbyDeat
hbutcar
ri
onbooksofbi
rt
h

Abort
ed,notbyDeathbutcarri
onbooksofbir
th–Ital
kof"carr
ionbooksofbirth,
"sayingthatt
heli
feoft
heBlack
begi
nsasaki ndofdeat
h.From themomentofbirt
hyou'
regiv
ent hisPassBook,sothatyouceasetobeahuman
bei
ngfrom thepoi
ntofbi
rth.Youaredevour
ed.Youbecomecar r
ion.deadf
lesh.Andthisti
esinwit
hthenot
ionof
abor
ti
on.

ThepoetregardstheBlackpeopl
easbeingdead,
notbecausetheydied,butbecausethei
rfr
eedom ist
akenaway
duetooppressionandthepassbooks.Theapart
heidgover
nmentisev enmor ecruel
anddeadlythandeat
hit
sel
f-
i
tisnotDeaththatkil
l
speople, hepassbook(
butt “
booksofbir
th”)whichsymbolisesthecr
uelapart
hei
dlaws.

Abort
ed–aborti
onisthedel
i
berat
eendingofpr
egnancybykil
l
inganunbor
nfoet
us.Thedeadaredescr
ibedas
bei
ng“abor
ted”(
i.
e.kil
l
edbefor
etheycoul
dli
ve)
,notbyDeathbutby“
booksofbi
rth”(
aref
erence/
all
usi
ontothe
dompasorpassbooks).

“
Deat
h”wi
thacapi
tal
let
ter-Deat
hisper
soni
fi
ed.

LI
NE9
Ar
ise!Thebr
assyshoutoff
reedom st
ir
sourear
th;

Ari
se!Thebr
assyshoutoff
reedom st
ir
sourear
th–t
hedeadar
eaddr
esseddi
rect
lyandt
oldt
orebel
or“
Ari
se!
”
agai
nstt
hegover
nment.

Ari
se!-l
i
ter
all
y-St
andupbutal
soar
efer
encet
o“r
iseup!
”whi
chmeans“
Star
tar
evol
uti
on!
”–anot
hercommand,
defiantt
one.

Freedom i
scapital
i
sedt oshowt hati
tisi
mpor t
ant,asi
tispersoni
fi
edasshouti
ngtowakethedead.Descr
ibi
ng
Freedom’sshoutas“brassy”r
eferstothebugleinl
ine4,whichwasusedtoplaythe“
dir
ge”
/LastPost
.Here,musi
c
doesnotsendt hedeadtotheirr
est,butawakensthem.

LI
NE10
Notdeat
hbutdeat
h’s-
headt
yrannyscy
thesourgr
ound

Notdeathbutdeath’s-
headtyrannyscythesourground– It'shelpfultoknowt hesymbolof"deat
h's-
head
ty
ranny.
"Isawaf i
lmi nSouthAf r
icacal
led"JudgementatNurembur g."Itbegi
nswi t
hthetanksrol
li
ngthrought
he
str
eetsofBerli
nwiththePanzerDi vi
si
onswhosei nsi
gni
awasaskul landcrossbones-thedeath'
s-
headbeing
wil
dlycheeredbytheaudience.TheNazi sar
eregardedasgreatheroesbyt heSouthAfri
canregimeandpeople
i
mi t
atethem;theNazisarethemodelf orhowoneshouldbehav eifyouar eawhi t
einSouthAfri
ca.

Deat
h– ispersoni
fi
edastheGr
im Reaperwit
hhi
sscythe(
ahar
vest
ingtool
,usedt
o“har
vest
”orcol
l
ectt
hedead)
.
ThepoetcomparestheSout
hAf
ricanapart
hei
dgover
nmenttot
hedeath-
headweari
ngNazi
sinWorl
dWarTwo.

Ty
rant–ar
uthl
essandcr
uel
dict
ator
.Accor
dingt
othepoet
,Deat
hisnotdest
roy
ingSout
hAf
ri
ca,
but“
deat
h-head
~13~
t
yranny
”.

Scy
thes– t
ocutsomet
hingv
iol
ent
ly

Ourgr
ound–i
sar
efer
encet
othel
and,
wher
etheGr
oupAr
easactexcl
udedpeopl
eofcol
our
.

LI
NE11
Andpl
otsournar
rowcel
l
sofpai
ndef
eatanddear
th–

Plots– pun:asmall
pieceofland(
e.g.apl
otwher
eagr
avei
sdug)ort
o“pl
ot”-t
opl
ansomet
hing,
oft
en
somethingevi
l.
cell–av er
ysmall
room, apr
ison

Narrowcell
sofpain– couldbethegrav
esinagraveyar
d,thepr
isoncel
lswherepri
sonersoftheapart
heid
governmenthadbeenjai
led,ort
hesmallhousesi
ndisadvant
agedareasthatpeopl
eofcolourhadbeenforcedt
o
l
ivein,asaresul
toft
heGr oupAreasAct.

Dear
th–thingsthatarei
nshortsuppl
y(e.
g.f
oodorbasi
cnecessit
ies)
.
Thepoeti
mpl i
esthatpai
n,suf
fer
inganddeat
hwasdeli
berat
elycausedbyt
heapar
thei
dgov
ernment
.

LI
NE12
Bet
tert
hatweshoul
ddi
e,t
hant
hatweshoul
dli
edown–

l
iedown–i faper
son“l
iesdown”whenat t
ackedorarr
est
ed,t
heyshowt hattheyaresurr
ender
ingorsubmit
ti
ng.
Thepoeti
mpl i
est
hati
tisbettert
hatthepeopl
eresi
sti
ngapar
thei
dshouldchooset odie,
rat
herthangiv
eupor
sur
render
.Therei
snofullst
opafter“
weshouldli
edown”.Thi
simpli
esthatthereisnoendtoresist
anceandno
sur
render
.

Thisl
inealsoi
mpli
est
hatthepoethascomet oter
mswiththet
ragedyoftheyoungdoct
or’
sdeat
h-shedi
ed,
rat
herthanchoosi o“
ngt l
iedown”orsurrendert
oapar
thei
d,andthepoetseest sas“
hi bet
ter
”.

Thepoetuses“
we”andt
her
efor
eident
if
ieswi
tht
hest
ruggl
eagai
nstapar
thei
d.

THEMES
 Cri
ti
cisesoppressi
on.
 Call
toarms: peopl
eshoul
dgetupandfight
 fr
ustrat
edandabor t
edhopes

TONE
 Anger
 Di
smay
 Fr
ustr
ati
on
 Di
sappoi
ntment

QUESTIONS
1. Towhatdoes“ pageantry
”r eferinline1?Discusst heeffect
ivenessoft
hischoiceofword.
(2)
2. Whatdot hewor ds“ Bl
ack, gr
eenandgol d”suggest ?Howdoest hi
sshi
ftthereadi
ngofthepoem?
(2)
3. Whywoul dt hegravesbeexpect antof‘eter
nity
’(l
ine2) ?
(2)
4. Expl
ainther ef
erenceto“ hope”asi tisusedinl i
ne6. (
2)
5. Whatare“ carr
ionbooksofbi rt
h”? (
2)
6. Commentont het onein“Ar i
se!”and“ Sal
ute!”
.
(3)
7. Whydoest hespeakercall onther eaderto“ponder ”(
li
ne5)? (
2)
8. Whatisthedi ff
erencebet ween“ Death”and“ death’shead”andwhyi s“
scy t
hesourground”t
henan
appropr
iatemet aphor? (
3)
~14~
9. Discussthepuni ntheword“pl
ots”inli
ne11.
(3)
10.Describethetoneinandtheeffect
ivenessoft
hel
astl
i
neofthepoem.
(3)
11.Howdoest hereaderknowthatthi
spoem ismoret
hanatr
ibut
etoVal
enci
aMaj
ombozi
?Di
scusst
he
effect
ivenessofthi
saddedmessage/ t
heme.
(3)

POEM OFRETURN–JOFREROCHA

1 WhenIretur
nfr
om thelandofexi
l
eandsi
l
ence
2 donotbri
ngmef l
owers.

~15~
 3 Bringmer atheral
lthedews,
4 tearsofdawnswhi chwitnesseddr amas.
5 Bringmet heimmensehungerf orlove
6 andt heplai
ntoftumidsexesi nstar-
studdednight
.
7 Bringmet helongnightofsleeplessness
8 withmot her
smour ning,
theirarmsber eftofsons.

9 WhenIr etur
nfrom thelandofexi
leandsil
ence,
10 no,donotbr i
ngmef l
owers..
.
11 Bri
ngmeonl y,
justt
his
12 thelastwishofheroesfall
enatday-
break
13 withawi ngl
essstoneinhand
14 andat hreadofangersnakingfr
om thei
reyes.

BACKGROUND
Angolanwr iter,
poetandj our
nalist
, Jofr
eRocha, istheli
ter
arypseudonym ofRobertoAnt ónioVictorFranci
scode
Almeida, wasbor ninFebruary1941, inKaxikana,munici
pali
tyofIcoloeBengo.Angol a.I
nJune1961, Rochaleft
Angolaf orLisbon,Portugal
.ANat ionali
st,f
ighti
ngf ort
heindependenceofAngol a,
Rochai sdet ainedinAlj
ube
prisonandr eturnedtoLuanda.Hi spol i
ti
calacti
vit
ysawhi m sentencedtoei
ghteenmont hsi njail
.
Amemberoft heMPLA, aft
erthecount ry'
sindependencein1975, hewascal l
edtohol dvari
ousposi ti
onsbothin
thegov ernmentandi nhisparty.HehasbeenPr esi
dentoftheAngol anParl
i
amentsi nce1996.Rochaspeaksabout
thecolonialexper i
enceandfocusesont het hemeofwarandt hesocial
andeconomi cdegr adationthatemerges
from it
,

THETITLE
Thespeakeri
sret
urni
ngt
ohi
scount
ry.Att
hisst
agehedoesnotknowwhet
heri
tisav
olunt
aryorf
orcef
ulr
etur
n.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Thepoem has14l inesandbutdoesnotconf
ormt ot
hestri
ctI
tal
ianSonnetf
orm.(Al
thoughthereisadist
inct
di
visionbetweenstanzas3and4,separ
ati
ngthe‘oct
ave’
from t
he‘sest
et’
.)I
tdoesnothavear hymeschemeand
i
snotwr it
teniniambicpent
ameter,
commont otheSonnetfor
m.Itiswri
tt
eninfr
eeverse,moretypical
of
contemporarypoetry.

SUMMARY
Thespeakeri scont emplati
nghi supcomi ngr eturntohishomecount ry.Thespeakerment ionshisreturnfrom exi
l
e
andt heanguishassoci at
edwi tht hosewhodi edwhilstoppressed.
Thepoem i swr i
ttenfrom theper specti
veofanexi l
e,someonewhohashadt of leet
heircountr
yofbi r
th.Thepoem
capturesthesent i
mentofl oss,lostoppor t
unityandl ostexperience.Hedescr ibeshi
s‘hostcountry’as“landof
exi
leandsi l
ence”–t hi
ssuggest st hathewasnothappyt here.Hel i
ststhethingshemi ssedwhilehewasaway
anditisclearthathef eel
sgui l
tyabout‘ escaping’whilsthi
scount rymen/ womensuf fer
ed.
Hemakesi tclearthatheisnotaher oandshoul dnotbewel comedort reatedasone.Heasser tsthatther eal
heroesaret heoneswhost ayedandf oughtagai nstoppression.
Thepoeti swr i
ti
ngaboutt helostoppor t
uniti
es, mourningandsadnessbr oughtaboutbycol oni
ali
sm, exileandwar.
Alt
hought hispoem consi stsof14l i
nes,i
tisnotasonnet .

STANZA1
LI
NE1
WhenIret
urnf
rom t
hel
andofexi
l
eandsi
l
ence

When– Hei sabsol

utel
ycer
tai
nthathei
sgoi
ngt
oret
urnt
ohi
scount
ry.Hehasnoty
etr
etur
ned,
buti
tisi
nev
itabl
e
t
hathewil
lretur
n.

l
andofexi
l
e–t
hecount
ryt
owhi
chhef
led

thelandofexi
l
eandsi l
ence–isthepl
acehei si
nnow.Afor
eignplacewheret
hereisnocommunicat
ion“
sil
ence”
.
Hehasnocont actwit
hhisfami
lyandfr
iends.Thi
semphasi
sesthepainandsuff
eri
nghehadtoendurewhi
lein
exi
leashewasi sol
ated.
~16~
LI
NE2
donotbr
ingmef
lower
s.
donot–commandi
ngtone

Hedoesnotwantt hecustomarygif
tsandcelebrat
ionst hatar
enormallyassoci
atedwiththeretur
nofanexil
e.
Thisemphasisest
hatthespeakerfeel
sguil
tyaboutf l
eeinghiscountr
ywhileotherpeoplest
ayedbehindtofi
ght
thesystem.
Hedoesnotseehimsel fasaherodeserv
ingflowers.Flowersareusuall
yassociat
edwi t
hacel ebr
ati
on,andhe
feel
sthatthis
i
sdef i
nitel
ynotat
imeofcelebrat
ion:Hefl
edandl efttheotherstofi
ght.Hence,hefeelsgui
lt
y.

STANZA2-thepoetgi
vessuggest
ionsastowhatcanbebroughtt
o“cel
ebr
ate”hi
sret
urn:
tear
s,hungerand
mourni
ng,
hewantsustoremembert her
easonf
orhisexi
l
e.

LINES3-4
Bringmer at
heral
lthedews,
tearsofdawnswhichwitnesseddr
amas.

Br
ingme–i
mper
ati
ve/
commandi
ngt
one.

al
lthedews–ani
mpossi
bledemand.Heknowst
hathecannotat
onef
orl
eav
inghi
speopl
e.

dawnswhichwit
nesseddr amas–dawni spersonif
iedasaweepingwi
tnesst
othetragedythatt
ookpl
aceasa
resul
tofcol
oni
sat
ion,exil
eandloss.
D-all
i
ter
ati
on–emphasi sesthef
actthatNat
ure,too,washor
ri
fi
edandsadattheoppressi
onofherpeopl
e

LI
NES5-6
Bri
ngmethei mmensehungerforlove
andthepl
aintoft
umidsexesinstar-
studdedni
ght
.

Bri
ngme–Anaphora(r
epeti
ti
on)
I
mmense–huge
hungerf
orl
ove–natur
alhumanconnect
iont
hathehasmi
ssed

Pl
aint–plea
Tumid–large/swol
len
Tumidsexesinst
art
-st
uddedni
ght–r
omance/i
nti
macy

I
nthesel
ines,t
hespeakeremphasisesthesenseofseparat
ionf
rom l
ovedonesandt
heneedf
orcompani
onshi
p;
t
hepoethighl
i
ghtsthelossesexper
iencedduetooppressi
on.

LI
NES7-
8
Br
ingmethelongnightofsl
eepl
essness
wi
thmother
smour ning,
thei
rarmsberef
tofsons.

l
ong–emphasi
sest
hatt
hei
rpai
nandsuf
fer
ingcont
inuedf
oraqui
tesomet
ime

Ber
eft–tobedepr
ived.Manyyoungmen(thesons)wer
eimpr
isonedorki
l
led.Somey
oungmenal
sowenti
nto
exi
l
e.Theywer
emissedbyt hei
rmother
s.

ni
ghtofsl
eepl
essness–peopl
ewereworr
ied/concer
nedaboutthesafet
yoft
hei
rlov
edones.Mot
her
swer
e
tr
oubl
edbythedeathoft
hei
rsonsandf
ami l
ymember s.Ther
efore,
theycoul
dnotsl
eep.

Hewant
stoshar
ethegr
ieff
rom mot
her
swhohav
elostt
hei
rsonst
otheconf
li
ct,

STANZA3
LI
NES9-10
~17~
WhenIr
etur
nfrom t
helandofexi
l
eandsi
l
ence,
no,
donotbri
ngmef l
owers.
..

Ther
epeti
ti
onoft hefi
rsttwoli
nesofthepoem,emphasi
sesthathi
sret
urnmustnotbeseenasacel
ebr
ati
on.Exi
l
e
was
wasnotapleasantexperi
enceforhi
m, buthedi
dnotsuf
ferasmuchasthosewhohadbeenlef
tbehi
nd.

no,
donot–forcef
ultoneofthedoubl
enegati
veemphasi
sest
hathedoesnotr
egar
dhi
msel
fasaher
o.Hef
eel
s
gui
l
ty,
heneedstoforacknowledget
hei
rsuff
eri
ngandpai
n.

LI
NE11
Br
ingmeonl
y,j
ustt
his

Bri
ngme–anothercommand( i
mperat
ivemood)showshisinsi
stence.
onl
y,j
ustt
his–t
heredundancyi
susedtoemphasizethathewantsjustonet
hing.Al
soemphasi
seshi
sinsi
stence.

LINE12
thel
astwi
shofher
oesf
all
enatday
-br
eak

t
hel
astwi
sh–Thei
rlastwi
shwoul
dhav
ebeent
oseeachangedSout
hAf
ri
ca.

day-
break–thestartofanewday .Thi
sissymbolicofchangethatthepeoplewanted.I
nthepoli
ti
calcontextof
theti
me,executi
onswerecarri
edoutatdawnandt hemenwhower eexecutedwerethosewhohadbeenf ighti
ng
agai
nstanoppressivesyst
em.Heseesthesef i
ghtersasher
oesforthecauseandthey“fal
latday-
break”,
atthe
begi
nningofthei
rli
ves.
Theseheroescouldnotseethechangebecausetheydiedatthebr
inkofchange.

LI
NES13-14
wit
hawingl
essstoneinhand
andat
hreadofangersnaki
ngfr
om t
hei
rey
es.

wi
nglessstone–aparadox.Ast
onecannotfly
;iti
st ooheavy.Thesemennev ergott
hechancet
o“castt
hei
r
st
one”,butpai
dtheul
ti
matesacr
ifi
cebydyingfi
ghti
ngf orfr
eedom, andRochawantstoremembert
hem andthe
l
ostopportuni
ti
esoft
hosewhower ef
orcedint
oexile.

snaki
ng–connot
ati
onofsomethi
ngdangerousandpoi
sonous.Thi
scontr
ibutest
oatoneofangerandbi
tt
erness.
andathr
eadofangersnaki
ngf
rom t
hei
reyes–Hedemandsj usti
ceforal
ltheoppr
essedpeopl
e

Thei
reyes–ref
lectonl
yasmall
par
toftheangeratt
hecol
oni
stswhohadst
olent
hei
rlandf
rom t
hem.Hedoesnot
wanttober
ewardedwithf
lower
sbutr
atherwi
thwhathewasfi
ghti
ngfor
.

Thei
rsacri
fi
ceneedstoberemember
ed.Thatwhichmadet hem angr
yenoughtofi
ghtneedst
ober
emember
ed,
andthati
stheonly“
gif
t”hewant
swhenher et
urns,becausehei
sabletoret
urn.

THEMES
 Thepoetcapt ur
esthesenti
mentofl
oss,lostopport
unit
yandlostexperi
ence.
 Apoignantpoem aboutt heret
urnf
rom exil
eandwhatshoul dbecelebr
atedissadness,
mourningand
inev
itably,anger
.Rochaendswithapart
ingshockofangeratthelostopportuni
ti
esandexper
iencest
hat
somey oungpeoplesuff
eredasaresul
tofcolonisat
ion,ci
vi
lwarandexil
e.

TONE
 Regret,
sadness,sombre,
loss
 sadnessini
ti
all
y,bui
ldi
nguptoanger“
snaki
ngf
rom t
hei
rey
es.
 Mili
tant

~18~
QUESTIONS
1. Whydoest hespeakernotwantf lowersuponhisreturn?
(3)
2. Whatdoest hespeakerwanti nsteadoff l
owers?Why ?
(3)
3. Commentont hedescri
ptionoft hespeaker’s“
hostcount ry
”ast he“l
andofexil
eandsi
lence”
. (
2)
4. I
dent i
fyandcommentont heeffectivenessofthefi
gureofspeechi n“tear
sofdawns”.
(3)
5. Whyar ethemothers“bereftofsons”( li
ne8)?
(2)
6. Commentont hefi
gurati
veinterpretati
onofthe“day-break”inli
ne12.
(2)
7. Commentont heeff
ectiv
enessoft heanaphora(“WhenIr eturn…”)
. (
3)
8. Discussthechangeintonef r
om st anza2t o3.Quoteinsuppor tofyouranswer
.
(3)
9. Howdoest helaststanzasuccessf ull
yconveythespeaker ’
sintenti
on?
(3)

~19~
 TALKTOTHEPEACHTREE–SI
PHOSEPAMLA

1 Let
'stal
ktotheswal
lowsvisit
ingusi
nsummer
2 askhowitisinot
hercount
ries

3 Let
'stal
ktotheafter
noonshadow
4 askhowt hedayhasbeensofar

5 Let
'srai
seourpetst
oourlevel
6 askthem whatt
heydon'
tknowofus

7 wordshav
elostmeaning
8 l
ikeal
lnot
ati
onsthey
'vebeenmi
sused

9 mostpeopl
ewi
ll
admit
10 awhini
ngwomancanover
stat
ehercase

11 Tal
ktothepar
aly
singheati
nt heai
r
12 i
nquir
ehowlongthemercil
essnesswi
l
llast

13 Let
'spi
ckouti
temsf
rom t
herubbi
shheap
14 askhowthest
enchi
sli
kedownthere

15 Let'
stal
ktot
hepeacht
ree
16 fi
ndouthowitf
eel
stobeint
hegr
ound

17 Let
'stal
kt othemoongoi ngdown
18 askifi
tisn'tenoughey
eingwhat'
sbeengoi
ngon

19 comeon
20 l
et'
stal
ktothedev
ilhi
msel
f
21 i
t'
saboutt
ime

BACKGROUND
KnownasBr aSi d,SiphoSepaml a( 1932–2007)wasbor ninat ownshipnearKr ugersdorpintoaf amil
yof
educators.Hebecameat eacherbut,afterexper i
encingSharpevil
l
e(1960)f i
rst-
handwhent eachingthere, helef
t
theprofession.Hef oundedFUBA–t heFeder atedUni onofBlackArti
stswhichgav ev oicetobl ackar t
istsofall
disci
pli
nes.Itfunctionedsuccessf ull
yunt il
1997.Heal soedit
edbot halit
eraryandat heatremagazi ne.Sepaml a
hasani ndiv
idual voice.Hispoemswor koni r
ony ,sati
reandhumour ,quali
ti
esnotof tenf oundint hepoet soft he
erawhower epol i
ti
cal l
yloudandemot ionall
yconsci ousness-
raisi
ng.
Thispoem waswr i
ttendur i
ngtheApar theidy ears.Sepamlausesi tt
ov oi
cehi sopinionont hepol iti
caltalksthat
tookplacebet weenv ari
ouspar t
iesbefor ethefor mali
sedendofApar thei
d.Thenegot iati
onsbet weent hev ari
ous
parti
eswer eultimatelysuccessf ulandSout hAf ri
cabecameademocr ati
cstatei n1994.Thespeaker ’
speace-
making/peacef ulattit
udei scl
earin“ i
t’
saboutt i
me” ,i
nthelastli
ne.

THETITLE
Thepeachtreeappear
sinseveral
ofSepaml
a’
spoems.ThePeachTr
eeisaboutt
hetr
eeinhi
sgardenandi
nThe
Wil
l.I
tisoneofhispossessi
onswhichhewi
tt
il
ybequeat
hst
ohischi
l
dren,
whilemaki
ngsubt
lecommentsabout
~20~
l
i
feundert
heapar
thei
dsy
stem.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Freeverse–norecogni
sablepoeticfor
m.Thereis,
howev er
,apatter
ninstanzas3,7,
8and9.Theyallhavethe
samepat ter
nofwordchoice,l
engthandcont
ent.Theindentsint
hefourt
handf i
fthstanzasal
ert
sthereadert
othe
factt
hatthesest
anzasare,infact
,commentar
yont heoverall
sit
uati
on.

SUMMARY
Thespeakerwi
tti
lymakesaser
iesofratherodd(absur
d,ev en)suggest
ionsaboutwi
thwhom todiscusspoli
ti
cs–
from t
hebir
ds,
shadows,pet
s,t
hepeacht reeandtheai
ritself.Heendsthepoem onaseriousnot
eandst at
esthat
the“devi
lhi
mself
”shoul
dbeaddressed.Thisref
erstot
hel eadersoftheAparthei
dgover
nment.

LINES1-6
Let'
stal
ktotheswall
owsvisi
ti
ngusinsummer/askhowi ti
sinothercount
ri
es/Let'
stal
ktotheaf
ter
noon
shadow/
askhowt hedayhasbeensofar/Let
'sr
aiseourpet
stoourl
evel/askthem whatt
heydon'
tknowofus

Theli
ter
alacti
onsarequit
eabsur
d:t
alki
ngtopet
s,t
heaft
ernoonshadowandpets.Itisamusi
ngtoexpect‘
our
pet
s’whohav ebeenrai
sedtohumanlevel
tobeabl
etoanswertheser
iousquest
ion:whatdoyouknowofus?
Theabsurdi
tycreat
eshumour.

However
,theunderl
yi
ngmessagei sseri
ous: whatdoyouv(
especi
all
ythewhit
es)knowaboutus?Dur
ingApar
thei
d
t
herewaslit
tl
eornoopportuni
tytounderstandorcommuni cat
ewithpeoplef
rom ot
herr
aces.Onegr
oupofpeopl
e
wasal
way ssuper
iorandhada‘voice’
,whil
sttheotherhadtoremai
nsilent
.

LI
NES7-10
wordshavel
ostmeani
ng/l
i
keal
lnot
ati
onst
hey
'vebeenmi
sused/mostpeopl
ewi
l
ladmi
t/awhi
ningwomancan
over
stat
ehercase

Theli
nesareindent
edtoshowt hatt
hesestanzasar
ecommentar
iesandindi
cat
esadi
ff
erent
.Also,
thecasual
soundi
ngrepeti
ti
ve‘Let
’st
alk’
oftheprev
iousli
neshasbeendr
opped.Thesewor
dsmustbetakenseri
ousl
y.

Hest atesthat‘
wordshav el
ostthei
rmeaning’
–thi
smeansthattal
ki
nghasbecomeusel
ess.Att
emptsto
negotiatechangewiththeapart
heidgov
ernmenthadf
ail
ed.I
nstead,mor
erepr
essi
vemeasureshadbeen
i
ntroducedt osuppresstheBl
acks.

‘
Mi susednotat
ions’r
efer
stocommuni cat
iont
ool
swhichhav ebecomesowarpedthatt
hei
rori
ginal
int
enti
onshav
e
becomel ost
.Wor dshaveli
teral
l
ylostt
hei
rmeani
ng.Languagehasbeentwi
stedandusedtoconveyli
es,
propagandaandcannotbet rust
ed.

‘
Whi
ning’hasnegati
veconnotat
ionsofhi
gh-pitchedcompl
aini
ng,
withoutval
idr
eason.Thewor
dsofli
ne10area
r
emi
nderoft hesayi
ng:‘
thel
adydothprotesttoomuch’.Byemoti
onall
yoverdoi
ngastat
ement(
‘ov
erst
atehercase’
)
t
her
eal meaningisl
ostandthewordsarefelttobeinsi
ncer
e.

LI
NES11-12
Tal
ktot
heparal
ysi
ngheati
ntheai
r/i
nqui
rehowl
ongt
hemer
cil
essnesswi
l
llast

par
aly
sing–impl
i
est
hatt
heoppr
essi
on(
theheat
)render
saper
sonunabl
etodoany
thi
ng.Al
sor
efer
stot
hei
rpai
n
andsuff
eri
ng.

Merci
less– emphasisestheeff
ectsofapart
hei
d:noempathy/mercy/compassi
onfortheoppr
essedpeopl
e.
Thi
sissy mbol
icoftheposit
ionBlackpeopl
ewereindur
ingapart
heid.Theywerepr
isonersi
naharshand
unf
orgivi
ngsit
uati
on.

LINES13-
14
Let'
spi
ckouti
temsf
rom t
her
ubbi
shheap/askhowt
hest
enchi
sli
kedownt
her
e

~21~
Thewor ds‘rubbi
shheap’‘
,st
ench’
and‘downt her
e’rel
atetot
hewayBl
ackpeoplewereregar
dedbyt heaut
hori
ti
es:
rubbi
sht hatwastobethrownaway ,
somethingthatcr
eatedabadsmel
lor‘
stench’
.Thetoneisser
iousandthe
i
ntenti
oni stodescr
ibethereal
i
tyofthesi
tuati
onofBlackpeopl
e.

LINES15-16
Let'
stal
ktothepeacht
ree/f
indouthowi
tfeel
stobei
nthegr
ound

Thepeacht reeisr ootedinapermanentpl

aceinthegarden,unl
iketheotherit
ems/ t
hingsheproposedwit
hwhich
tohav eaconv ersati
on.Thetreewil
ltel
lhi
m howitfeel
stober ootedandf r
uit
fuli
napl aceyoucancall
yourown.
Theconnot ati
onofr oot edi
spermanenceandfrui
tf
ulimpli
esproductiveandsuccessful.Thepeachtr
eehasland
thatitbelongst o.Bl acksdi
dnothaveland;t
heywerenotev enregardedasciti
zens.Theyhavenosenseof
belonging.

LINES17-18
Let'
stal
ktothemoongoi
ngdown/aski
fiti
sn'
tenoughey
eingwhat
'sbeengoi
ngon

moongoingdown–t hel i
ghtofthemoonwi ll
disappearasit‘
goesdown’ .Thi
sissy
mbolicofthem l
osi
nghope.
Themooni spersonif
ied.I
tisawareoftheirsi
tuaton(
i eyei
ng).Thesettingofthemoonwill
leadtodayl
ight
.
Dayl
ighti
sassociatedwithanewday ,newhope.Thei rsit
uati
onisvi
sibletothewholeworl
dbutnobodyhasdone
anyt
hingtoeff
ectiv
elychanget hei
rsi
tuat
ion.Thenewdaydoesnotbr ingnewhopef ort
hem.

LINES19-
21
comeon/let
'st
alkt
othedev
ilhi
msel
f/i
t'
saboutt
ime

Theli
nesarei
ndented,
justasl
i
nes7-10are,
inordert
omaket hem st
andout
.Thei
ndent
sal
ertt
her
eadert
othe
factt
hatt
heseli
nesarecommentar
yont heover
allsi
tuat
ion.

comeon–hei
sencour
agi
nghi
msel
fandot
her
s

dev
il–t
heoppr s/t
essor heApar
thei
dSy
stem

i
t’
saboutt
ime–Thet
imehascomet
ospeakdi
rect
lyt
othepower
swhohav
ebeenoppr
essi
ngt
heBl
ackpeopl
e
f
ortool
ong.

Thereisachangei
nthetoneinthel
astthr
eel
ines.Ther
eisasenseofrel
uct
anceandhel
plessness–f orsolong
ther
ehasbeennocommuni cati
on.Heknowsthatthi
sconver
sati
oni
slongover
dueandneedst ohappent o
faci
l
itat
echange.Thi
scouldrel
atetot
heannouncementthatNel
sonMandelawasgoi
ngtober eleased.

Tal
ki
ngwasawayt
owor
kforchange,
wit
houtphy
sical
inj
ury
.Itwast
imef
ornegot
iat
ions.

THEMES
 Lif
eunderapart
heid
 Thedesi
reforchange
 Peopl
emustseeev ery
thi
ngf
rom di
ff
erentper
spect
ives

TONE
 Absurd,cyni
cal
 Despair
 Frust
rati
on
 conversat
ional

QUESTIONS
1. Expl
aint
heunderl
yi
ngmeani
ngoftheacti
ons/i
nst
ruct
ionsi
nli
nes1-6.
(2)
2. Whywouldswall
owsbeagoodsourceofinf
ormat
ionabout‘
othercount
ri
es’
?
(2)
~22~
3. Discusswhatt hespeakerissay i
nginstanza4.
(3)
4. Discusstheconnot ati
onsoft hewor d“whining”(l
ine10).
(2)
5. Whydoest hespeakerdescr i
bet heheatas“ paral
ysing”and“mercil
ess”(st
anza6) ?
(2)
6. Althoughsimi l
ari nsty
letostanzas1- 3,howdol i
nes11-14diff
erintoneandintentfrom l
i
nes1-6?
(3)
7. Discusswhyt hespeakerchoosest o“tal
kt othepeacht ree”
.Considert
heother‘thi
ngs’orconcept
she
tal
kt ointhepoem. (
3)
8. I
dent i
fyandcommentont het oneinthelaststanza. (
3)
9. Whoi sthe‘dev il
’inthelaststanza? (
1)
10.Howi sther egisterofthepoem appr opriat
eandef f
ecti
veindeli
veri
ngitsmessage?
(2)

PRAYERTOMASKS–LÉOPOLDSÉDARSENGHOR

1 Masks!OhMasks!
2 Bl ackmask, redmask, y oubl ackandwhi temasks,
3 Rect angularmaskst hroughwhom t hespi r
itbreathes,
4 Igr eetyoui nsilence!
5 Andy outoo, myl i
onheadedancest or.
6 Youguar dt hisplace, t
hati scl osedt oanyf emi ni
nelaughter,
toanymor t al
smi l
e.
7 Youpur i
fyt heairofet er ni
ty,her ewher eIbr eat hetheairofmyf at
hers.
8 Masksofmaskl essf aces, freef r
om di mpl esandwr i
nkles.
9 Youhav ecomposedt hisimage, thismyf acet hatbendsov erthealt
arofwhi tepaper.
10 Inthenameofy ouri mage, l
istent ome!
11 Nowwhi l
et heAf ricaofdespot i
sm i sdying–i tistheagonyofapi ti
ableprincess,
12 LikethatofEur opet owhom shei sconnect edt hroughthenav el–
13 Nowf i
xyouri mmobi leey esupony ourchi l
drenwhohav ebeencal l
ed
14 Andwhosacr if
icet heirliv
esl ikethepoormanhi slastgarment
15 Sot hathereaf t
erwemaycr y‘ here’atther ebirthofthewor l
dbeingthel eaventhatthe
whi t
ef l
ourneeds.
16 Forwhoel sewoul dt eachr hy thm t othewor l
dt hathasdiedofmachi nesandcannons?
17 Forwhoel seshoul dej aculatet hecr yofjoy ,thatarousesthedeadandt hewi seinanew
dawn?
18 Say ,whoel secoul dret urnthememor yoflifetomenwi thatornhope?
19 Theycal luscot tonheads, andcof feemen, andoi lymen.
20 Theycal lusmenofdeat h.
21 Butwear et hemenoft hedancewhosef eetonl ygainpowerwhent heybeatt hehardsoi
l.

BACKGROUND
Léopol dSédarSenghorwasbor ninSenegal i
n1906.Hedi edin2001.Hest udiedandl i
vedinFrancef ormany
year s.Hedev elopedandwasapr oponentoft heideaof“ Negr it
ude”–acul t
urethatissharedbyal lAfri
cans.He
believedt hatAf ricansshouldbepr oudoft heircul
turebutshoul dalsoincorporat
ethebestel ement sofother
culturesi ntoit.Hewasel ectedasthepresidentofSenegal i
n1960.Heest abli
shedamul t
i-
part
yst ateandast rong
educat i
onal system.Att i
mesacont roversialfi
gure,Senghori sv i
ewedbysomeassy mbolicofpeacebet ween
Franceandi tscol oni
eswhi l
eothersthi
nkheencapsul atesneo- coloniali
sm.Hebel i
evedst r
onglythatunion
betweenal l
waspossi ble.
Senghorwr otet hispoem atat i
mewhenAf ri
cawasshaki ngof fit
scol oni
alrul
e.Thepr ocesswasl engthyand
dif
f i
cul t
.Inmanyi nst
ancestherewer eviol
entpr otest
sandf i
ghts.Hecal l
scoloni
alrulethe“Afri
caofdespot ism”,
referringt othef actthatAfri
canpeoplelackedanypol i
tical power.

THETITLE
pr
ayer
s–appealtoahi
gherpower/ancestor
s–posit
iveconnot
ation.
masks–tradi
ti
onal
masksasworninAfri
cancul
tur
e/tohiderealemotions/hi
det
ruei
ntent
ions.
~23~
Thet i
tl
eimpli
esa‘ t
hanky ou’ t
ot hosewhohav ebeenwear i
ngt hemasksandt othemaskst hemselvesforbei
ng
abletohidetr
uef eelings.
In“Prayert
oMasks” ,thecarvedmaskscol lect
ivelyr
epresentthecultur
eoftheFathers:“
Youdisti
lthi
sairof
eterni
tyinwhichIbr eathetheairofmyFat hers”.Theli
vingisconnectedtothepastbythemasks.Itisthese
masksandt heglor i
ouscul turethatrepr
esentthepoet’
sappeal sinthefaceofcoloni
ali
sm andthedeathof
contemporaryAfricaandEur ope.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Thepoem i sstr
uctur
edwithnobr eaksforstanzas.Thel
inel
engt
hsarevari
ed.Theshortsentencesemphasiset
he
speaker ’
sintent
.Thespeaker,atf
irst,
addressesthemasksandthenexpandsthemessageoft hepoem.The
(rhet
orical)questi
onsareansweredbyt hespeakerattheendoft
hepoem.Thedi rectspeechallowst
hereaderto
“eavesdrop”ont heconver
sati
ont hespeakerishav i
ngwitht
hemasks.Thespeakerusesthe1stpersonpronoun
“you”toengaget hereader.

SUMMARY
Thespeakeraddr essesthispoem t oAfri
canmasks–t hisaffir
mst heel
ementofAf ri
cancult
ure.Thepoem
cel
ebrat estheroleofAf r
icanpeopleandout l
inesthespeaker’sbeli
eft
hatisitAfri
canswhowi l
l‘r
etur
nthememor y
ofli
fet omenwi that ornhope” .Thespeakerpraysforasaviourinthecommuni tytohel
pthem facethei
rstr
uggles.
Thepoem descr i
best herelat
ionshipbetweenAfri
caandEur ope–i tst
atesthatAfri
cadoesnotneedt oconfor
mt o
Europeani deal
s.Hecont empl atestheconsequencesofcoloniali
sm.Howev er,
heendst hepoem withan
opti
mi sticmessage: despit
ehar dshipsandprej
udice,t
heAfricanpeoplearestr
ongandcapabl e.Theywil
lbeable
tocreatenewbeaut yandpr osperit
y.

LI
NE1
Masks!OhMasks!

Thepoem begi
nswit
han"apost
rophe,
"anaddr
esstoanobj
ectorspi
rit
.Her
e,ast
heti
tl
eindi
cat
es,t
hisaddr
essis
aprayert
othemasks,whi
chappeari
nthepoem bot
hasworksofAfr
icanar
tandasmoregener
alspi
ri
tsofAfr
ican
cul
tur
e,soci
ety
,andhi
stor
y.

LI
NE2
Bl
ackmask,
redmask,
youbl
ackandwhi
temasks,

Senghorpay shomaget othespi ri

tsf
ortheireter
nalgreatness.Heall
owseachonet hei
rduerespectby
acknowledgingthecolouroftheirmasks,includi
ngthecol our
sofblack,redandwhi t
e.Themasksar eprominent
ly
displ
ayedatt hi
splaceofwor ship.
Thepoem begi nsbyspeakingofmasksofdi ffer
entcoloursandimplyi
nghowonecanhi detheirtr
ueselfbehi
nd
them.Theuseofmasksi sast rongsy mbolofcolourandcul t
ural
identi
ty,duetotheconnect
ionofmaskst o
Afri
canculture.Thepoet’suseofcol our
s,suchasbl ackandwhi t
e,carr
iesar aci
alconnot
ati
ont hatcanbe
associat
edwi ththesl
avet r
adeandoppr ession.

Senghorbel
i
eves"masksofthefourcar
dinal
pointswheretheSpir
itbl
ows"hav
eaf or
cef
ulpr
esencet
hatpr
otect
s
al
l cor
ner
softheworl
d.Thesespir
it
scomet ogetheratt
hissacr
edplacetobehonour
edandprai
sedi
nsil
ent
prayer
.

LI
NE3
Rect
angul
armaskst
hroughwhom t
hespi
ri
tbr
eat
hes,

Spir
it–ref
erencetoancest
ors.Thepoetcommunicateswi
tht
hespi
ri
tsofhi
sancestor
sthr
oughthemask.
I
nAf ri
cancult
ure,
theweareroft
hemaski sof
tenbeli
evedt
obeabl
etocommunicatewitht
hebei
ngsymboli
sedby
i
t,ortobepossessedbywhoorwhatt hemaskrepr
esents.

br
eat
hes–t
heancest
orsar
eal
i
vei
nthespi
ri
tual
wor
ld.

Senghorsuggeststhatt
hesemasksar
ealsospi
ri
tsofnature,
li
nkedtothewindst
hatbl
owf r
om t
hefourdir
ecti
ons
ofnort
h,south,east
,andwest
.Asspir
it
sthatbl
ow,theyalsoimpl
ythatthemasksarer
elat
edtothepoet
'sbreat
h
~24~
andpoet
ici
nspi
rat
ion.

LINE4
Igreety
oui
nsi
l
ence!

I–usesthefi
rstperson.Thismakesitpersonal
,i
nti
mateandsincere.
greety
ouinsil
ence!–t her
eisnoneedtousewor ds,asl
i
ghtgesturewil
lsuf
fi
ce.Thespeakeri
sfami
l
iarwi
tht
he
ancest
or.Theyhavecommuni cat
edbefore.

!–emphasi
sest
heabsol
utesi
l
ence.

LI
NE5
Andy
out
oo,
myl
i
onheadedancest
or.

Li
onheaded–Thisref
erstoatradi
ti
onalAf
ri
canmaskintheshapeofal
i
on’
sdead.I
tcoul
dalsobesymboli
cof
st
rengt
h,bol
dnessandbraver
y.TheSenegal
esenat
ional
anthem i
sal
soent
it
led“
TheRedLion”
.Alsopr
aisi
ngt
he
st
rengt
h,bol
dnessandbraver
yoftheancestor
.

Senghori
ntr
oduceshi
sfamil
y’
sguar
dianani
mal
,thel
i
on.Hi
sfat
her
’snamewasDi
ogoy
ewhi
chmeansl
i
on.The
famil
yisr
epresent
edbyali
onmask.

LI
NE6
Youguar
dthi
spl
ace,
thati
scl
osedt
oanyf
emi
ninel
aught
er,
toanymor
talsmi
l
e.

Thi
spl
ace–r
efer
stot
heaf
terl
i
fe

i
scl
osedt
oanyfemi
ninel
aught
er–womenar enotall
owedthere.
t
oanymort
alsmi
le–thel
ivi
ngcannotent
ert
heworldoftheancestor
s.

Theancestorwit
ht heli
onheadiscal
ledupont omaintai
nanaur
aofpeaceattheal
tarwhi
l
eSenghorpr
ays.
Herei
nforcespatr
iarchalpower
:thel
ionguardsthegroundt
hati
sforbi
ddentowomenandtopassi
ngthi
ngs,i
n
fav
ourofv al
ues,
memor i
es,andcust
omst hatstr
etchbacki
ntomyt
hicanti
qui
ty.

LI
NE7
Youpur
if
ytheai
rofet
erni
ty,
her
ewher
eIbr
eat
het
heai
rofmyf
ather
s.

Fathers-ancest
ors
Senghoracknowledgedthei
mpactoft heancest
orsoftheSenegal
esepeopl
e,andhowt
hei
rhar
dshi
psand
oppressi
onhav eaff
ect
edcurrentdaycult
ureandli
fe.

LI
NE8
Masksofmaskl
essf
aces,
freef
rom di
mpl
esandwr
inkl
es.

f
reef
rom di
mpl
esandwr
inkl
es–f
reef
rom i
mpur
it
ies,
freeofwor
ri
esandt
roubl
es

maskl
essfaces–themasksarei
deal
i
sedr epr
esent
ati
onsofprevi
ouslyl
i
vingfaces.Themasksel
iminat
ethe
mobil
efeat
uresandsi
gnsofagei
nthefacesoftheli
vi
ngancestor
s,buti
ndoingsoout l
iv
ethei
rdeat
h.

LI
NE9
Youhav
ecomposedt
hisi
mage,
thi
smyf
acet
hatbendsov
ert
heal
tarofwhi
tepaper
.

al
tar–isusual
l
yassoci
atedachur
ch;
apl
aceofwor
shi
p.Thi
simpl
i
est
hatsomet
hingt
hati
sbei
ngr
ever
edor
worshi
pped.

whit
epaper–Figurat
ivel
y,ref
erst
olawsmadebyt
hegov
ernmentandal
lthepaper
wor
kinv
olv
edi
ncr
eat
ingl
aws
orsett
inguppol
it
ical
alli
ances.

Li
ter
all
yref
erstoapage.Theancest
orsar
eabl
etogi
veshapet
othef
aceoft
hepoetbentov
ert
hepageand
wri
ti
nghispray
ertot
hemasks.

LI
NE10
~25~
I
nthenameofy
ouri
mage,
li
stent
ome!

l
i
stent
ome!–pleadi
ngt
oneconvey
sdesperat
ion.Heappeal
stot
hem t
oli
stent
ohi
m,f
orhei
sthel
i
vingi
mageof
t
hosemaskst
owhom heiswr
it
ingapr
ayer.

LI
NES11-12
Nowwhil
etheAfr
icaofdespot
ism i
sdyi
ng–iti
stheagonyofapiti
abl
epr
incess,
Li
ket
hatofEur
opetowhom sheisconnect
edthr
oughthenavel–

Theseli
nescontr
astt
heglori
ouspastofAf
ri
ca,whenvastblack-
rul
edempir
esspannedthecont
inent
,andt he
present
,inwhi
chthepeopl
esofAfri
cahavebeensubj
ugatedbytheimper
ialconquest
sofEur
opeannations.

despot
ism i
sdy
ing–col
oni
alr
ulei
scomi
ngt
oanend.Somecount
ri
eshadal
readygai
nedt
hei
rfr
eedom.

pi
ti
abl
epri
ncess–someonewhohasbeenspoi
l
t.Conv
eyst
hei
deat
hatt
heEur
opeancount
ri
eswer
efor
cedt
o
gr
anti
ndependencet
othei
rcol
oni
es.

pit
iabl
eprincessal
sosymbol
izest
henobil
i
tyoft
radi
ti
onal
Af r
ica,
andherdeat
hrepr
esent
sboththegener
al
suffer
inganddecli
neoft
radi
ti
onalAf
ri
cancul
tur
eandthelossofpol
it
ical
powerofbl
ackstor
ulethemsel
ves.

connectedthroughthenav el–Thi si
mager emindst hereaderoftheconnectionofAfricat oEur
ope,muchl
ikea
babyisconnect edt
oitsmot hervi
atheumbi l
i
cal cord–nour ishment,bl
oodflowetc.Thecol oni
alpowersi
nEurope
werer ef
err
edt oasthe‘mot hercountr
y’.However,theydidnotactlikeamot hershould:therewasmass
exploi
tati
onofpeople,resour cesandl
and.Greedandcor r
upt i
onbyt hecol
oniser
sleftAfricadamaged.The
severi
ngoft heconnecti
oni snecessarybutdif
ficult
.Coloniserswouldnotwantt osevert hi
sconnect
ion–then
theylosetheirweal
th/r
esour ces/l
and/l
abourforceet c.

LI
NE13
Nowfi
xyouri
mmobi
l
eey
esupony
ourchi
l
drenwhohav
ebeencal
l
ed

i
mmobileey
es–t heeyesonthemaskscannotmov e.
Whohavebeencall
ed–refer
st othenextgener
ati
onthathast
ofi
ghtf
ort
hei
rfr
eedom.I
mpl
i
est
hatt
hef
ightf
or
t
hei
rfr
eedom hasbeenaverylongone.

Themasksar ecalledt owit

nessthesadhistor
yofmoder nAf
ri
ca,andtheylookon,god-
li
kewiththei
rchangeless
faces.YetSenghoralsosuggeststhatt
hetradi
tionalcust
omsandvalueshaveapparent
lynotbeenabletorespond
tothegreatchangest hathi
stor
yhasbroughtabout .

Thepoem i
mplici
tl
ycomestoaquest
ionandaturni
ngpoint:dot
hemasksrepr
esentaval
uablelongvi
ewfrom
whicht
hepresentcanbeseeni
nit
sproperper
specti
ve,orar
etheymer
elyr
eli
csofapastthathavenot
hingtosay
tot
hosewhoar eexpl
oit
edandsuf
fer
ingi
nthepresent?

LI
NE14
Andwhosacr
if
icet
hei
rli
vesl
i
ket
hepoormanhi
slastgar
ment

Thesimil
ecomparesthosewhofoughtf
ort
heirf
reedt
oapoorpersonwhogi
vesuphi
slastgar
ment
.Thi
simpl
i
es
thatt
heygaveev
erythi
ngthatt
heyhadinor
dertogai
nthei
rfr
eedom.

LI
NE15
Sothather
eaf
terwemaycr
y‘her
e’att
her
ebi
rt
hoft
hewor
ldbei
ngt
hel
eav
ent
hatt
hewhi
tef
lourneeds.

Personif
icati
on–t hecolonisershav eleft
.Theynolongerhav
eanypowerov erthecount
rywhi chnowhasthe
chancetober eborn,
tostartafresh.Itcannowcr eat
eitsowngovernment,
rulesanddir
ectionfori
tsf
utur
e.
l
eav en–y eastisnecessaryf orbreadt ori
seasitisbei
ngbaked.I
tcantheref
oresymbolicall
ymakethi
snew
country‘
rise’upandbest rong.

Thepoetpraystot
hemagi cspir
it
softhemaskst ohelpspeedt
herebi
rthsuggestedbytheimageoft heumbil
ical
cordconnecti
ngAfr
icatoEuropeinl
ine12.Rev i
vi
ngtheancest
ral
spir
it
soft hemaskswi l
lhel
psevert heti
esof
dependence.I
ntur
n,arebornAfri
cancreat
ivi
tycanhel
pEuropetoamor el
ife-af
fi
rminguseofit
smat erial
and
~26~
sci
ent
if
icweal
th,
justast
hebr
owny
easti
snecessar
yformaki
ngbr
eadf
rom whi
tef
lour
.

LI
NE16
Forwhoel
sewoul
dteachr
hyt
hm t
othewor
ldt
hathasdi
edofmachi
nesandcannons?

wor
ldt
hathasdi
ed–t
heendofcol
oni
ali
sm;
theol
dreal
i
tyi
snowdead.

machi nesandcannons–i ndustryandwarfar

e.Ourov er-
rel
i
anceont echnologyandmachiner
yhascausedthe
spiri
tualsoultowit
heranddie.Thewor l
dhasl osti
tsabi
li
tytofeeldeepl
yandgi v
eexpr
essiontojoy
.War f
arehas
al
socont r
ibut
edtothedestruct
ionoftheworld.
Blackpeopl earet
hefrui
tsoflif
eandar eneededinordertobreatheli
febackint
oaworldthathasdiedofmachi
nes
andcannons.

LI
NE17
Forwhoel
seshoul
dej
acul
atet
hecr
yofj
oy,
thatar
ousest
hedeadandt
hewi
sei
nanewdawn?

Ej
acul
ate–Tocr yout/shout
newdawn–r efer
stoanewday :
anewphasei
nthei
rli
ves.Arebor
nAfri
cawi l
ll
endi t
syout
hful
ener
gyt
oaseni
l
e
Eur
ope,br
ingi
ngjoyandhopewheret
her
ehasbeeni
solati
on,
exhaust
ion,despai
r,anddeat
h.

Ther het
ori
cal questi
onconveysdoubt,buti
tal
sosuggeststhatt
her eaderwil
lbepar
tofthenewer a.I
tisli
kea
chall
engetot heciti
zensofthecountr
y,tocomefor
wardandt oco-operateinthi
snewphase,underanewpol i
ti
cal
dispensati
on.
Afri
cawi l
lprovidetheli
fe-
impul
setoaEur opet
hati
sorientedtowardmechanicalval
ues,
material
i
stgain,andwar.

LI
NE18
Say,
whoel
secoul
dret
urnt
hememor
yofl
i
fet
omenwi
that
ornhope?

whoelse–refer
ri
ngtotheyouth;
hopeli
eswit
hthem.
Ther
eissti
ll
hope.‘t
ornhope’
suggest
sthatt
herehasbeendamage,
dest
ruct
ion,
viol
encebutt
her
eisst
il
lsome
small
elementofopti
mism.

LI
NE19
Theycal
luscot
tonheads,
andcof
feemen,
andoi
l
ymen.

they–thecol
onist
s
Thethemeofoppressioninthispoem i
sfur
thersupport
edbySenghor’
sref er
enci
ngofstereoty
pical
,pr
ejudi
ceand
raci
stcommentsandt ermsblackpeoplear
eoftenlabel
ledwi
th,
suchas“ cottonheads”and“coff
eemen” ,
accordi
ngtot
heirphysical
trades.Lackofi
denti
tycreat
esanimpersonal
t one.

LI
NES20-21
Theycal
lusmenofdeath.
Butwearethemenofthedancewhosef
eetonl
ygai
npowerwhent
heybeatt
hehar
dsoi
l
.

Theycal
lusmenofdeat
h–t
heEur
opeans,
viewt
hebl
ackAf
ri
canasaf
ear
ful
imageofdeat
h.

Theselinesareemphati
candst r
onglyconnect
edtotheeart
h.Thepeopl
ear einv
olvedinatradi
ti
onaldanceand
theyappearstrongandresi
li
ent
.Thisdancesymboli
sesthei
rnew-f
oundfreedom andhowt heywil
lregai
nthei
r
i
dentit
yandt akepri
deinthei
rcult
ure.Theywil
lshar
ethi
scultur
eandpri
dewi t
ht herestoft
hewor l
d.

Senghorwrit
eswi t
htoneshopef orabright
erfut
ureinwhichblackpeopl
e, t
heSenegaleseinpart
icul
ar,canbe
recogni
seforthei
rbeautyandv al
ueashumanbei ngs.Theirf
uturewil
lhaveadiff
erent,cr
eati
verelat
iontothesoi
l
andthenaturalworl
d.
Likethepar
ti
cipantsi
nat r
adit
ionalceremonyinwhichmasksar eused,thesenewAf r
icansabsorbthepowersof
thenatur
alspir
it
sthroughtherhythm ofdance,musi
c,andpoet r
y.

THEMES
 Theoppressionanddiscri
minat
ionoft
hebl
ackpeopl
e.
 Rol
eoftheAncest ors
 Honouri
ngourancest or
s
 Thedesi
reforf r
eedom
 Newbeginnings
~27~
  howAfricanscanadapttothewester
nizedworldaf
tert
hePostCol
oni
ali
sm ofFr
ancewhi
l
etr
yingt
o
under
standandcontinuethei
rAf
ricantr
adit
ions.

TONE
 Oppressi
on
 Suff
ering
 hope

QUESTI ONS
1. Briefl
yexplaintheconnot ati
onsoft hewor ds“Pray
er”and“masks”asusedi nthetit
le.
(3)
2. Whydoest hespeakergr eetthemasks“ i
nsi l
ence”
? (
2)
3. Whydoest hespeakeruset hefir
stperson“ I
”?
(2)
4. Howcoul danancest orbe“ l
ionheaded”(l
ine4) ?
(2)
5. Discussthechoi ceindictioninmet aphor“alt
arofwhi t
epaper”(l
i
ne8) .
(3)
6. I
dent i
fythetonei n“Inthenameofy ourimage, l
ist
ent ome!” (
1)
7. Whatdoest hespeakermeanwhenhest atesthatEuropeandAf r
icaare“connect
edt hrought
henav
el”
?
(3)
8. I
dent i
fythefigureofspeechandexpl aintheeffect
ivenessther
eofinthephrase“r
ebirthofthe
wor l
d”(l
ine14) . (
3)
9. Howhast hewor l
d“diedofmachi nesandcannons” ? (
2)
10.I
st hereanyopt imism inthispoem?Quot ei nsupportofyouranswer.
(2)
11.Discusstheef fecti
venessoft helasttwolinesofthepoem asaconcl usi
on.
(3)

THI
SWI
NTERCOMI
NG–KARENPRESS

1 wal
kingi
nthet hi
ckrain
2 oft
hiswint
erwehav eonl
yjustent
ered,
3 whoisnotfr
ightened?

4 theseaisswollen,churni
nginbrokenwaves(
viol
entconti
nual
mot i
on)
5 aroundtherocks,thesandissinki
ngaway
6 theseagull
swi l
lnotland
7 underthi
ssky ,t
hisshroudfal
li
ng(somethi
ngthatcover
sorconceal
s)
8 whoi snotfr
ightened?

9 i
nev erypar toft
hecity,sadwomencl imbingontobuses,
10 dogsbar kinginthestr
eet, andthechi
ldr
en
11 i
nev erydoor waycryi
ng,
12 thewor l
dissohungr y,madam’ shouseisclean
13 andthewomenr et
urnwi thslowsteps
14 tothechildren,t
hestreet,theskytol
li
ngli
keablackbell
;
15 thesewomenar eat i
deofsadness
16 theywilldrownthewor l
d,
17 whoi snotf ri
ght
ened?

18 onev er
ycor
nermenstandi
ng
19 oldstumpsi
ntherai
n,tombst
ones
20 engravedwi
thopeneyes

~28~
 21 watchi
ngthebri
ghtcarsful
lofsat
edf
aces(
mor
ethansat
isf
ied)
22 passthem,passthem,passthem,
23 whoisnotfri
ghtened?

24 i
ntotherainthechildrenarer unning
25 thi
nasthebar esttwigstheyki ndleafir
e
26 tofi
ghtthewi nt
er,thebarebodi es
27 aragi
ngf i
reofdeadchi ldren
28 andtheskycol l
apsingundercent uriesofr
ain
29 thewindli
keamount aincr yi
ng,
30 whoisnotf r
ightenedoft hiswinter
31 cominguponusnow?

BACKGROUND
Thi
spoem waspubli
shedi
n1986, atumul
tuoustimeinSouthAfri
caundert
heApar t
heidregi
me.Thispoem,onits
sur
facel
evel
,seemstobeaboutthepeopl
e’sfearaboutthei
mpendingWint
er.Howev er
,uponcl
oserinspect
ion,
it
i
scleart
hatt
hispoem i
sanextendedmetaphorforthecurr
entandcomingvi
olenceinthecount
ry.

THETITLE
Theuseofthepronounthi
sissuggest
st hatsomethi
ngisgoi
ngtohappenv er
ysoon.
Wint
ercoul
dber eadli
ter
all
y.However
,inthepoem, i
tcanbeint
erpr
etedasanextendedmet aphorfort
ransi
ti
on
andsoci
alchangethatmarksthedeat
hofanol dorder,
andtheemergenceofanewor der.
coming–suggeststhatt
heloomingarr
ivalofthi
sseasonandwhatitrepr
esents,
cannotbeav er
ted.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Thispoem consi
stsof5stanzasofdif
fer
inglengt
hs.Eachstanzadeal
swithadiffer
entaspectofthesi
tuat
ion.
Eachsecti
onisli
nkedbytherefrai
n:“
whoi snotfr
ight
ened?”Thisr
epet
iti
on/anaphorahi
ghli
ghtsthepoi
ntthat
every
onefearswhatmighthappen.

SUMMARY
Thespeakerinthispoem isconcer nedaboutthewor l
dsheoccupi esandbelievesthatshei sjusti
fi
edtof eel
fear
forhowmat ter
swi l
levolv
e.Shest atesthatwehav e“onl
yjustentered”,
implyi
ngt hatwor setimesaretocome.The
descri
pti
onsofthe“ chur
ning”,“
broken”and“ si
nking”skyfur
therhighli
ghtherfearandNat ur
e’shosti
li
ty.The
miseryofthepeopleismadecl earinstanza3.Peopl ear
ehungr yandsuf f
eri
ng.Thedi sti
nctionbetweent hehaves
andthehav e-
nots,i
sclear:“
madam’ shouseisclean”whil
emenst andont hestreetcorners,j
oblessandhungr y
.
The“bri
ghtcarsfullofsatedfaces”driv
epassedt hepeoplemostaf f
ectedbypov ert
yandhunger .

STANZA1
LI
NES1-3
walki
ngi
nthet
hickr
ain/oft
hiswi
nterwehav
eonl
yjustent
ered,
/whoi
snotf
ri
ght
ened?

Thepoem begi
nswithsomebodywalki
ngint
herain.Thepoetdoesnotmentionaspeci
fi
cperson.
thi
ck–rel
atest
otherai
n,ver
yheavyrai
n.Poetdoesnotusetheword‘heav
y’becauset
hisl
inkswit
hthecol
dthat
i
snormall
yassoci
atedwit
hwi nt
er;
iti
sthi
ck,
li
keablanket
.

t
hickr
einf
orcesnotj
usttheheavi
nessoft
her
ain,
buti
salsosuggest
iveofanoppressi
veat
mospher
e.
t
hiswi
nter–specif
icref
erencet
othewint
ert
hati
sapproachi
ng,
notwinteri
ngeneral.

onlyjustenter
edcreateanominoustone,suggest
ingthattheexper
ienceoffearwi
l
lincr
easeast heseason
progresses.Thi
ngswillgetf
arworsebeforetheygetbett
er.Therei
sanallusi
ontopossi
blevi
olence/uprisi
ng
againsttheoppressi
on.

whoisnotfri
ght
ened?–Ther het
oricalquestiondoesnotpr
ovideanexpl
anati
onfort
hecauseofthefear
.Thi
s
suggest
sauniver
sali
tytotheexperienceoff ear.Thepoeti
srefer
ri
ngtoall
SouthAfr
icans.Ev
ery
bodyshoul
dbe
afr
aidasther
ewill
bev i
olenceinresponset ooppressi
on.

STANZA2
LI
NES4-5

~29~
t
heseai
sswol
l
en,
chur
ningi
nbr
okenwav
es(
viol
entcont
inualmot
ion)/ar
oundt
her
ocks,
thesandi
ssi
nki
ngaway

Atfi
rstglance,t
hatstanzai
sdescri
bingt
hespeaker
’sobser
vat
ionofthenatur
alenv
ironment
.Howev
er;t
he
i
mager y,sounddevicesanddi
cti
onsuggestanatmospher
eofhosti
l
ityanddestr
uct
ivenesst
hati
sbr
oadert
hant
he
l
it
eralreadingoftheli
nes.

Theseaisdescr
ibedasswoll
en,chur
ninginbrokenwav
es–t
hisi
sadest
ruct
iveocean,
notapeacef
ulandser
ene
ocean.Thi
semphasisest
hati
tisdangerous.

Thesi
nkingofthesandissymboli
cofaworl
dwhi
chi
sdi
sappear
ing;
inwhi
chone’
ssenseofsecur
it
yandst
abi
l
ity
i
seroded.Ther
efor
et her
ereasontobeaf
rai
d.

LINES6-8
theseagul
lswi
l
lnotl
and/undert
hissky
,thi
sshr
oudf
all
i
ng(
somet
hingt
hatcov
ersorconceal
s)/whoi
snot
fri
ght
ened?

seagull
swi l
lnotl
and–ev enthebi
rds(sy
mbol
i
coft
henat
ural
element
)cansenset
hei
mpendi
ngdangerand
vi
olence,addingt
otheomi nousmood.
underthi
ssky–t hepresentcondi
ti
ons

t
hisshroudfall
ing–Ashroudi
sacl otht
radi
ti
onall
yusedt ocoverdeadbodi esi
nprepar
ati
onf orafuner
al.The
wordintensi
fi
esthef
eel
ingsoffear,
angerandhelpl
essnessinthef aceoftheweat
hercondit
ions.Thisr
ain(the
vi
olencethati
ssoongoi
ngt of
ollow)andcoldcankil
lthoseunprotectedfr
om it
.

whoi snotfri
ght
ened?–anaphor a;
repeti
ti
onoftheli
neemphasisesthef earcausedbyt hei mpendingviol
ence
amongstthepeople.Thefi
gurati
veelementcompareswintertoatimeofpol i
ti
cal andsocialhardshipi
nSout h
Afri
ca.Thoselef
tunprot
ected(non-whit
es)wil
lbeexposedtohardshipandpossi blydeath.
Thereisalsoali
ter
almeaning:homelesspeopleorpeopl
elivi
nginshackswoul df earwinterbecausetheyare
exposedtotheelementsal
l t
hetime.Iti
scoldandwet.Theycanf al
li
llandpossibl ydi
e.

STANZA3
LI
NES9-11
i
neverypartoft
hecit
y,sadwomencl
imbi
ngont
obuses,
dogsbar
kinginthest
reet
,andt
hechi
l
dren/i
never
ydoorwaycr
ying,

I
nt hi
sstanza,
thespeakermovesfrom anobser
v ati
onofnature,
toananal
ysi
softhesoci
alt
extur
eofthecit
y.
Thestanzadescr
ibestheret
urnofdomest i
cworkerstothei
rfamili
es,
att
heendofthei
rworkday.
Thestanzaemphasisesthei
nequal
itycreat
edbyt heapart
heidpoli
cywhi
chal
sosegregat
edtheareaswher
e
peoplecoul
dli
ve.

sadwomen–Thewomenwor kinthecit
yinthehomesofthewhit
es.Theyaregoinghometothei
rfamil
i
esi
nthe
townshi
pswhi
char
einst
arkcontr
asttothesubur
bswheretheywork:
‘chi
l
dren/Inever
ydoorwaycryi
ng’
,

LINES12-14
theworl
dissohungr
y,madam’shousei
scl
ean/andt
hewomenr
etur
nwi
thsl
owst
eps/t
othechi
l
dren,
thest
reet
,
theskyt
olli
ngl
i
keablackbel
l
;

theworl
dissohungry–thei
r‘wor
ldi
ssohungry
’(bot
hl i
ter
all
yandf
igur
ati
vel
y).Theysuf
ferf
rom pov
ert
y,donot
havesuf
fici
entf
ood.Also,
theyar
edepr
ivedoft
heirr
ights.

madam’shousei
scl
ean–t
heydoev
ery
thi
ngf
ort
hei
rempl
oyer
s.Theydonothav
eti
met
otakecar
eoft
hei
rown
homesandfamil
i
es.

ret
urnwit
hslowst
eps–t heyareexhaust
ed.Al
sot
heydonothav
eany
thi
ngt
olookf
orwar
dtoi
nthei
rhomes
becauseoft
hei
rdesper
atepli
ght.

t
heskyt
oll
i
ngl
i
keabl
ackbel
l–Thesi
mil
ecompar
est
heskyt
oabl
ackbel
l
.Theskyi
snotonl
ybl
ackbuti
sal
so
~30~
‘
tol
l
ing‘
.Abel
li
srungatf
uner
als,
toannounceadeat
horasadev
ent
.

LINES15-
17
thesewomenar
eat
ideofsadness/t
heywi
l
ldr
ownt
hewor
ld,
/whoi
snotf
ri
ght
ened?

Metaphor–theextentoft
heirsadnessifsogr
eatt
hatitcanbecomparedt
oasea.Justasaseacandr
own
any
thing,
thei
rti
rednesswil
ldrownany t
hingi
nit
spath.Thisemphasi
seshowt
ir
edtheywere.

Thewomen’ sheavysadnessisahight
idecomingin,sohi
ghitwil
ldrownt hei
rworl
dandt hatofother
s.This
conti
nuestheextendedmetaphorofaseathatisswoll
enanddangerous.Thedangerari
ses, notf
rom anger,
but
sadness.Thewomenar eseemingl
yhelpl
esstomakeachangei ntheirsi
tuati
on,
butthewor dssuggestthatthi
sis
nottr
ue:thi
ssadnessissoov er
whelmi
ngitwill
drown(causedeat
h)t omany .

whoi
snotfr
ight
ened?–theanaphor
a(r
epet
it
ionoft
her
het
ori
cal
quest
ion)pr
ovi
desanexpl
anat
ionf
orpeopl
eto
beaf
rai
doft
hiswint
er.

STANZA4
LINES18-23
oneverycornermenstandi
ng/ol
dstumpsintherai
n,tombstones/engrav
edwit
hopeneyes/wat
chi
ngthebr
ight
carsful
lofsatedf
aces(moret
hansati
sfi
ed)/passthem,passthem,passthem,
/whoisnotf
ri
ght
ened?

onever
ycornermenst
andi
ng–Themenhav enoj
obsandar
est
andi
ngatst
reetcor
ner
s,wai
ti
ngf
orsomeonet
o
comealongandoff
ert
hem wor
kfort
heday
.

ol
dstumpsi nt
herain,t
ombstones/engravedwit
hopeney
es–thedoubl
emet aphorcomparesthementotr
ee
stumpswhicharecomparedtotombstones.Theyar
emoredeadt
hanali
ve.Theli
vingtr
eesarenow‘deadst
umps’
andresemble‘
tombstones’
.

watchi
ngthebri
ghtcar
sfullofsatedf
aces(mor ethansati
sfi
ed)
Theyareabl
etoseethereali
tyofthei
rsi
tuat
ion.Thisisi
ncontrastt
ot hesadnessoft
hewomen.Thesemen
cannotgetj
obs.Theyseem stuckint
hei
rplace,notmov i
ngli
kethetideofthewomen’ssadness.

Thestanzaconti
nueswi
ththeideaofsoci
albr
eakdown,anddescri
best
hedespai
randdehumanizat
ionofthemen.
Thestanzarei
nfor
cesasocial
divi
de,i
nwhichthel
ivesofthepr
ivi
l
egedfewi
sjuxt
aposedalongsi
dethehunger
anddepriv
ati
onofthemasses.

watchi
ngt hebri
ghtcarsf
ullofsatedfaces(
mor ethansat
isf
ied)–theylookatthewealt
hywhodri
vepastt
hem i
n
br
‘ i
ght’carsandhave‘sat
ed’faces.Thepeopletheyseear
ewel lf
ed,actual
l
yoverfed,
unli
ket
hetownshi
ps’
hunger
sodomi nanti
nStanza3.Buttheowner softhesepassi
ngcarsarenotinter
est
edinoffer
ingt
hem j
obs.

passt hem, passthem, passthem –Theyjust‘passthem, passthem, passthem’ .Thisrepet

it
ionstr
esseshow
terr
iblethesituati
onisforthehalfdeadmenandt hei
rfami l
i
esandhowi nvi
sibletheyhavebecomet othose
passingt hem byeachday .
Ther epetit
ionofpasst hem issuggest
ivenotj
ustoff ear–butal soofgui l
tandar ef
usaltoconfr
ontthevisi
ble
real
ityofsoci ali
nequali
ty.Thesenseofurgencyconv eyedinther epet
it
ionisi r
onic:onemaypass“ them”,butone
i
sunabl et oescapet heall-
perv
adingsenseoffear.

whoisnotf
ri
ght
ened?–t
her
epet
it
ionoft
her
het
ori
cal
quest
ion(
anaphor
a)i
sar
emi
ndert
hatsomet
hinghast
o
change.

STANZA5
LI
NES24- 31
i
ntotherainthechi
ldr
enarerunni
ng/t
hinast
hebar
estt
wigst
heyki
ndl
eaf
ir
e/t
ofi
ghtt
hewi
nter
,thebar
ebodi
es
/aragi
ngf i
reofdeadchi
ldren

i
ntotheraint
hechil
drenarerunning–Ther eacti
onoft hechildrendi
ffer
sf r
om thatoftheadul
tswhoar
efearful
.
Thechil
drenrunf
reely
,theyareactiveandali
ve.Chil
drenaresy mboli
cofi nnocence,butt
heyareal
sovi
cti
msof
apar
thei
d.Thechil
drenenjoytherain(l
it
eral
meani ng)
.Ther ai,
inthi
sstanza,isrelat
edtosomethi
ngli
fe-
giv
ing,
whil
etherestoft
hepoem pr esentsi
tsnegati
veconnot at
ions.
~31~
thi
nasthebar
esttwi
gstheyki
ndl
eafir
e/tofightt
hewinter–Thechi
l
drenar
eextremel
ythin,
emphasi
singt
hei
r
ext
remepover
ty.Thesi
milecompar
esthem t
ot wi
gs.Theyuseafi
ret
owarmt hemsel
ves,
becauset
heyareso
thi
n.

tof
ightthewint
er,
thebarebodi
es–fightconv
eysastr
uggletosurv
ivethecol
dofwint
er.Theydonothav
e
suf
fi
cientcl
othi
ngtokeepthemsel
veswar.Thisi
stheresul
tofthei
rpoorli
vi
ngcondi
ti
ons.

ragi
ngfi
reofdeadchi
ldr
en–Thi sseemst oref
ertothechi
ldr
enwhodiedinvi
olentupr
isi
ngs(l
i
keSharpevi
ll
e,
Sowetoetc.
).Thewor
d‘ragi
ng’suggestst
hepassionofthechi
ldr
enandtheugl
inessofthesy
stem oppr
essi
ng
them.Chi
ldr
endiedwhentry
ingtobringaboutchangeduri
ngtheApar
thei
dera.

LI
NES28-
39
andt
heskycol
l
apsi
ngundercent
uri
esofr
ain/t
hewi
ndl
i
keamount
aincr
ying,

col
lapsi
ngundercentur
iesofrai
n–Figurat
ivemeani
ng:
Theskyi
ssy
mbol
i
coft
hei
roppr
essi
on.I
tisnowf
all
i
ng.
Thepeoplesensethatt
heiroppr
essi
onisgoingt
oendsoon.

centuri
esofr ai
n–emphasi sest
heirpainandsuf
feri
ngthattheyhadtoendur
eforsolong.Thesyst
em of
apartheid,
legal
isedornot,
hasbecomeunt enabl
e.Thesystem hasbeenoper
ati
ngformanycenturi
esbuti
nSout
h
Afri
cat heti
mef orchangehasarr
ived.Theti
meforchangehasar ri
ved,
howevert
hingsaregoi
ngtogetworse
beforetheygetbetter
.

LI
NES30-
31
whoi
snotfr
ight
enedoft
hiswi
nter/comi
nguponusnow?

Thesingler
epeatedli
neendi
ngeachstanzabecomest
wol i
neswitht
headdi
ti
onoft
heideat
hat‘t
hiswint
er’
ison
thev
er geofar
ri
ving.I
tisi
mminentandfri
ght
eningf
orever
yone.Thepur
posei
stoconcl
udewit
hast r
ongwarni
ng
ofwhatseemst oli
eahead.

THEMES
 Theeffectsofapart
hei
d
 Thedesireforchange
 Impendingdanger-soci
alupheav
al,
andaf
oreshadowi
ngoft
hewr
it
er’
svi
ewofchange,
accompani
edby
viol
ence,deat
handdestruct
ion

TONE
 Repressedanger
 Undertoneofrebel
l
ion
 Defi
ance
 Fear

QUESTIONS
1. Commentont hepoet ’
schoi ceofthewor d“ thi
ck”inl i
ne1. (
2)
2. Howdoesl i
ne2cr eateanomi noustone?Ref ertotheext endedmet aphorinyouranswer.
(3)
3. Whoisthespeakeraddr essinginline3?Whati st heef f
ectoft hisaddress?
(2)
4. Howisasenseofv i
olencepor tr
ayedi nli
nes4-5? (
2)
5. Commentont heinclusionoft hewor d“shroud”inline7. (
2)
6. Suggestareasonwhypeopl ewouldf earwinter?Ref ertot heli
ter
alandf i
gurat
ivemeaningsoft
hewor
d.
(3)
7. I
denti
fyandexplainthef i
gureofspeechi n“ t
hesewomenar eat i
deofsadness” .
(3)
8. Expl
aintheeff
ecti
venessoft hemet aphor,“t
ombst ones/ engravedwi t
hopeney es”.
(2)
9. Howdoest hereacti
onoft hechi l
drentot herai
ndi f
f erfr
om t headults?
(2)
10.Towhatdoest he“ragingfir
eofdeadchi l
dren”(li
ne27)r efer?
~32~
 (3)
11.Discusshowthe“ sky”haschangedt hr
oughoutthepoem.Whati stheimpl
icati
onofiti
nli
ne28?
(3)
12.Commentont heeffect
ivenessoftheanaphor a(“
whoisnotfr
ightened?
”)i
nt hepoem.
(2)
13.Thelasttwoli
nesoft hepoem breaksthe‘ pat
ter
n’oft
herestofthepoem.Whydi dthepoetwr
it
ethese
l
inesdiff
erent
lytotheanaphor ai
nt herestofthepoem?
(3)

~33~
 SOLI
TUDE–ELLAWHEELERWI
LCOX

1 Laugh,andt heworldlaughswithyou;
2 Weep, andy ouweepal one.
3 Forthesadol deart
hmustbor r
owi t
smir
th,
4 Buthast r
oubleenoughofi tsown.
5 Sing,andthehil
lswillanswer;
6 Sigh,i
tislostontheair.
7 Theechoesboundt oaj oyf
ulsound,
8 Butshrinkfrom v
oicingcare.

9 Rejoice,andmenwi l
lseeky ou;
10 Gri
eve,andt heytur
nandgo.
11 Theywantf ullmeasureofallyourpleasur
e,
12 Buttheydonotneedy ourwoe.
13 Beglad, andyourfr
iendsaremany ;
14 Besad, andy oul
oset hem all
.
15 Therearenonet odeclineyournectaredwine,
16 Butaloney oumustdr inkl
i
fe'sgal
l.

17 Feast,andy ourhallsarecrowded;
18 Fast,andt hewor l
dgoesby .
19 Succeedandgi ve,andithelpsyouliv
e,
20 Butnomancanhel pyoudie.
21 Therei sr
oom int hehallsofpleasure
22 Foral ongandl ordlyt
rain,
23 Butonebyonewemustal l f
il
eon
24 Throught henarrowai sl
esofpai n.

BACKGROUND
Thispoem, muchl i
keWi l
cox’sot herwor ks,contai
nsherobser v
ati
onaboutthewor l
dar oundher.Herinteresti
n
spir
it
ualism r
eflect
seffect
ivel
yi nt hi
spoem.
Ell
aWheel erWi l
coxwrote“Solitude”aftershehadt ravell
edt oMadison,Wisconsin,
toat t
endtheGov ernor'
s
i
naugur albal
l
.Onherwayt here, shesatopposi teay oungwi dow,whowasdr essedinblackandcr y
ing.Thepoet
satwithherandt ri
edtocomf ortherf orther estofthejourney.Whent heyar
riv
edatt heball
,thepoetwasso
depressedshecoul dhardl
yenj oyt hepar t
y.Whenshesawherownf aceinami rr
or,Wil
coxremember edthecryi
ng
womanandwr otethi
spoem, wher eshet hi
nksaboutt hewor ld’
sresponsetosadness.

THETITLE
Sol
it
ude”meansalonelyplace/bei
ngaloneorawayfrom otherpeopl
e.
Thetoneofthet
it
le(“
Solit
ude”)isnotobvi
ous.“Sol
it
ude”canimplyastat
eofbeingal
onebychoi
ceandi
snot
aut
omatical
l
ynegati
ve.Itcanalsohaveconnotati
onsofisol
ati
onandlonel
iness.

SUMMARY
Thespeakeraddressesther eaderdir
ectl
y.Shestatescertai
nuniver
salt
ruths–“l
augh,andt heworl
dlaughswith/
Weep, andyouweepal one”.Thepoem speaksoft heuni v
ersalhumancondit
ioni
nsharingjoysand‘
goodt i
mes’
butthatapersonisalone/soli
tar
yintheirtought
imes/ sadness.
I
nt hefir
stst
anzathespeakerst atesthatonemustf aceone’sprobl
emsinsteadofseekinghappi
nessthrough
others.

~34~
FORM/ STRUCTURE
Thispoem fol
lowsastri
ctstr
uct
ure.Thethr
eestanzasconsistof8lineseachandthesamer hy
mi ngpatt
erni
s
usedthroughout.Thef
ir
sttwostanzasf
ocusonat t
it
ude,behaviourandacti
ons.Thelastst
anzafocusesonthe
endofone’slif
eandsuggestsaparti
cul
arappr
oacht odealwiththi
sinevi
tabi
li
ty.

STANZA1
LINES1-2
Laugh,
andthewor
ldl
aughswi
thy
ou;
/Weep,
andy
ouweepal
one.

Wor
ld–sy
necdoche(
afi
gur
eofspeechi
nwhi
chapar
tismadet
orepr
esentt
hewhol
eorv
icev
ersa)f
orpeopl
e.

Thef
ir
stl
inet
ell
sareaderthati
fonewer
etol
aught
hent
hewor
l dl
dwoul aughwi
thy
ou.Happi
nesswi
thi
nonesel
f
cr
eat
eshappi
nessi
nothers.

Thesecondli
neaddsamor ecompli
cat
eddimensi
ontother
elat
ionshi
pbetweenhumansandsociet
y.Hereshe
descr
ibest
heopposi
teemot i
on,
sadnessdi
spl
ayedthr
oughweeping.I
fyouweretoWeep,youwouldhappenalone.
Peopledonotfl
ockt
ot hesi
deofsomeonewhoisupset,
humanbeingsarenotat
tract
edt
onegati
v i
ty,
perhapsfor
feari
ttoomaybeshared.

LI
NES3-4
Fort
hesadol
dear
thmustbor
rowi
tsmi
rt
h,/Buthast
roubl
eenoughofi
tsown.

mirt
h–l aughtercausedbyhappiness.
Thepoetarguest hattheeart
h(whichisper
soni
fi
ed)hassomuchtr
oubl
eandsadnesst
hati
thasenoughofit
s
own.
Howev er
,happinessmi r
thisrar
e,sotheear
thmustborr
owhappi
nessfr
om el
sewher
e.Wil
coximpl
iesthat
sadnessisthenat ur
alstat
eofthewor l
d.

LINES5-8
Sing,andt
hehil
l
swi
l
lanswer
;/Si
gh,
iti
slostont
heai
r./Theechoesboundt
oaj
oyf
ulsound,
/Butshr
inkf
rom
voici
ngcare.

Theseli
neconveythesamei deaasli
nes1-
4.
I
fyouwer o“
et sing”t
hent he“hi
ll
s”woul
d“answer
.”Youwi
l
lrecei
vear
esponsef
rom t
hewor
ldorsoci
ety
,and
happi
nesswouldbemul t
ipli
ed.

Bound–bi
g,bounci
ngmov
ement
s.

echoes–ar epersoni
fi
edasbeinghappy,t
obounceorski
pinr
esponsetohappysounds,
Incont
rast,
ify
ouweret
o
“Si
gh”(symboli
cofproblems)itwouldbe“
lostont
heai
r.
”Thesoundandtheemoti
ondissi
patewit
houtany
one
acknowledgi
ng,orcert
ainl
yrepeat
ingit
.

shr
ink–pul
lback
shr
inkf
rom v
oici
ngcar
e–t
oav
oidexpr
essi
ngsadness;
thewor
ldwi
l
lnotshar
eyourpr
obl
ems/
issues/
car
es

Thefi
rstst
anzaconcludeswiththetwoemot ionsbeingtransl
atedi
ntosounds.Thesoundofsi
ngi
ngwi
l
l“bound”
l
ikeajoyf
ulechowhil
et hesi
ghwi ll
beignored.
Wil
coximpli
esthatpeoplesharejoyhappi
lybutpreferthatsuff
eri
ngisnotshared.

STANZA2
LINES9-12
Rejoi
ce,
andmenwi l
lseeky
ou;
/Gr
iev
e,andt
heyt
urnandgo./ Theywantf
ull
measur
eofal
lyourpl
easur
e,/But
theydonotneedy
ourwoe.

Thespeakerpresent
sanotherf
ivest
atement
sthatoutl
i
nehowtheworl
datlarger
eact
stoposit
ivi
tyandnegat
ivi
ty.
Thefi
rstl
inesaysthati
fyourej
oicet
henother
swill“
seeky
ou”outandwanttospendt
imewithyou.
ful
lmeasure– complet
e/all

Sheonceagai
npresent
sacontr
ast
,thati ou“
fy Gr
iev
e”thenthesamepeopl
ewi
l
l“t
urnandgo.
”Thesepeopl
edo
notwant“
yourwoe”butar
ehappyt
ot akeon“y
ourpl
easure.
”
~35~
LI
NES13- 16
Beglad,andyourf
ri
endsar
emany ;
/Besad,
andy
oul
oset
hem al
l
./Ther
ear
enonet
odecl
i
ney
ournect
aredwi
ne,
/Butaloneyoumustdri
nkl
ife'
sgal
l.

Thespeakergi
vest
hereadersomeadvi
cei
nthenextl
i
nesthati
fyouwantt
ohav
efr
iends,
theny
ouneedt
obe
“gl
ad.
”Ifyouar
enot,t
henyouaregoi
ngto“
loset
hem al
l.
”

l
i
fe’
sgal
l–sadness,
pov
ert
y,l
onel
i
ness–al
lthi
ngst
hatmakeusbi
tt
er.

I
nt helastt
wolinesofthi
sstanza,
happi nessi
scomparedt o“nectar
edwi ne”andsadnessiscomparedt o“l
if
e’s
gal
l”.Thepoetusesthisext
endedmet aphortoexpl
ainhowev eryonewant stoshareasmuchofaper son’s
happinessaspossibl
e
(a“ f
ullmeasur
e”of“nectar
edwine”)buttheywil
lbeforcedtoexperiencetheirsadness(
“l
if
e’sgal
l
”)alone.

STANZA3
LI
NES17-18
Feast
,andy
ourhal
l
sar
ecr
owded;
/Fast
,andt
hewor
ldgoesby
.

Thespeakerpresent
sherfi
nal
setofcompari
sonsbetweenahappyli
feandasadoneandt
her
eact
ionst
hey
prov
oke.
Sheusesanothercompari
son:af
east(cel
ebr
ati
on)canbri
ngpeopl
etogether
.

hal
l
sar
ecr
owded–emphasi
sest
hatev
ery
onewi
l
ljoi
nint
hecel
ebr
ati
ons.

Fast–fasti
ngi
spriv
ate.Peopl
emaynotbeawar
ethaty
ouar
efast
ing,
ther
efor
ethewhol
ewor
ldwoul
dnott
ake
noti
ceorjoi
nyou.

Thesetwoexampl esaremet aphor

sforever
ydayli
fe.Wel
comi
ngcommunity,
companionshi
p,andhappinessar
e
goingtoinspi
reevenmor eofthesame.Thepoetarguest
hati
fyoudonotpart
ici
pat
einli
feandhappiness(i
fyou
“f
ast”)
,peoplewil
lignor
ey ou,t
heywil
lnotwanttospendti
mewit ou.(
hy “Fast,
andtheworldgoesby”).

LI
NES19- 20
Succeedandgi
ve,
andi
thel
psy
oul
i
ve,
/Butnomancanhel
pyoudi
e.

Thespeakerrefer
stoli
feanddeat
handt hewaythathumansdeal
withpai
n.
Ify
ouaresuccessfulandgi
vegenerousl
ytoot
hers(notonl
ymater
ial
goods,butal
soi
fyougi
veofy
our
sel
f
emoti
onall
y),
y ouwil
lli
veagoodli
fe(“i
thel
psyouli
ve”)
.

noman–nobody
.Thepoetsay
st hatl
i
teral
ly,
weal l
gothr
ought
heprocessofdeat
hal
one,butal
soi
mpl
i
est
hat
wit
hdr
awi
ngfr
om ot
her
sisamet aphor
icaldeathandonet
hatweal
way sgothr
oughal
one.

LI
NES21-21
Therei
sroom i
nthehal
l
sofpl
easur
e/Foral
ongandl
ordl
ytr
ain,
/Butonebyonewemustal
lfi
l
eon/Thr
ought
he
narr
owaisl
esofpai
n.

t
hehall
sofpl
easur
e–met aphor
ical
ly
,thespacesi
ny ourl
if
ethatar
ef i
l
ledwithjoyandhappi
ness.
alar
geandl
ordl
ytr
ain– t
heprocessi
onofpeoplethatfol
l
owanar i
stocratorr
oy al
ty.

Happinessismetaphori
cal
lycomparedtoahousewithbi
gr ooms(“roomyhall
s”)t
hatcanhol s(
dmanyguest “a
l
argeandl or
dlyt
rai
n”),
wherepeopleenjoyhav
ingpar
tes(
i “hall
sofpleasur
e”)whil
epai
niscompar
edtoa“nar
row
ai
sle”whichimpl
iesacorri
dorthatpeopl
ehavetomov et
hroughalone.

Intheseli
nes,t
hepoetsayst
hathappypeopl
eat
tractot
her
sandhav
elar
geandl
oyal
groupsoff
oll
ower
s.Thi
s
contrast
swiththenextt
woli
nes.

fi
l
eon–wal ki
ntoapl
aceinali
ne,
onebehi
ndt heother
.
ai
sles–anarr
owpassagebet
weenrowsofseats.
~36~
Thepoetdescr
ibespai
nasa“nar
row”aisl
e.Thismetaphori
mpl
i
esthatpeopl
ecanonl
ysur
viv
epai
nont
hei
rown.
Other
scanonlywatchthem,
butcannotexper
iencet
heirpai
nwi
tht
hem.

wemustal
l–impli
est
hatev
ery
onewil
lsuf
ferpai
n,andt
hatt
hej
our
neyt
hroughpai
nisul
ti
mat
elyonet
hat
ev
ery
onewil
lhav
etomakeonthei
rown.

THEMES
 Happi ness/Pain–t hroughoutt hepoem t hespeakerstatesthatonemustf aceone’sproblemshead-on
andnotseekcomf ortinot hersi nlieuofaddr essingone’sprobl
ems/ i
ssues.Shestatesthatwecannotrun
from ourpr obl
emsf orever.
 Indivi
dual vsoutsidewor ld–t herel ati
onshipbetweent hesetwoconceptsiscleari
nt hi
spoem.Thi spoem
actsasa‘ map’ t
ot hei ndividual andhowt ocreateyourownhappinessandf acethereali
ti
esofthewor l
d.
Wi l
coxmakesi tcleart hatshebel iev esthatallpeopleexi
stinastateofsoli
tude.Li
feneedst obetackl
ed
wi t
hpr act
icali
tyandsel f-
reliance.

 Thispoem i
sabouthowpeoplerespondtotheemotional
stat
eofothers:happypeopletendt
oattr
actt
he
companyandfri
endshi
pofmanyot hers;sadpeopl
etendtobecomeisolatedandlonel
ybecausepeopl
e
tendtoshyawayfr
om negat
iveemot i
ons.

 Inthefi
nal stanza,
thepoetexplainshowev eryonemustult
imatel
ygot hroughpai
nandsufferi
ngalone-
alt
houghot herscanbearwitness, t
hisexper
ienceisi
nevi
tablyasoli
taryone.Thepoeti
snotnecessar i
l
y
sayingthatpeoplearesel
fi
sh-j ustthatapersoncanobserveothers’deepestf
eel
ingsbutcannotactuall
y
experi
encet hem.

TONE
 Onthewhol e,thetoneismel anchol y
/sad/depr
essed.Al
thoughthepoetremindsust hathappi
ness
i
spossible(thi
si stheconnotationsofwor dsandphraseslike“
laugh”
,“si
ng”,“
rej
oice”,“
nectar
edwine”and
“hal
l
sofpl easure”)thepoetcont rast
sthesewor dsandphraseswitht
heiropposi
tes(“weep”,“
sigh”
,“be
sad”,
“li
fe’
sgall”and“ nar
rowai slesofpain”.

QUESTIONS
1. Commentont heper soni
fi
cat
ioni nstanza1.
(3)
2. Describet her eactionofthe‘echoes’ (li
ne7)t othepr ompt sgiv
en.
(2)
3. Whatdoes“ shrink”meanasusedi nline8? (2)
4. Suggestapossi bleexampl eof“lif
e’sgal l
”. (2)
5. Whydoest hespeakersuggestt hat“ pain”istravel
ledthrough“narrowaisles”
?
(2)
6. Paraphr aseandexpl ai
ntheli
ne: “Succeedandgi v
e,andi thel
psy ouli
ve.”
(3)
7. Discusst heef fectivenessofthet i
tl
eoft hepoem i nrel
ationtoitscontent
s.
(3)
8. Isthespeakeri nt hisoverl
ycynical?Di scussyouropi ni
on. (3)
9. Woul d“ Loneli
ness”hav ebeenabet t
ert it
leforthepoem?Di scussyouranswerandmaker
efer
encet
othe
connot ati
ons/ denot ati
onsofbot hwor ds( soli
tudeandl oneli
ness)inyouranswer
.
(3)

~37~
 THEMORNI
NGSUNI
SSHI
NING–OLI
VESCHREI
NER

1 Themor ni
ngsuni sshiningon
2 Thegr een,greenwi ll
owt ree,
3 Andsendsagol densunbeam
4 Todanceuponmyknee.
5 Thef ountainbubbl esmer r
il
y,
6 They ellowlocust sspring,
7 Ofl i
feandl i
ghtandsunshi ne
8 Thehappybr ownbi rdssing.
9 Theear thiscl othedwi t
hbeaut y
,
10 Theairisfil
ledwi thsong,
11 Theyellowthor nt r
eesloadt hewind
12 Withodourssweetandst rong.
13 ThereisahandInev ertouch
14 Andaf aceInev ersee;
15 Nowwhati ssunshi ne,whatissong,
16 Nowwhati slighttome?

BACKGROUND
Oli
veSchreiner(1855-1920)wasbor natami ssi
onst ationcalledWi tt
ebergennearHer scheli
ntheEast er
nCape.
Sheisbestknownf orhercrit
ical
lyacclaimednovel TheSt oryofanAf r
icanFarm, i
nit
ial
lypubli
shedundert he
pseudonym RalphI r
onbecauseofacont emporaryprejudiceagai nstwomenaut hors.Afterachi
ev i
ngrecognit
ion
asawr i
ter,
Schreinerwr oteextensi
velyonar angeofpol i
ti
cal andsocialissuesasanopponentofr aci
sm andan
earl
yfeminist
.HerbookWomenandLabour ,wri
ttenin1911, wasconsi deredthebi bleofthewomen' s
emancipati
onmov ementi nEnglandandAmer i
ca.Shewasal soapaci fi
standdi dnotagr eewithBr i
ti
sh
i
mper i
ali
sm inSout hAfricaorwiththeSout hAfri
can( Anglo-Boer )Warthatwasf oughttoachieveit.
Thispoem convey sastrongsenseofpl aceandthenat uralenv ir
onment ,asoftenf oundinSchreiner’
sworks.

THETI TLE
Thet i
tl
eint r
oducesaposi tiveimage–weassoci at
eabr i
ght,sunnymor ningwithwarmthandhappi ness.
Howev er,thereisaf igurati
veirony :Hersun(chi
ld)isnolongershining(hasdied).
Thet i
tl
eandt hef i
rst12l i
nesof‘ TheMor ningSunisShining’i
nvit
et hereadertoseethebeautyofOl i
veSchr
einer
’s
Karoo,blessedwi t
hgr eenwi l
lowt rees,gol
densunshine,bubbli
ngf ount
ains,spri
ngingl
ocusts,bi
rdsongandthe
scentoft hethor ntrees’yell
owf l
owers.
Wer eali
sei nline13, howev er,thatthespeakeri
smour ningsomeone’ sdeath:‘Ther
eisahandInev ertouch/
Anda
faceInev ersee’.Becauseoft his,shewrit
es,‘
Nowwhati ssunshine,whatissong,/Nowwhati sli
ghttome’.What
beginsasal yri
calcelebrati
onofnat ureendsupasal amentf orthelossofal ovedone.

SUMMARY
Thespeakerpr
aisesthebeaut yofNatur
earoundher.Shedescr
ibesv
ari
ousaspectsandusesmanyaudi t
ory
‘
images’t
oengaget hereader.Thelastf
ourli
nesst
epawayf rom t
henat
uralscene.Thesadnessi
ntheseli
nes(
to
dowithl
oss)aresurpri
sing,
giv ent
hetoneandcontentofthepr
ecedi
ngli
nes.
~38~
Happinessisrealwhenshared”.Thepoetcomment sonthebeautyofamor ni
nginwhicht
hesunisshini
ng.She
highli
ghtst
hev ar
iousel
ement sthatmakethemor ni
ngsobeautif
ul,
butthenshechangestr
ack/di
rect
ionandasks,
rhetori
cal
ly
,whatisthepurposeofabeaut i
ful
mor ni
ngifi
tcannotbesharedwithany
one.Anatur
epoem that
showst hebeautyofnat
ure,buthighl
ight
sherloneli
nessasshehasnoonewi thwhom toshar
eit.

Oli
veSchrei
ner
’sonl
ychil
d,adaught
er,
diedwi
thi
nadayofbeingborn.Thejuxtaposi
ti
onbet
weent hebeaut
yand
abundanceofNatur
e,andthei
mmenselosssuff
eredbyt
hespeaker
, i
spoignantandincr
edi
blysad.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
A16-li
nepoem madeupof4di sti
nctpar
ts.Inl
ine1-4shedi scussesthesenseofsi
ght,
5-8heari
ngand9-12smell
.
Allt
hesesensesenjoyt hemor ni
ngwiththesunshining.Ther eisaregul
arrhy
meschemeandr hyt
hm t
hroughout
l
ines1-12.Thelastfourli
nesdeviatef
rom thi
spatter
n.This‘ break’
inpatt
erni
ncr
easesthei
mpactofthe
unexpectedcontent
soft helastf
ourli
nes.

LI
NES1-
2
Themor
ningsuni
sshi
ningon/Thegr
een,
greenwi
l
lowt
ree,

Li
nes1-2setthescene:it’
sabeaut i
ful
morni
ngandt hespeakerr
ef l
ect
sonthebeautyofthemorning.
Therepet
it
ionof‘green’r
einf
orcesthebeaut
yofnature,
emphasisingthei
ntensi
tyofthecol
ourofthewil
l
owtr
ee.
Greenisacolourthati
sassociatedwit
hli
fe,
synony
moust of r
eshness,l
ushvegetat
ionandheal
th.Thesuni
salso
symboli
cofli
fe.

LI
NES3-4
Andsendsagol
densunbeam /Todanceuponmyknee.

Thepersoni
fi
cat
ionofhowt hesunblessestheear
thandprov
idesjoyandent ertai
nmentr
einf
orcest
hebeaut
yof
themor
ningandhelpscreateamoodofj oy/enj
oyment/happiness/cheerf
ulness.
I
tisabenev entsun“
ol golden”t
hatcauseshappi
nessandhasconnot at
ionsofrichesandwealt
handbeaut
y.

LI
NES5-8
Thef
ountai
nbubbl
esmer
ri
ly
,/They
ell
owl
ocust
sspr
ing,
/Ofl
i
feandl
i
ghtandsunshi
ne/Thehappybr
ownbi
rds
si
ng.

Theseli
nesexpandont hebeautyofnatureonasensoryl
evel
.
Thepersoni
fi
cati
oninli
ne5gi vest hef
ountai
nthehumanquali
tyofbei
ngjoyful
andr
einfor
cesthemoodof
happi
ness/cheerful
ness.Theper soni
fi
cati
onsucceedsi
nprovi
dingani
dyll
i
cv i
ewofthebeaut
iful
morni
ngwhi
ch
emphasisest
hesenseofwel l
-beingandhappiness.

Thev
ari
oushuesoft
hecol
oury
ell
owcont
inuewi
t he“
ht yel
l
owl
ocust
”,j
ustl
i he“
ket gol
densun”i
nli
ne3.

Thewor spr
d’ ing’
rel
atet
otheener
gyi
nherenti
nandaddsvibr
ancytoel
ementsofnat
ure.Thi
sideai
sampl
i
fiedby
thedescri
pti
onof‘br
ownbirds’
inl
i
ne8.Theonomatopoei
cword“bubbl
es”i
sahappysound.

Therepeti
tonof‘
i and’(l
i
ne7)al
l
udest
othespont
aneousexpr
essi
onofemot
ionsandr
einf
orcest
hebeaut
yoft
he
speaker
’ssurr
oundings.

Theal
l
iter
ati
oni
nli
ne7(Ther
epet
it
ionoft
he“
l l
”sound:i
feandl
i
ght
)gi
vesasenseoff
reedom andunbur
denedl
i
fe
i
nthehappymorni
ng.

Thesingingofthebir
disjoy
ous“ …happybrownbi
rdsi
ng…”Thebi
rdsassi ngabout‘
ngi li
feandl
ightandsunshi
ne’
.Thiscontr
ibut
estotheideathatthenatur
alwor
ldi
scelebr
ati
ngl
i
fe.I
tisasifthepl
ant
s,i
nsect
sandbirdsareal
l
rej
oici
nginthemor ni
ngsunshine.

LI
NES9- 12
Theeart
hisclot
hedwi
thbeaut
y,/Theai
risf
il
ledwi
thsong/They
ell
owt
hor
ntr
eesl
oadt
hewi
nd/Wi
thodour
s
sweetandstr
ong.
~39~
cl
othed–theeart
hispersoni
fi
edweari
ngthebeaut
if
ulcl
othi
ng.Ev
erypar
toft
hewor
ldi
scov
ered(
clot
hed)and
“f
il
led”wi
thabeautyt
hatmakesthepoethappy
.

l
oadthewindwi thodourssweetandstr
ong–SchreinerwasaSouthAfri
canpoet,
soherr
efer
encet
othe“t
horn
tr
ees’cont
extual
izesthepoem.Thetr
eesareal
sof ul
loffl
owersandthesenseofsmel
li
susedtoshowhowtheir
smelli
spervasiv
e.
sweetandstrong–t heall
i
ter
ati
onisusedtor
einf
orcethestr
engthofthesmell
.

Thesibi
lant‘
s’i
n“song”
,“sweet
”and“
str
ong”cont
ri
but
etot
hel
yri
cal
qual
i
tyoft
hepoem.Thi
spoem cel
ebr
ates
thebeautyandsoundsandsmell
sofNat
ure.

LI
NES13-16
Ther
eisahandInev
ert
ouch/Andaf
aceInev
ersee;
/Nowwhati
ssunshi
ne,
whati
ssong,
/Nowwhati
sli
ghtt
o
me?

Thepoet’
stone/
att
it
udechangesinthesel
i
nes.Thi
squat
rai
nref
lect
sast
arkcont
rasti
nbot
htoneandmoodi
n
compari
sontothefi
rstt
hreequat
rai
ns.

Thewor d“never
”indicat
esthatt
hereisabsol
utel
ynopossi
bil
it
yofherbei
ngabletotouchorseeherchi
l
d.The
speakerchangestoat oneofdespondency/sadness/
gri
ef/dej
ect
ion/hopel
essnesswhenrefl
ect
ingonthel
oss
thatshehassuffered.

Thespeakeri
sfil
ledwit
hdespairbecauseshehaslostsomeoneimpor
tantt
oher.‘
Touch’suggest
saverycl
ose
rel
ati
onshi
pwiththi
sperson.Iti
ssomeoneshebel i
evesshewil
lnev
erseeagai
n,andthi
sthoughtmakesherso
unhappyshecannotappreci
atethenat
uralbeaut
yaroundher
.

Theuseofthepresenttensei
mpli
esthatdespi
tethepassageofti
me,
thespeakerst
il
lgr
iev
es.Thi
scoul
dpossi
bly
descr
ibet
heextentofthespeaker
’spai
natthelossofalovedone.

Sheendst hepoem wit

harhetor
icalquesti
on,askingwhatisthepoi
ntofexperienci
ngabeaut i
ful
,natur
almorni
ng
i
fthereisnoonet oshar
eitwi
th.Ther hetori
calquesti
onengagesthereadertoconsiderhersi
tuat
ion;abeaut
if
ul
dayallal
one,withnohopeofcompany .Shef i
ndsnosolaceinherbeauti
fulsur
roundings.
Iti
mpliesthatt
hebeautyoft
hemor ning/t hebeautyofnat
urecannotovershadowthepain/emot ionalt
raumathe
speakerexperi
ences.

THEMES
 “Happinessi
srealwhenshared”.Thepoetcomment sont hebeautyofamor ni
nginwhichthesunis
shi
ning.Shehigh-
li
ghtsthevar
iouselementsthatmaket hemor ningsobeautif
ul,
butthenshechanges
tr
ack/di r
ect
ionandasks,rhet
orical
l
y,whatisthepurposeofabeaut i
fulmorni
ngifi
tcannotbeshared
wit
hany one.
 Anaturepoem thatshowsthebeautyofnature,buthi
ghlightsherlonel
inessasshehasnoonet oshar
eit
wit
h.

TONE
 Thetoneofthefi
rst12li
nesischeerf
ul/
happy/
posit
ive/
joy
ful
.Natureisbeauti
fulandcel
ebrated.
 Thelast4l
ineschangestoatoneofdespair
,negat
ivi
ty,
sadness,
hopelessness.Sheisdescri
bingher
sor
rowandhowt hebeautif
ulmorningmakeshersadnessevengreater
,morepoignant.

QUESTIONS
1. Descri
bet hemoodoft hefir
stfourli
nesofthepoem.Payattenti
ontoimageryanddi
cti
oninyouranswer.
(3)
2. I
dentif
yt hetonei
nthef i
rst12l
ines.Nowstatethetonei
nthel ast4l
ines.Whydoesi
tchange?
(3)
3. Howdoest hepoetusecolourtocreatet
hemoodoft hefi
rststanza? (2)
4. Whatfigureofspeechisusedin“ Andsendsagoldensunbeam /Todanceuponmyknee” ?Explai
nthe
effect
ivenessofthi
sfigureofspeech.
~40~
 (3)
5. Discusstheef
fecti
venessofthepersonif
icat
ioninl
ines5- 8. (
3)
6. Commentonhowt hepoet’suseofsoundcont ri
but
est ot
heimpactofthepoem.
(3)
7. Lines13-14br
ingfort
hachangei ntoneandmood.Di scussthi
schange.
(3)
8. Discusstheef
fecti
venessofthepoem’ sfi
nalquest
ionasaconcl usi
ontothepoem.
(3)
9. What ,doyout
hink,wasthepoet’
sintenti
oninthewr i
tingofthi
spoem?
(2)

I
TISABEAUTEOUSEVENI
NG,
CALM ANDFREE–WI
LLI
AM WORDSWORTH

1 Itisabeaut eousev ening,calm andf ree,

2 Thehol yt imei squi etasaNun
3 Br eathlesswi thador ation;t
hebr oadsun
4 Issi nkingdowni nitst ranquil
ity;
5 Thegent lenessofheav enbroodso' ertheSea;
6 List en!themi ghtyBei ngi sawake,
7 Anddot hwi thhi seternal mot i
onmake
8 Asoundl i
ket hunder —ev erl
ast i
ngly.
9 Dearchi l
d!dearGi r
l!thatwal kestwi thmeher e,
10 I
ft houappearunt ouchedbysol emnt hought,
11 Thynat ureisnott her eforelessdi vine:
12 Thoul iestinAbr aham' sbosom al lthey ear;
13 Andwor shipp'statt heTempl e'
si nnershr i
ne,
14 Godbei ngwi tht heewhenweknowi tnot.

BACKGROUND
Wil
li
am Wordswort
hwasbor nintheUni
tedKingdom in1770.Hedi edin1850.Hewasoneoft
hef ounder
soft
he
Romanti
cMov ementinpoetry.Hehadagr eatloveforNat ure.
AsmanyofWor dsworth’
sotherpoems,thi
spoem i sareflectiononNatur
eanda(sor
tof
)conv
ersati
onwith
(pr
esumabl
y)hisdaughter
.Itissuff
usedwithreli
giousover t
ones.

THETI TLE
Thespeakeri
sst r
uckbythephysi
calbeautyoftheeveningandthemooditcreat
es.Thespeakerviewsthescene
throughaspi
ri
tuall
ensandassureshisyoungcompani on(bel
i
evedtobehisdaught
er,Car
oli
ne)thatGod’s
presencei
severywher
e,eveni
fwear enotful
lyconsciousofit
.

SUMMARY
Thespeakeri
nthi
spoem i
sawestruckbythebeautyofNatur
e,speci
fi
call
ytheeveni
ngt
ime.Heexpr
esseshi
s
appr
eciat
ionf
orthef
eel
ingoft
ranquil
li
tyheexper
iencesi
nNat ur
e.Heviewsthescenet
hrougha(
Chri
sti
an)
~41~
rel
igiouslensandassureshiscompani
on( presumablyhi
sy oungdaughter
)thatGod’
spresenceisomnipot
ent.He
statesthatevenif/
whenshedoesnotexpressdev ot
iont
oGod, orspendti
mei naphysi
calplaceofworshi
p,Godis
alway spresent
.(Thi
sreact
ionstemsfrom herbeingseeminglyunaf
fect
edbyt hei
ncr
edibl
escenei nf
rontofthem.
)
Heul ti
mat el
yprai
sesGodforthecreat
ionofNat ure.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
ThisisaPetrar
chan(orIt
ali
an)sonnetconsist
ingof14l i
nes.Theoctave(fi
rst8li
nes)descr
ibesthebr
eath-t
aki
ng
beautyofthescene.Thesestet(
last6li
nes)servesasthespeaker’scommentont hebeautyandspiri
tual
i
tyofthe
scene.Headdresseshiscompanion( hi
sdaughter)di
rect
lyinthesestetandactsasacomment ar
yofthe
speaker’
sunderst
andingofthespiri
tual
it
yofli
feingeneral.

LI
NE1
I
tisabeaut
eousev
eni
ng,
cal
m andf
ree,

beaut
eous–beauti
ful
Theatmospher
eisver
ypeacef
ulandt
ranqui
l
.Aper
soni
scompl
etel
yatease;
nowor
ri
esorst
ress.

ev
eni
ng– i
sof
tent
hemostgent
leandqui
ett
imeofday
.

cal
m –suggest
samoodt
hati
speacef
ul,
tranqui
landut
ter
lyqui
et.

f
ree–i
mpl
i
esf
reeofst
ress/
wor
ri
es/
pai
n.

LI
NE2
Thehol
yti
mei
squi
etasaNun

Per
sonif
icat
ionandsi
mileaddarel
i
giousel
ementtothepoem.:“
hol
yti
me”(
theev
eni
ng)i
scompar
edt
oaNunt
hat
i
squietassheisinpr
ayer.Shei
scl
osetoGod.ShelovesGod.

LI
NES3-4
Br
eat
hlesswi
thador
ati
on;
thebr
oadsun/I
ssi
nki
ngdowni
nit
str
anqui
l
ity
;

Breathl
ess–cannotev
enhearherbr
eathe.Thi
semphasi
sest
hesil
ence.Justast
henunis‘breat
hlesswi
th
adorati
on’sodoest
hefeel
i
ngofthi
stimeandplacet
akeawaythepoet
’sbreat
hwithaweatthebeautyofGod’
s
creat
ion.

Thespeakerl
i
nkst
hebeaut
yofNat
uret
oGod,
thecr
eat
orofEar
thandi
tsbeaut
y.

thebroadsun–Ast hesunset
sitseemstobecomeal argeor
ange-
redbal
landt
hecol
our
sofsunsetst
ret
chout
acrossthehor
izon.Thi
saddstotheser
ene,peacef
ulatmospher
e.

LI
NE5
Thegent
lenessofheav
enbr
oodso'
ert
heSea;

Per
sonif
icat
ion–heavenisdescr
ibedasbeinggent
le.Thi
saddstot
hepeacefulat
mosphere.
Thegentl
enessofheaven–Theseai sr
efl
ecti
ngtheski
es/Heav
en.I
tiscal
m andgent
le.I
tisbeaut
if
ulandGodl
y.

Br
oods–Cont
empl
atesdeepl
y:heav
enseemst
owat
chov
ert
heseabel
ow.Fi
gur
ati
vel
yGodi
swat
chi
ngov
ert
he
worl
d

LI
NE6
Li
sten!t
hemi
ght
yBei
ngi
sawake,

Li
st en– i
sacommandandtheexcl
amationmarkint
ensi
fi
esitandi
ndi
cat
estheexci
tementofthespeaker.Aver
y
quietmomenti
sbrokenbyt
hisi
mperat
iveorder
.Thepoetwantshi
scompani
ontobeanactivepart
ici
pantint
he
scene.

~42~
mightyBei
ng–Li t
eral
l
yreferstothesea.Figur
ati
vel
yrefer
stoGod.Thecapi
tal
let
t nBei
eri ngimpli
esthat
al
thoughthespeakeri
sreferr
ingtothesea,thecapi
tal
lett
erl
inkst
heseat
oGod, t
heAlmi
ghtyBei
ng.Botht
hesea
andGodar e‘
awake’and‘eter
nal’
andneitherstopmoving.

LI
NE7
Anddot
hwi
thhi
set
ernalmot
ionmake

dot
h–does

et
ernalmot
ion–Godandt
heseaar
eet
ernal
andwi
l
lgoonf
orev
er

mot
ionmake–t
heal
l
iter
ati
onemphasi
zest
het
hunder
oussoundoft
hesea

LI
NE8
Asoundl
i
ket
hunder
—ev
erl
ast
ingl
y.

Simi
le:breaki
ngwav essoundli
kethunder
.Indi
cat
espowerofnat
ureandGodThet
hunder
oussoundofwav
es
cont
rastswi t
hthecalm andqui
etofli
nes1-3.

Thedashcreatesapauseandemphasisest
hewor
dwhichf ows–ev
ol
l er
last
ingl
y.Wit
houtthepausether
ewould
notbesuchast r
ongemphasis.I
tist
heendoft
heoct
avebuti
tindi
cat
esthatGod’scr
eat
ion,and,
byinfer
ence,
God,i
sforever
.

LI
NE9
Dearchi
l
d!dearGi
rl
!thatwal
kestwi
thmeher
e,

Dearchi
l
d!dearGi
rl
!– i
ssai
dinal
ovi
ngt
one.Heexpr
esseshi
slov
eandador
ati
onf
orhi
sdaught
er.

LI
NES10-11
I
fthouappearunt
ouchedbysol
emnt
hought
,/Thynat
urei
snott
her
efor
elessdi
vi
ne:

unt
ouchedbysol
emnt
hought–Sheseemsobl
i
vioust
othebeaut
yar
oundher
.

Wordswortht
ell
shi
sdaughterthatalt
houghshedoesn’tseem t
ohav ebeenaffect
edbyt hedept
hoffeel
ingi
nthe
scene,
hecanassur
eherthatitmakesnodi f
ferencet
owhati str
ue.Evenifshedoesn’tknoworunder
standi
tnow,
sheissti
l
lmadeofthesame‘divine’mat
eri
alasallcr
eati
on.Evenifsheisnottouchedbythebeaut
yofthescene,
i
tdoesnotmeansheisremov edf r
om Godorlessspi
rit
ual.

LI
NE12
Thoul
i
esti
nAbr
aham'
sbosom al
lthey
ear
;

i
nAbraham'
sbosom –Met
aphor–r
efer
stoheav
en:
Likeaf
atherhol
dsababyt
opr
otecti
t,t
hegi
rli
sunknowi
ngl
y
pr
otect
edbyGod.

al
lthey
ear–atal
lti
mes.Godi
sal
way
spr
esentt
opr
otecther
.

LI
NE13
Andwor
shi
pp'
statt
heTempl
e'
sinnershr
ine,

theTemple'
sinnershri
ne–Ref
erencetonat
ure:
ev eni
fshedoesnotexpressdev
oti
ont
oGodorspendt
imei
na
physi
cal
placeofwor shi
p(l
i
keachurch)
,Godisalwayspr
esenti
nnature.

LI
NE14
Godbei
ngwi
tht
heewhenweknowi
tnot
.

Assonance(
repet
it
ionofthe‘
e’ nbei
soundi ng,t
hee,
we)emphasi
sesGod’
spr
esence.
Godiswithy
ou,evenifyouar
enotawareofi
t.

~43~
THEMES
 TheHol i
nessofNat ure–t hespeakercel ebrat
esthemaj esticandhol ybeaut yofNat ure.Hedescr ibes
Naturei nreverentterms.Thepoem ur gesanappr eciati
onfort hebeautyandpowerofNat ureandGod.
Thepoem ‘ t
akespl ace’ during“ holyti
me”–t hetimeofev eningpr ayer
s.Thespeaker ’slanguagepor t
rays
thewor l
dasadi vinecr eat i
oncapabl eofadmi ri
ngi t
sownhandi work.Humanbei ngsar eapar tofNat ure
andt huspar toftheDi v
ine.
 ChildhoodandFai th–t hespeakeraddr esseshi s“Dearchi l
d”di r
ectlywhenshedoesnotseem as
awest ruckashei s.Her easonst hatitisduet oherageandi nnocence.Chi l
drenar eal way sclosetoGod;
theymai ntainanat ural senseoff ait
handwonderatal l
times, sotheydonotr eactwi tht hesamesol emn
aweasadul t
sdo.So, heul ti
mat elystatesthatthroughherr eaction,herediscov erswhatchi ldrenfeel all
thet i
me.Herout war dlackofr everencedoesnotmeant hatshei sanylesshol yorpi ousorcapabl eof
reverence.Thespeakerst atescat egoricall
ythatchildrenaret hemosthol yandr everentofGod’ scr eatur
es
andwel oset hi
saswegr ow/ mature.Chi l
drenareper petuallyin“Abraham’ sbosom”–i nGod’ spresence.
(Abraham i sacent ralpat ri
archandpr ophet.)
 Thebeaut yofnaturer ev ealsGod.Wor dswor t
hbel i
ev esthesunseti ssobeaut i
ful becauseheav enis
presenti ntheskyatt hi
st ime.

TONE
 Amazed/awe/t
ranqui
l
li
ty
 respect

QUESTIONS
1. Describethemoodi nt heopeningl i
neoft hepoem.Usey ourownwords.
(2)
2. Whyi sthesimile“quietasanun”apar ti
cular
lyeff
ecti
vefigur
eofspeech?
(2)
3. Howcant heseahav e“ t
hegentlenessofheav en”onit?
(2)
4. Howandwhydoest hebeginni
ngofl i
ne6changet heatmosphere? (
3)
5. Whati sthepurposeoft hecapital l
ett
erin“Bei
ng”(li
ne6)? (
3)
6. Whati sthefuncti
onoft hedashi nl i
ne8? (
2)
7. Howdoest hetoneof“ Dearchil
d! ”dif
ferfr
om “Li
sten!
”?
(2)
8. Explai
nt hecompar i
sonusedi nt hemet aphor“Abr
aham’sbosom” . (
3)
9. Discusshowt hest r
ucture/
form oft hepoem supportsi
tscontent
s. (
3)

FERNHI
LL–DYLANTHOMAS

1 NowasIwasy oungandeasyundert heappl

eboughs
2 Abouttheli
lti
nghouseandhappyast hegrasswasgreen,
3 Thenightabov ethedinglest ar
r y,
4 Timel etmehai landcli
mb
5 Goldeninthehey daysofhi sey es,
6 Andhonour edamongwagonsIwaspr i
nceoftheapplet
owns
7 Andoncebel owat i
meIlordlyhadt hetr
eesandleav
es
8 Trailwit
hdai si
esandbar l
ey
9 Downt heriversofthewindf all
light.

10 AndasIwasgr eenandcar efree,f

amousamongt hebarns
11 Aboutthehappyy ardandsi ngingasthef
arm washome,
12 Inthesunt hati
sy oungonceonl y,
13 Timel etmepl ayandbe
14 Goldeninthemer cyofhismeans,
15 Andgreenandgol denIwashunt smanandherdsman,the
16 cal
ves
17 Sangtomyhor n,t
hef oxesont hehil
l
sbarkedcl
earandcold,
18 Andt hesabbat hrangslowly
~44~
 I
nthepebbl
esoft
hehol
yst
reams.
19
20 Al
lthesunl ongitwasr unning,itwasl ov
ely
,thehay
21 Fi
eldshighast hehouse, thetunesf r
om thechimneys,
itwas
22 ai
r
23 Andpl ayi
ng, l
ovelyandwat ery
24 Andf iregreenasgr ass.
25 Andni ghtl
yundert hesimplest ars
26 AsIrodet osleeptheowl swer ebear i
ngthefar
m away,
27 Al
lthemoonl ongIhear d,bl
essedamongst abl
es,t
henight
jar
s
Flyi
ngwi ththericks,andthehor ses
28 Flashingintot hedark.
29
30 Andthent oawake, andthef ar
m, l
i
keawander erwhite
31 Wit
hthedew, comeback, thecockonhi sshoulder
:itwasal
l
32 Shini
ng, itwasAdam andmai den,
33 Theskygat her edagai n
34 Andt hesungr ewr oundt hatv eryday.
35 Soitmusthav ebeenaf t
ert hebirthofthesimpleli
ght
36 I
nthef i
rst
, spinni
ngpl ace, thespel l
boundhorseswal ki
ng
warm
37 Outoft hewhi nny i
nggr eenst able
38 Ont ot hef i
eldsofpr aise.
39
40 Andhonour edamongf oxesandpheasantsbythegayhouse
41 Underthenewmadecl oudsandhappyast heheartwaslong,
42 Inthesunbor nov erandover,
43 Iranmyheedl essway s,
44 Mywi shesr acedthroughthehousehighhay
45 AndnothingIcar ed,atmyskybluetrades,
thatti
meal l
ows
I
nallhistunefulturni
ngsof ewandsuchmor ningsongs
Beforethechi l
drengreenandgolden
Followhim outofgr ace,

46 Nothi
ngIcar ed,inthelambwhi teday s,thatt
imewouldtake
47 me
48 Uptot heswallowt hr
ongedl oftbyt heshadowofmyhand,
49 Inthemoont hatisalway sr i
sing,
50 Nort hatridi
ngt osleep
51 Ishouldhearhi mf l
ywi t
ht hehi ghfiel
ds
52 Andwaket ot hefarmf oreverf l
edf r
om thechildl
essl
and.
53 OhasIwasy oungandeasyi nt hemer cyofhismeans,
54 Ti meheldmegr eenanddy ing
ThoughIsangi nmychai nsl i
ket hesea.

BACKGROUND
Dyl
anThomaswasborninWalesin1914.Hediedin1953.Hel
eftschoolattheageof16t
opur
sueal
i
ter
ary
car
eer
.Hewasfamousforhi
sorigi
nalandly
rical
poetr
yandradi
obr oadcast
s.

THETITLE
Thispoem speaksofthebeaut
yofanact
ualplacenamedFernHil
l,wher
eThomasspentt
imeasachi
l
d.I
tis
essent
ial
l
yar efl
ect
iononhishappyt
imesatthispl
ace.I
tiscer
tai
nlyanaut
obi
ogr
aphi
calpoem.

~45~
SUMMARY
Thespeakerr ef
lectsonandcel ebratesthejoyheexper i
encedduri
nghisy out
hinthecountr
yside.Herefl
ect
son
thefreedom hefeltandt hebeautythatsurroundedhi m.Itisanostal
gicpoem –thespeaker,onceaninnocent
chil
d,isawareofhi sl
ossofi nnocenceandf antasyfreedom.
In“FernHill
,
”Thomaspr esentsanidy l
li
cviewofchi ldhoodonaf ar
m, f
ill
edwithvi
vidi
magerywhi chpresent
sa
chil
d’sviewofthewor ld.Thi
siscont rast
edi nthefinalstanzaswit
htheregretoft
headultasher ecal
l
st hel
ossof
theinnocenceandspl endourofchildhood.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Thispoem consistsofsixstanzas,eachcompr i
singni
nelines.Thereisastri
ctsyll
abi
ccountineachl
i
newhichis
repeat
edi neachstanza:14,
14,9,6,
9,14,14,7,
9.
Despit
et hestr
ictsyl
labi
ccount /
rhythm, therei
snospeci f
icformt othi
spoem.Thepoem i ssong-
li
kei
nitsr
hythm.
Thepoem canbedi v
idedint
ot wopar ts:thefir
st3stanzasarer el
atedtothepoet’
sexperi
enceasachil
dandthe
l
ast3st anzasfocusont heawakeni ngint hechil
dwhichsignif
iesthelossofinnocence.

STANZA1
LI
NES1-2
NowasIwasy
oungandeasyundert
heappl
eboughs/Aboutt
hel
i
lti
nghouseandhappyast
hegr
asswasgr
een,

Now–Thespeakeri
s,asanadul
t,r
efl
ect
ingonhi
syout
h.

bough–br
anch

easy–car
efr
ee

l
i
lti
ng–si
ngi
ngmer
ri
ly

green–associ
atedwit
hyout
h,i
nnocence,
inexper
ienceandnai
vet
y,t
hechi
l
dhadnowor
ri
esandnocar
es,
hence
thefr
eedom hefel
t.

Thespeakerdescr
ibeshisbl
issf
uldel
ightwhenhewasachil
dwhoenjoyednatur
e.
Herecal
lshowheenj oy
edliv
inginthearmsofwil
dnatur
e,pl
ayi
ngundertheappl
etr
ees.

LI
NES3-4
Theni
ghtabov
ethedi
ngl
est
arr
y,/Ti
mel
etmehai
landcl
i
mb

di
ngl
e–v
all
eywi
thf
orest
s

st
arr
y–t
heni
ghtskywasf
il
ledwi
thst
ars.Hef
ocusesoni
tsbeaut
yashei
scapt
uredbyi
tschar
m.

Timeispersonifiedasaparentt
hatal
lowshimtodothi
ngs.Thereasonf
orthi
sfr
eedom andhappi
nessi
sthatt
he
chil
dwasnoty etworri
edaboutti
me.Timeisper
soni
fi
edasthefr
iendandal
l
yofachild,
unli
keadul
tswhoare
constant
lypressedandt or
mentedbytime.

LI
NE5-6
Gol
deni
nthehey
day
sofhi
sey
es,
/Andhonour
edamongwagonsIwaspr
inceoft
heappl
etowns

Gol
dhasconnot
ati
onsofweal
thandbeaut
yandAut
umn–l
eav
est
urni
ngandsunl
i
ghtandy
ell
owf
lower
s.
Gol
denal
sohasconnot
ati
onsofgl
ory.

heydays–Pr
ime/
bestday
s.Thesepr
eci
ouschi
l
dhoodday
sar
ethegol
dent
imesdur
ingwhi
cht
imewasmer
cif
ul
andkind.

honour
edamongwagons– hewashonouredbyal
lthei
nhabit
antsofthearea
Hewast he"
pri
nceoft
heappl
etowns"andthewor
ldoft
hatfarm washisdomini
on.

Met
aphor–compar
eshi
msel
ftoapr
ince.Themet
aphorcont
inuesi
nli
ne7.

LI
NES7- 9
Andoncebel
owat
imeIl
ordl
yhadt
het
reesandl
eav
es/Tr
ailwi
thdai
siesandbar
ley/Downt
her
iver
soft
he
windf
all
li
ght
.
~46~
Met
aphor–Compar
eshi
msel
ftoal
ord.Thi
spl
acemadehi
mfeel
li
ker
oyal
ty.

Wi
ndfal
l–anappl
ebl
owndownfr
om atr
eeoralar
geamountofmoneyar
ri
vi
ngunexpect
edl
y(f
ort
une/
luck)
.
Met
aphor–Li
ghti
scompar
edtoari
verf
il
ledwi
thr
iches.

Thelandscapearoundhi
mi sri
chwit
hfl
owers,
fiel
dsofbar
leyandr
iver
sofl
i
ght
.Iti
sindeedapar
adi
seandhef
elt
l
ikehewasapr inceandalordrul
i
ngthi
spar
adise.

STANZA2
LI
NES10-11
AndasIwasgr
eenandcar
efr
ee,
famousamongt
hebar
ns /Aboutt
hehappyy
ardandsi
ngi
ngast
hef
arm was
home,/

Hecontinuestorevi
sithishappychil
dhoodinaseri
esofflashbacks.Herecallshownaïve,i
nnocentand
i
nexperiencedhewast hen,butal
sohowhel iv
edwithoutanywor r
iesorcares.Asanadul t
,hethinkshewas
"
green"asachi l
d.Bei
ngnai veorgreenisasmall
costofbeinghappyandcar efr
ee.Unl
i
kechi l
dren,adul
tsar
ecar
e-
worn,unhappyandstruggledail
ytomakeendsmeet .

I
nst
eadofbei
ngf
amouswor l
d-wi
de,t
hechi
l
dwasfamousamongt
hebarnswher
eani
mal
sar
ekeptandr
ural
f
est
ivi
ti
eswer
ehel
d.
Hei
sfamousamongcount
rypeopl
eandheismast
eroft
heani
malwor
ld.

f
arm washome–hehadasenseofbel
ongi
ng.Al
so,
hewasobl
i
viousoft
headul
twor
ld.

LI
NES12-14
I
nthesunthati
syoungonceonl
y,/Ti
mel
etmepl
ayandbe/Gol
deni
nthemer
cyofhi
smeans,

t
hesunt
hati
syoungonceonl
y–Ti
mei
sper
soni
fi
ed.Wear
eal
latt
hemer
cyoft
imebecausewecannotst
opt
ime.

Andashewasyoung,hef
eltev
eryt
hingaroundhi
m wasjustasyoungincl
udi
ngthesununderwhichhepl
ayed
fr
eel
yandmerr
il
y.Theset
imesareagoldenandpreci
ousgiftt
hatTimegavehim outofi
tski
ndnessandmercy
.

LI
NES15-16
Andgreenandgol
denIwashunt
smanandher
dsman,
thecal
ves /Sangt
omyhor
n,t
hef
oxesont
hehi
l
lsbar
ked
cl
earandcold,

Metaphor–compareshimselft
oahunterandherdsman.Thechi
ldimagi
nest
hathewastheher
o.Someti
meshe
wasahuntsmanblowinghi
shor n,
goi
ngaf t
erwil
danimal
sandfoxesandhunt
ingt
hem t
hewayfi
rsthumanbei
ngs
di
d;othert
imeshewasaher dsman/shepherdt
endinghi
scat
tl
e.

LI
NES17-
18
Andt
hesabbat
hrangsl
owl
y/I
nthepebbl
esoft
hehol
yst
reams.

sabbat
h–Bibl
ical
all
usi
oncreat
esamoodofr
ever
ence(
deepr
espect
).
rang–ref
erst
ochurchbel
l
s.

pebbl
esofthehol
ystr
eams–I ti
sasiftheverystr
eamssingasongofpr aisetoGod(inthesoundoft
hewater
runni
ngovert
hepebbl
es)i
nthebeautyandgloryofthi
srur
alchi
ldhood.Hef el
tli
keworshippi
ngint
hetempl
eof
natur
eandthehol
yalt
arwasthewaterstr
eam whosepebblesnoisefel
tli
kehy mnsinhisears.

STANZA3
LI
NES19-21
Al
lthesunl
ongi
twasr
unni
ng,
itwasl
ovel
y,t
hehay/Fi
eldshi
ghast
hehouse,
thet
unesf
rom t
hechi
mney
s,i
twas
ai
r

Sun–repr
esentsthepassingoft
ime.Notetheunusualwor
dorderi
nl i
ne19whichcreat
esaper
soni
fi
cat
ion
Thechi
ldi
sstil
lspeaki
ng,gushi
ngonhispastmemor i
es.Heisst
il
lthatpl
ayi
ng,
innocentchi
l
dwhohasnocares
andnoworr
ies.Thelovel
ysunisnowrunningasautumndaysareshorter
.
~47~
Thehar
vestisdone.Thehaystacksst
andi
npi
l
esashi
ghashouse(
Simi
l
e).Thechi
mney
sdonotsendsmokeout
i
ntheai
r,butmusicthathel
iked.

LI
NES22-
24
Andpl
ayi
ng,
lov
elyandwat
ery/Andf
ir
egr
eenasgr
ass./Andni
ght
lyundert
hesi
mpl
est
ars

Hi
splay
ingi
sneveri
nter
rupt
edevenwhenhewasal
ldr
enchedi
nrai
nandt
heday
sar
ecol
d.Ev
ent
hef
ir
elooked
gr
eenhi
seyes,
li
kethegreengr
ass.

LI
NES25-27
AsIr
odetosleept
heowlswerebear
ingt
hef ar
m away,Al
lthemoonlongIhear
d,bl
essedamongst
abl
es,
the
ni
ght
jar
s/Flyi
ngwit
htheri
cks,andt
hehorses/Flashi
ngi
ntothedar
k.

Asthechil
ddri
ftsof
ftosl
eep,
hei
magi
nest
hatt
heent
ir
efar
miscar
ri
edawayi
nto‘
dreaml
and’
byt
heowl
swhose
cal
lishear
dintheni
ght.

Hehear dthesingi
ngofbirdsli
kethenight
jarswhichmadeofthestabl
et hei
rhomes.I
nthedarkness,t
hefar
mi s
nolessnoisythaninthedayandnol essbrightashecanseetheeyesofhorsesfl
ashi
nginthedarknessandhear
thesingi
ngandnoi sesofnightl
if
e.I
nshort, hefel
tbl
essed,
happyandfree.

TtheendofStanza3,t
hechi
ld'
ssy
mboli
csl
eependsinaf
lashi
ngli
ghtinthedar
k.Thi
sfl
ashi
sthel
i
ghtof
awarenessandsi
gnal
sthel
ossofpar
adi
se,
freedom,
andi
nnocentbl
iss.

STANZA4
LI
NES28-30
Andthentoawake,
andthefar
m,l
ikeawander
erwhi
te/Wi
tht
hedew,
comeback,
thecockonhi
sshoul
der
:itwas
al
l/Shini
ng,i
twasAdam andmai
den,/

And–i
ntr
oducesachange.Thewaki
ngchi
l
dinSt
anza4i
ssy
mbol
i
cofmat
uri
ty.

t
hef
arm,
li
keawander
erwhi
te–Per
soni
fi
cat
ion.Hewakesupt
othesoundoft
her
oost
ercr
owi
ng.

Wi
tht
hedew–t
imehaspassed.I
tisnowwi
nter
.Wi
nteri
ssy
mbol
i
coft
heendofhi
schi
l
dhoodandi
nnocence.

Shi
ning–t
hel
i
ghtoft
hemor
ningsunr
efl
ect
sof
fthedewhasset
tl
edont
hel
eav
esandgr
ound.

HefeelsthatTimehasbet
rayedhi
m.Thi
sbetr
ayal
isindicat
edbyt hepl
aci
ngofthecockonhi
sshoul
der.Acocki
s
anothernamef orar
oost
erandisanal
l
usiont
othebetrayalofJesusi
ntheChr
isti
anfai
th.Ar
oost
ercr
owswhen
Jesusisbetray
edintheBi
ble.

Therefer
encetoAdam andhismaidenref
erstot
heGardenofEdenandcr eati
onofMan.Hesuggest sthathi
sti
me
atFernHilli
scomparabl
etoAdam andEve’st
imeint
heGar denbefor
ethelossofinnocence.I
tisi
dyl
li
cand
beaut
ifulandfr
ee.Hewasv er
yhappyther
e.Theadul
tworldisnotascaref
reeasthatofchil
dhoodandthespeaker
exper
iencesasenseofregr
etandlossashemov esf
rom onetotheother.

LINES31-
33
Theskygather
edagai
n/Andt
hesungr
ewr
oundt
hatv
eryday
./Soi
tmusthav
ebeenaf
tert
hebi
rt
hoft
hesi
mpl
e
l
ight

Thesunr
isesupi
nthesky
.

sungr
ewr
ound–t
hesunwasshi
ningbr
ight
ly.

t
hatver
yday–her emember
sthi
sdayasi
twasofgr
eatsi
gni
fi
cancet
ohi
m.Al
sosy
mbol
i
cofhi
sgr
owi
ngup;
he
wasnolongerachi
ld.

t
hebi
rt
hoft
hesi
mpl
eli
ght–Bi
rt
hoft
hewor
ld/
thef
ir
stl
i
ghti
nEden.
~48~
LI
NES34-36
I
nthefi
rst
,spi
nni
ngplace,t
hespell
boundhor
seswalki
ngwar m/
Outoft
hewhinny
inggreenstabl
e/Ont ot
hefi
eldsofpr
aise.

spi
nni
ngpl
ace–TheEar
th

t
hewhi
nny
inggr
eenst
abl
e–Onomat
opoei
a–soundofhor
se.Br
ingst
hescenet
oli
fe.

Asthesunshines,
allcr
eatur
eswakeupt ogl
ori
fynatureandpr
aiseit
sbeautyandabundance.Thef
arm hor
ses
l
eavethei
rstabl
ewiththebir
thofli
ghtandgotothefiel
dstoj
ointherestoft
henat
uralworl
dinaprayerorhymn
addr
essedtothefarm.Thiscreat
esamoodofr ever
ence.

STANZA5
LI
NES37-38
Andhonouredamongf
oxesandpheasant
sbyt
hegayhouse/Undert
henewmadecl
oudsandhappyast
hehear
t
waslong,

Hefelthonoured/l
i
keroyal
ty
pheasants–al ar
gebirdwi
thar
oundedbodyandl
ongt
ail
,thatspendsal
otoft
imeont
hegr
oundandi
sof
ten
shotforsportandfood

Hefel
tasi
fthef
oxes,t
hepheasantsandotherani
malswer
ehisf
ri
endsandt
heyl
ovedhi
m andhonour
edhi
m as
t
heywander
edaroundthehappyandmerryhouseofFer
nHil
l.

Gay–happy
/pl
ayf
ul.Thehouseisper
soni
fi
edt
oref
lecthowt
hechi
l
dfel
taboutt
hehouse.I
twasl
i
vel
yandhappy
andf
il
ledwi
thmer
rimentandjoy
s.

new–t
hebi
rt
hoft
hewor
ld

LI
NES39-40
I
nthesunbornov
erandov
er,
/Ir
anmyheedl
essway
s,

Thespeakerrecall
swit
hasenseofregretandint
ensenost
algi
athathewas"int
hesunbor
nov
erandov er/Ir
an
myheedlessway s"whenhewasyoung.Headmi t hathewas“heedl
st ess”asachi
l
dandhowthef
arm gavehi
m
al
lthatheneededandmadehimf eelcomplet
e.

LINES41-43
Mywi shesracedt
hrought
hehousehi
ghhay/Andnot
hingIcar
ed,
atmyskybl
uet
rades,
thatt
imeal
l
ows/
Inal
lhi
s
tunef
ulturni
ngsofewandsuchmorni
ngsongs

Hi
swishesseem tobeful
fi
ll
edasquicklyasthest
acksofhaygr
ewhi
ghi
nthehouse.Thesunbat
hedhi
m wi
thi
ts
war
mthandlightandhefel
tfreel
ookingatthebl
uesky.

skybluetr
ades–acti
vi
ti
es.Hewast
oooccupi
edt
ocar
ethatt
imewaspassi
ngbyanddi
dnotr
eal
i
set
hathi
s
chi
ldhoodparadi
sewoul
dend.

Hef
eltt
imei
ski
ndandl
ovi
ngandhecoul
dheari
tsmor
ningmusi
candsi
ngi
ng.

LI
NES44-45
Bef
oret
hechil
drengr
eenandgol
den/
Fol
l
owhi
m outofgr
ace,

chi
ldr
engreenandgol
den–chi
ldr
enwhower est
il
l y
oungandnaï
ve.Theydi
dnothaveanyworryandwerein
complet
eharmonywit
hti
me.Thechi
l
d-speakert
alkspr
oudl
yandhappi
lyabouthi
sadvent
uresi
nFernHil
lfar
m.

gr
ace–indi
cat
esafallf
rom gr
aceori
nnocenceandsuggestshehasmovedfr
om astat
eofper
fectuni
ont
oan
awar
enessofr
eal
i
ty.Theembraceofr
eali
tybri
ngswit
hitregretandal
ossoff
reedom.

Fol
l
owhi
m –Thi
sissy
mbol
i
cofAdam andEv
eleav
ingEden.Hi
scar
efr
eewor
ldhasbeenl
eftbehi
nd.
~49~
STANZA6
LI
NES46-47
Nothi
ngIcar
ed,
int
hel
ambwhi
teday
s,t
hatt
imewoul
dtakeme/
Upt
otheswal
l
owt
hrongedl
oftbyt
heshadowof
myhand,

Thespeakerr
etur
nst
othepr
esent
.Thechi
l
dbecomesandadul
tandl
eav
esbehi
ndt
hei
nnocenceofhi
spast
.

Not
hingIcar
ed–emphasi
seshiscompletef
reedom i
nhischi
ldhood.
l
ambwhitedays–sy
mbolofinnocenceandpuri
ty.Emphasi
seshiscaref
reeat
ti
tudeasachi
l
d.

t
imewouldt
akeme–Ti mei
spersoni
fi
ed.Hei sawar
eofTimeeventhoughhei
sunawar
eofany
thi
ngel
se.Ti
me
i
sgui
dinghi
m andl
eadi
nghi
m unti
lhelosest
hecaref
reeat
ti
tudeoft
hechil
d.

Upt
otheswal
l
owt
hrongedl
oft–Ahi
ghpl
acef
ull
ofswal
l
ows(
bir
ds)
.

shadow–somet
hingnegat
ive/
unpl
easanti
sint
roduced.

LINES48-
51
I
nt hemoonthati
salwaysr
isi
ng,
/Northatr
idi
ngt
osl
eep/Ishoul
dhearhi
mfl
ywi
tht
hehi
ghf
iel
ds/Andwaket
o
thefar
mforeverf
ledf
rom t
hechi
ldl
essl
and.

Hef
eltt
hatal
lni
ght
sar
ebr
ightwi
tht
hemoon,
whi
chi
sal
way
sri
sing.

Northatri
dingt
osleep/Ishoul
dhearhimf l
ywiththehi
ghfiel
ds–Liter
all
y,ev
enwhenhei sgoinghomeaft
er
night
fal
l,
hecouldheart
heswallowsfl
yinghighovert
hefi
eldswhichareal
sohighastheysitonthehil
l.
Figur
ati
vely–Howhegoest osleepwit
houtworri
esandwithoutcar
es.All
hethinksofi
stowaitforthemor
ningso
thathewouldhaveanot
herplay
fulandjoyf
ulday.

Andwaket othef
armf or
ev erfl
ed–Mat ur
it
yandt he"
chai
ns"ofadul
thoodcameal lt
ooquicklyfort
hespeakerand
thespeakerl
amentsthelostdaysofhisyout
h.Heacceptsthatoncechildhoodi
slef
tbehindtherei
snogoi ng
backunlesst
hetoolofcreati
ngisused.Onlythencananindi
vi
dualtapintothej
oyandfreedom exper
iencedin
chil
dhoodandeventhen,thejoyisbr
ief
.

LINES52-54
OhasIwasy oungandeasyi
nthemer
cyofhi
smeans,
/Ti
mehel
dmegr
eenanddy
ing/ThoughIsangi
nmy
chainsl
i
kethesea.

Oh–Acryofr egret
,sorr
ow.
Thi
sist
heturningpointatwhichthechil
d-speakerdisappearsandadultst
epsi
ntotel
lusabouttheexperi
enceof
waki
ngupfrom thedream ofchil
dhoodmemor i
es:thef ar
mi slongercr
owdedwit
hthelaught
erandnoiseof
pl
ayi
ngchi
l
dr en.I
tbecomes" chil
dless"
;thati
s,barr
enandf al
l
ow.

Hest artstofeelt
hesti
ngoft i
meandnowt imeisl
ongerkindorgent le,butisleadinghi
mt otheendwhi cht
he
chil
dwasunawar eof.Deepinside,hefeel
sheissti
llt
hatgreen,naivechi l
d,yearni
ngtorel
ivehi
schildhood'
s
pleasures.Butheisnolongerthatchil
dashehasl osthi
sfreedom andi snowbur denedwithworr
iesandcares.
Timeandexper i
encehaveputhi minbonds(chai
ns)andhei stheirprisoner.Thesimil
e"li
kethesea"showsthe
vastnessofhi sf
eeli
ngs,butal
sot hedepthofhi
sdespair.

Thelight
ness,
easeandjoysoft
hedaysofinnocencearegoneforev
er,
andnevert
oretur
n.Inthei
rpl
ace,
the
speaker,
nowanadult,
isli
vi
ngthr
oughtheharshnessandhardshi
psoftheday
sofexperi
enceandawakeni
ng

Theuseoftheverb“sang”creat
eshope:
Thelossescanbecaptur
edthr
oughhismemor ies.Thegreenandgolden
j
oyofchi
ldhoodandt heshadowysorr
owofmat uri
tybecomet
hejoyofart(
poetry
).Inthismanner
, t
helosst
o
ti
meisnottot
al;i
tispossibl
etouseartt
orecaptur
ethehappi
nessofi
nnocentyouth.

THEMES
~50~
  Chil
dhoodj oyandi nnocence–t hispoem i sati tscor eacel ebrationofchi ldhood.Thespeakerwasa
happyandi nnocentchi l
dandpar tofahar moni ouswor ld.Childrenexper i
encet hespeci alnessand
harmonyoft hewor ldt hrought hei rf r
eedom and, paradoxi call
y, theirsecur i
ty.Theybel ievet hattheyar e
safetoexpl or eandexper iencej oy .Ther ear enosev erer estri
ctionsandr esponsi bili
tiesont hem.
 Harmonyandt heWonderofNat ure–Thespeaker ’
schi l
dhoodj oyi scloselyconnect edt opl ayi
ngout side.
Thepoem suggest st hatreal joycomesf r
om asenseofconnect ionwi t
ht henat ur alwor l
d.Tobey oung
andinnocenti st obeonewi thnat ure.Natur ei sapl acef i
ll
edwi thwonder , peaceandhar mony .Ast he
youngspeakerexpl or edt hel andscape, t
heper soni fi
edel ement sofNat ureseemedt obehi spl aymat es.
Thespeakerpl aysar oleint heenv i
ronmenthev i
sits-hei sbot hhunt erandshepher d.( Hei snotact uall
y
kil
l
ingani mal sher e. )Hi sjoyst emsf r
om thef actt hathei sapar tofnat ureandt hel andscape, r
athert han
apartfrom it.Adul tsar eincapabl eofaccessi ngt hesenseofpeaceandhar monyt hatcomesf rom bei ng
onewi thNat ur e.
 Time–t hroughoutt hepoem, timel oomsl ikeagodl i
kepr esence.Ti megr antsthespeakerabr i
efper iodof
chil
dhoodhappi ness.Howev er,timeal soensur est hatnot hingl astsforev erandt hatchi ldhoodj oyscomes
toanend.Ti mei sul timat elyanal l-power ful andunst oppabl efor cewi t
hul timatecont rol overhumans.
 Theendofchi ldhoodgr ace–t hepoem i mpl iest hatwhenchi ldrengr owup, theyl ostt he‘ grace’of
chil
dhoodandi tsj oy s.TheChr istianconceptofGr acei st oexper i
enceGod’ slov e.Fort hespeaker ,
chil
dhoodbestr epr esent ssuchanexper i
ence, andt heendofchi l
dhoodi st husapai nf ul,yetinevi
table, f
all
fr
om Gr ace.Ther efer encest ot heGar denofEdenpar all
elschi l
dhoodasaki nt ot heGar denofEden.As
peopleage, t
heyl oset heirGr ace, justl i
keAdam andEv el ostthei r
s.JustasAdam andEv ewer ekickedout
ofEden, thespeaker“ wakest ot hef armf orev erfledf rom t hechi ldl
essl and” .I
tisasi fonedayt hespeaker
wokeup, nol ongerachi l
d, andal lthehappi nesshasdi sappear edf rom thewor ld.
 Nostalgia–Thesenseofnost al giai sint
ensei nthepoem " FernHi l
l.
"Thel ongingt oret urntoast ateof
i
nnocenceandsecur ityisacommont hreadt hroughoutt heent irewor k.
 Regretassoci atedwi thgr owi ngup
 Thejoy sofchi l
dhood

TONE
 ref
lectiv
et onethroughoutthepoem.Heindi
catesthetransi
ti
onfrom chi
l
dt oadultaswell
ast he
i
nteractionswithTime.
 Thet oneisjoyful
/ferv
ent/emoti
onal
/ecst
ati
c/r
hapsodic:iti
sahymnofpr aisetoyouthandinnocence.
 I
nt hef i
nalstanzathetonechangestooneofmel ancholyatthel
ostandir
retri
evabl
edaysofchildhood.
 nostalgi
c

QUESTIONS
1. Whatdoest hespeakermeanby“ AsIrodetosl eeptheowlswer ebeari
ngthefar
m away”(l
i
ne24)?
(2)
2. Describethet onei nthefir
stfourstanzas. (2)
3. Wher eandhowdoest hetonealter?Explai
ny ouranswer. (3)
4. Whati sthesi gnif
icanceoft herefer
encestocol ours?
(3)
5. DiscusswhatThomassay saboutt imeinthispoem. (2)
6. Whatr eali
sationdoest hespeakerhaveinline51whenhesay s,“Andwaketothefar
mforeverf
led
from thechildlessland”? (2)
7. Howdoest hespeakersuggestt hebeautyandi nnocenceofthebeginni
ngoftheworldi
nstanza4?
(3)
8. Whatdoest hispoem suggestaboutThomas’ v
iewoft her
elationshi
pbetweenhumanki
ndandNat ur
e?
(2)

THESHI
PWRECK–EMI
LYDI
CKI
NSON

1 Glee!Thegreatst
ormisover!
2 Fourhaverecover
edtheland;
3 Fortygonedowntogether
4 I
ntot heboi
li
ngsand.
~51~
 5 Ri
ng,forthescantsalv
at i
on!
6 Tol
l,
forthebonniesouls,--
7 Nei
ghbourandf ri
endandbr i
degr
oom,
8 Spi
nningupont heshoals!

9 Howt heywil
ltel
ltheshi
pwreck
10 Whenwint
ershakesthedoor,
11 Ti
l
lthechi
ldr
enask, ‘
Butt
heforty
?
12 Di
dtheycomebacknomor e?’

13 Thenasil
encesuffusesthestory
,
14 Andasoftnessthetel
ler'
seye;
15 Andthechil
drennofurtherquest
ion,
16 Andonlyt
hewav esreply.

BACKGROUND
Emi lyDickensonwasbor ni
ntheUni tedSt at
esofAmer i
cain1830.Shedi edi n1886.Shewrotecloseto2000
poemsbut
only10wer epubli
shedinherli
feti
me.Shei sdeemedoneofAmer i
ca’
smosti mport
antandinfl
uenti
alpoet
s.
Ref erencestostormsandshipwrecksappeari nqui
teafewofEmi lyDickinson’
spoemsasshi pswerenotas
sturdyast heyaretoday,
andstorm war ningequipmentdidnotexist.
Thisi snotsurpri
singasnewsofshi pwrecks,acommonoccur rencei nthoseday s,
wouldhavereachedeventhose
l
ivingf arfr
om theocean.Al
so,classicalpoetryandli
ter
atur
eissteepedi nstori
esofshipwr
ecks–somewhi ch
Dickinsonher sel
fwouldhavereadorhear dasachil
d.

THETI
TLE
The–tel
l
sther
eadert
hatt
hispoem i
saboutaspeci
fi
cshipwreck.
Shi
pwr
eck–impli
esatr
agedy,
usual
lyinv
olv
ingt
helossofli
ves,gr
iefandmour
ningThi
sset
sthet
onef
ort
he
poem.

SUMMARY
Thispoem isaboutanactualshi
pwr eckinwhi
ch40peopl el ostthei
rli
ves.Thepoem cont
rast
sthejoyatthe
survi
valoffourpeopl
eandt hesorrowthat40peopledied.Itisthissor
row/losst
hatusthefocusofstanz
asthr
ee
andfour.Thetaleist
oldt
ochi l
drenonacol dwint
ernight.Thespeaker ’
ssor r
owiscl
earandtherei
snoempt y
cl
ichéoffer
edas“ onl
ythewav esreply”
.

FORM/ STRUCTURE
Thi
spoem has4st anzasof4li
neseach.I
tfol
lowsastri
ctrhymepat t
ern:abcbdefeghihj
kl
k.Iti
scloseinf
ormto
aball
adbutdoesnothav etheprer
equi
si
teref
rai
ncharact
eristi
cofthi
sf or
m.
Thefi
rsttwostanzasfocusontheposi
ti
venewsofthesurvivaloff
ourpeople.Thelastt
wostanzasfocusont
he
gri
efofthelossof40li
ves.

STANZA1
LI
NE1
Glee!Thegr
eatst
ormi
sov
er!

Glee!–Joyousmood.Therei
sr easont
obever
yhappy .Thi
sisemphasisedbythe!
Great–all
udestoater
ribl
estor
m.
Thegreatstor
misover!–conveysasenseofr
eli
ef.The!emphasi
sesthatthepeopl
ehav
esomet
hingt
ocel
ebr
ate.
T

Thef
ir
stl
i
nei
sir
oni
c.Whi
l
ethepeopl
ear
erel
i
evedt
hatt
hest
ormi
sov
er,
40peopl
edi
edasar
esul
toft
hisst
orm.

LI
NE2
Fourhav
erecov
eredt
hel
and;

Recover
ed–survi
ved.
Therewere4sur
viv
ors.Thi
ssmal
lnumberofsur
viv
orsi
mpl
i
est
hatt
her
ewer
eot
her
swhodi
dnotsur
viv
e.
~52~
r
ecov
eredt
hel
and–Theymadei
tbackt
oland/
shor
e.Theysur
viv
edt
heshi
pwr
eck.

LI
NE3
For
tygonedownt
oget
her

gonedown/Euphemism:died
toget
her–al
lthem dr
owned.

LI
NE4
I
ntot
heboi
l
ingsand.

The“boi
li
ngsand”impl
i
esav er
yroughsea,
wit
hhugewav esthatitseemedt
ochur
nupt
hesandatt
hebot
tom of
thesea.
Thisemphasi
sesthevi
olentnatur
eofthest
orm andshocksther eader.

Ther
eisacompl
etechangei
nthet
onet
othati
nli
ne1:
cel
ebr
ati
ont
urnst
ogr
ief
,mour
ning.

STANZA2
LI
NE5
Ri
ng,f
ort
hescantsal
vat
ion!

Ring–Theyri
ngthet
ownbel
ltodr
awt
heat
tent
ionoft
hepeopl
e.
Scant–ver
yfew

scantsal
vat
ion!–t
heyar
ethankf
ult
hatt
her
ewer
e4sur
viv
ors.The!emphasi
sest
hatv
eryf
ewsur
viv
ed.

I
talsoi
mpl
i
est
hatt
heycannotr
eal
l
ycel
ebr
atet
hosewhosur
viv
edbecausei
twi
l
lbet
aint
edbyt
hel
ossofsomany
ot
hers.

LI
NE6
Tol
l,
fort
hebonni
esoul
s,-

Toll–referstot
her i
ngingofthechur
chbel l
.Thisisafuneral
bel
lfort
hef
ortywhodrowned.Thi
sevokesthe
sound
ofabellringi
ngslowlyandrepeti
ti
vel
y,usual
lyasignthatsomeonehasdi
ed.Thiscont
rast
swithl
ine5:‘
Ring!
’
evokesthesoundofbel lsr
ingi
ngincelebr
ation

bonni
e–bel
oved

soul
s–emphasi
sest
hei
rdeat
h

Thedashaf
tersoul
spr
ovi
desadescr
ipt
ionofwhodi
ed.

LI
NE7
Nei
ghbourandf
ri
endandbr
idegr
oom,

Thi
smakesi tpersonal
–t hedeceasedweremembersoft
hecommuni
tywhowereknownt .Br
oal
l i
degr
oom
i
ncreasestheshockoftheirdeath.Hehadj
ustst
art
edanewl
if
e.Al
soimpl
iest
hathiswi
fewasoneoft
he
sur
vivors.Wecannotimagi nehergri
ef.

LI
NE8
Spi
nni
ngupont
heshoal
s!

shoals!–referstoaplacewher eseaisshall
ow.
Spinning–thepeopl earebei
ngt ossedaroundhelpl
essl
yintheshal l
owwat er
s.
Theironyisthattheydidnotdieinthemiddleoftheocean.Theywer ecl
osetotheshor
e.However,t
hepeopl e
hadnocont rolofthei
rmov ementbecauseoft heextr
emelyviolentst
orm andthemount
ainouswav
est hatsent
them Spinni
ng.
Thisemphasi sesthefat
eoft hosewhodr owned.Leavesonef eel
ingshocked.

STANZA3
~53~
LI
NE9
Howt
heywi
l
ltel
ltheshi
pwr
eck

Whatexpl
anat
ionwi
l
ltheygi
ve.

LI
NE10
Whenwi
ntershakest
hedoor
,

Winterisassociatedwi
thdeat
h.Liter
ally
,thepersoni
fi
cat
ionr
efer
sthedoorshaki
ngbecauseoft
hecol
dandwindy
condit
ions.Figurati
vel
y,t
hepersonif
icat
ionref
erstothedeat
hofthefor
typeopl
e;doori
ssymbol
icoft
hei
rli
fe.

LI
NE11
Ti
llt
hechi
l
drenask,
‘Butt
hef
ort
y?

Thei
nit
ial
cel
ebr
ati
ont
oof
fert
hanksf
ort
hesur
viv
aloft
hef
ourwi
l
lst
opwhenchi
l
drenst
artaski
ngquest
ions.

LI
NE12
Di
dtheycomebacknomor
e?’

Emphasisest
hatt
heycoul
dgiv
et hechi
l
drenasui
tabl
eexpl
anat
ion.Thedi
sbel
i
efoft
hechi
l
dreni
sev
identi
nthi
s
quest
ion:
Areyousuret
hatt
heywil
lnotr
eturn?

STANZA4
LI
NE13
Thenasi
l
encesuf
fusest
hest
ory
,

Whenthechi
ldr
enquesti
onedwhathadhappened,si
lencegraduall
yspr suf
ead( f
use)amongt
headul
tsast
hey
coul
dnotoff
eranyexpl
anati
ont
hatwouldhelpthechil
drencomet oter
mswitht
heirl
oss.
Ther
eisamournfult
oneatthel
ossofsomanyi nnocentpeople.

LI
NE14
Andasof
tnesst
het
ell
er'
sey
e;

Thi
scr
eat
esasombr
etoneast
hest
ory
tel
l
eri
sremi
ndedoft
hedeat
hsandhowt
heyhav
eal
ll
ostal
oveone.

LI
NE15
Andt
hechi
l
drennof
urt
herquest
ion,

Chil
drensensethediff
icul
tyoft
headul
ts.
nofurtherquest
ion–impliest
hatt
hechildr
enhaveunderst
oodthatthefor
tyhav
edi
ed.Thei
rsor
rowandgr
ief
causet hem
tostopaskingquest
ions.Thisemphasisesthepat
hos(senseofpit
y).

LI
NE16
Andonl
ythewav
esr
epl
y.

Thi
semphasi
sest
hesi
l
enceoft
headul
tsandt
hechi
l
dren.Ther
eisnoempt
ypl
ati
tude(
cli
chésay
ing)t
hatwi
l
l
off
ercomf
ort
.

THEMES
 Cont
rast
sev identthr
oughout:
o Joyv sGrief
o Cel ebrati
onv sMourning
o Sav edv sLost
o Livingv sDeath
 ther
esponset othelossofl
ife.

TONE
 Gri
ef
 Mourni
ng
 deat
h
~54~
  St
anza3and4:
sombr
emoodasf
ocusi
sont
hel
oss

QUESTI
ONS
1.Whati stheef fectoft heexclamat ionmar ksinlines1and5?Howdoest hiscontrastt
ot he
exclamat i
onmar kusedi nli
ne8? (3)
2.Whatar et het wor easonsf or“ glee”intheopeni nglines?
(2)
3.Explainwhat“ r
ecov eredthel and”means.
(2)
4.Crit
icall
ydi scusst heef f
ectiv
enessoft hei mager yin“Fort
ygonedownt ogether/
Intotheboili
ng
sand”. (3)
5.Whywoul d“ scantsalv ati
on”becel ebrated? (2)
6.Explainthet woway sinwhi cht hebellsringint hispoem.Quot einsupportofyouranswer .
(4)
7.Identi
fyandcommentont heef fecti
venessoft hef i
gureofspeechin“Whenwi ntershakesthe
door”. (3)
8.Howdoest hef inalst
anzaev okepat hos?
(3)
9.Discusst heef fecti
venessoft heal l
it
eration/sibilanceinli
ne13.
(2)

~55~
SUGGESTEDANSWERS

Sonnet130 Wi
l
li
am Shakespear
e

1. Expl ainhowt hest ruct ureandt oneoft hispoem al lowst hepoett oemphasi set hecent ralmessage.
(3)
(TheShakespear ean/ Elizabet hansonnetconsi stsof3quat rainsandr hy mingcoupl et.Thequat rains
del iverhi sexagger atedant i
-compl iment s, andt hecoupl etdr iveshomehi ssi ncer elove–hel ovesher
despi teheri mper fect ions.Thet onei nt hequat rains–sar cast ic/sar doni c/frank.Tonei ncoupl et–si ncer
e.
Lear nerMUSTment ionst ruct ureandt onei nbot h.)
2. Ar eShakespear e’sobser vationsi nt hequat rai
nscy nicalornot ?Expl ai ny ouranswer . (2)
(No–nomar k.Women, likemen, ar enotper fect.Hei snotcy nical,hei sr eal i
st i
c.Hel ov esher
despi tehershor tcomi ngs/ imper fect ions.Shei sr eal!)
3. Whoi st hespeakerr idiculingi nt hepoem?Whydoeshedot his?
(3)
(Her i
dicul est hePet rarchanpoet soft het imewhousedexagger ationst odescr ibet heirlov ers.He
pr ov est hatt hei deal isedwomandoesnotexi stANDmakesi tcleart hathi sbel ov eddoesnothav eto
beper fectf orhi mt ol ovehergenui nely .
)
4. Expl ainwhati smeantby :“Mymi st r
ess, whenshewal ks,treadsont hegr ound. ”
(2)
(Shei sREAL–shedoesnotf loatabov et hegr ound, asdescr ibedbyPet rarchansonnet s, shewal ks.
Shei shuman, notani deal i
sedandmy thicalgoddess. )
5. Ref ertol ine12.Commentont heef fectpacehasont hemeani ngoft hel i
ne. (3)
(Thepacesl owsdownwi t
hcommasandmonosy l
l
abi cwor ds.I tindicat est heheav ytreadi ng/
wal kingofhi smi stress’ gai t
.Shewal ksl ikeanor malper son, shedoesn’ tfl
oatl ikeagoddess. )
6. Showhowt hel astl i
necompl et eshi sar gument .Ref er,i
npar ticular, tot hewor d“ false”.
(2)
(Hedoesnotneedt omakef al se/ unt rue/ exagger atedcompar isonst oletherknowhel ov esher .
Ort ol oveher !)
7. Ident i
fyt hreesensor yi magesi nt hi spoem andhowt heyr elat et othecent ralt heme. (3)
(Sight–heseesherf eat ures; touch–her‘ wi r
y’hair; smell–herbr eat h; hear i
ng–herv oice.
Lear nersmustquot eandexpl ain.Al lrelat et othet hemeofheri mper fect i
onsmaki ngher‘ per fect’
i
nhi sey es.Shedoesnotf i
tt hemoul doft hei deal i
sedPet rar chanwoman.Shei sr eal)
8. Ident i
fyt het onei nl ines1- 12andhowt hiscont rastswi tht het onei nt hel astt wol i
nes.I st hisan
eff ect i
veshi ftint one?Just i
fyy ouranswer . (3)
Tonei n1- 12:sar doni c,sar cast ic, criti
cal .Lastt wol ines:sincer e,hear t
felt.Ef fect iveshif t–he
stat esv erycl ear lywhatshei sNOTandt hensay st hathel ov esherDESPI TEheri mper fections. )
9. Expl aint heuseof“ byheav en”i nl ine13.Whyhast hi sphrasebeeni ncl uded? (2)
(Itisar ef erencet oGod–heswear sbyt heAl mi ghtyt oprov ehi ssi ncer ity.
)

Thechi
l
dwhowasshotdead… I
ngr
idJonker

1. Commentont her eferenceto‘thechil

d’inthetit
leofthepoem.
(2)
(I
tev okesasy mpat het i
cresponse.Achi l
disv ul
nerableandhel plessagainstthear medsol di
ers.Itshowst he
crueltyandsensel essnessoft hisdeath–t hi
schilddidnotlivelongenought or eali
sehispotential.
)
2. Thet itl
ereferstot he‘ dead’chi
ld,yeti
nl i
ne1‘thechildisnotdead’ .Discussthecont radi
cti
on/ di
chotomy
byr eferri
ngtot her estofthepoem. (
3)
(Thecont r
adicti
on/ dichotomyleav esthereaderponder i
ng:howcant hechi l
dbebot hdeadand“ notdead” ?
Thespeakeri ntroducest heideat hatt
hechi l
disasy mbolofi nnocence/ hope/resist
ance.Noneoft helivesl ost
willbef orgott
en, ast heyare‘everywhere’
.Theywi l
lber emember edinhistor
yint hestruggl
ef orfreedom.
Thechi ldwi l
lalway sbepr esenttodr i
vethestruggleandul t
imat elyr
eapt herewar dsoffreedom byt ravell
ing
‘withoutapass’ .
)
~56~
3. Whatdoest heal t
eredrepet it
ionof“ Thechi ldli
ftshisf i
stsagai nsthismot her/father”r
evealaboutthe
generati
ongapt hatisreflectedi nrespondi ngtot helawsofapar t hei
d?
(2)
(Thechildi
sunhappywi ththepar ents’submi ssi
veat ti
tude–t heydi dnotfighthardenough.He( asa
synecdocheoft heyouth)wi llnowt akeupt hef i
ght,li
teral
ly.Thechi l
dseeksaqui ckandpossiblyviol
ent
soluti
ontotheendofApar t
hei dashe‘ lift
shisf i
sts’
; whereast hepr otest
sofhi sparentswouldhavebeen
mor epeacefulasprevious‘ generationswhoar eshout ingAf ri
ka’ campaignedagai nstApart
heidinthi
sway.
They outhi
sf i
ll
edwi t
hr ageatt heApar theidwor l
dt heyaref orcedt oinhabit,t
helegacyofprevi
ousgenerat
ions
who‘ al
lowed’mat t
erstor eacht hisintolerabl
epoi nt.Activeandpassi veresist
ance)

4. Howdoest hedi ct i
oni nst anzas1and2hi ghli
ghtt hedi ff
er encebet weenmot hersandf athers?
(3)
(Thei mageoft hemot herr eferst opai nandsuf feri
ng–t hey“ scream”andt heirscreamsofangui shar eheard
farandwi de.Thei mageoft hef atherr ef erstowar ri
or sandpr ide.Itr eferst o“ just
iceandbl ood”–t hecallt
o
armst or egai nt heirl ostpr ide.)
5. Commentont heef fectoft hedeni alsi nt hethirdst anza.
(2)
(Thef requentuseofdeni alsandnegat i
v esemphasi sesjusthowf requent lyt heseev ent soccur redduring
thosebr ut alyear sint hef ightf orf reedom.Ther eaderunder standst hatt her ear einnocentv ict
imsi nall
thesepl aces, andt hedeni als–i ndicativeofof fi
cialdom –comeacr ossasbl atantl i
es.)
6. Criticallycommenthowt hei mager yusedi nl i
nes20- 23cont ributest othemood.
(3)
(Thechi ldpl ayingi nt hesuncr eatesacar efreemoodwi thoutt hev iolenceof‘ bull
ets’ and‘ r
if
les’and‘batons’
.
‘
Tr eks’ and‘ trav els’suggestf reedom andnomor er estri
ctionsandconf i
nement sof‘ pass’ l
aws.Thei mageof
a‘giant ’showt hatt hechi ldisnowgr ownandhasembr acedhi spot ential.Thi scont ributestoamoodofhope,
opt i
mi sm andconf idence. )
7. Discusst heef fect i
venessoft hel ast ,
shor tl
ineoft hepoem. (2)
(Theconcl udingi magei spar ticularlypoi gnantbecausei treflectsachi l
dwhodi dnotwantanypar tofthe
violencehegr ewupi nbuti nst eadwant edt ofoll
owi nnocentpur suits.Hewant edt heoppor t
uni t
ytobecomean
i
ndependentadul twi thnor est ri
ctionsonwher ehecoul dgo.Thepassbooki mpl i
esr estricti
onsand
oppr essi on.)
8. Dur i
ngt hePar l
iament aryaddr ess, Nel sonMandel acomment edt hat“ i
nt hemi dstofdespai r,Jonker
celebr atedhope. ”Doest hispoem cel ebr atehope?Di scussy ouranswerbr iefly.
(3)
(Jonkerr emai neddesper at elyhopef ulofabet t
erf uture.Thel astl inei mpl iesaf uturewi thoutr estr
ict
ions.
Ther epet it
ionof“ Notdead”i mpl i
eshopeandopt i
mi sm.AVA)
9. “Thechi ld”isr epeat edt ent i
mesi nt hepoem.Howdoest hisr epetitionaddmeani ngt othepoem?
(2)
(Ther epet i
tionemphasi sest heageandi nnocenceoft hechi ld.Theef fecti st ohighlightt henumberof
i
nnocentpeopl ewhower eki lledi nt hef i
ghtagai nstApar theid. )

AtaFuner
al Denni
sBr
utus

1. Towhatdoes“ pageant ry
”r eferinli
ne1?Di scusst heef fecti
venessoft hischoi ceofwor d.
(2)
(Pageant ryr eferst oaspl endi dscenef il
ledwi thcol oursandcost umes, mov ementandsound.I tisan
effect
ivechoi ceofwor difoneconsi derst hatthepoetf eelsthatthisfuner alisalljustfor“show”.
)
2. Whatdot hewor ds“ Black, greenandgol d”suggest ?Howdoest hisshiftther eadingoft hepoem?
(2)
(Thesear et hecol our soft heANCandmakest her eaderseet hepoem i napol it
icalli
ght.Thepoem i sboth
personalandpol i
tical.)
3. Whywoul dt hegr av esbeexpect antof‘
et ernit
y’(l
ine2) ?
(2)
(Thegr av esar e‘ waiting’f ort hedeadbodi eswhowi l
lbebur iedandst ayther ef orever.
)
4. Explai
nt her eferencet o“ hope”asi tisusedi nline6. (
2)
(Hopesf ort hef uture–t hef ulf
il
mentofl ifebyVal encia.Coul dal
sosuggestasenseofhopel essness–“ what
wasal loft hisfor?”Thepoetspeaksof“ ourhopes”–i nclusiveofther eader .)
5. Whatar e“ carri
onbooksofbi rt
h”? (
2)
(Passbookscar r
iedbyal lnon- whitepeopl e.Carri
on( meat /
deadbei ng)-ref erstot hepeopl enotactual
lybeing
~57~
 dead, butdead- li
keduet ooppr ession.)
6. Commentont het onein“Ar i
se!”and“ Salute!”
.
(3)
7. Whydoest hespeakercal l onthereadert o“ponder ”(
li
ne5) ? (
2)
(Thespeakeraskst hereadert ocont empl atetheimpl i
cati
onsoft hisfuneral,anddeathingener al.He
encour agest her eadertolookf urt
hert hant he‘showcase’/display.)
8. Whati st hedi f
ferencebet ween“ Death”and“ death’shead”andwhyi s“scythesourgr ound”thenan
appropr i
at emet aphor? (
3)
(Deathi sper sonifi
ed–i tisthemor talendofl i
fe.Deathisof tenpor tr
ayedasacl oakedskeletoncar r
y i
ngas
cythe–t hecut ti
ngofl i
fe.Adeat h’
sheadi saskul l.Hereisref er
st othety r
annyofasy stem thatcutsdownthe
l
ivesofbl ackpeopl e.So‘scythes’isanef f
ectivemet aphor.
)
9. Discusst hepuni nthewor d“ pl
ots”inline11.
(3)
(I
tcanbeav erb–t oplotistomakeasecr etplantodest r
oysomeoneorsomet hing.Inthi
scont extthe
polit
icalsy st
em makespl anst ocont ainthebl ackpeoplein‘nar rowcel l
s’.Thesecoul dbeprisoncel l
sor
graves.Pl otscoul dalsorefertolit
eralgr aves.)

~58~
10.Describet hetonei nandt heef fectivenessoft hel
astl i
neoft hepoem.
(3)
(Iti
sacommandi ng/ def
iantt one.Hest atesthati
tisbet tertodiethant o“li
edown”–t osubmi ttooppressiv e
power s.Heencour agest her eader /hispeopl etofightagainstoppr ession.Iti
sf orcef
ulandhonestconcl usion
inresponset othef uneralofVal encia.)
11.Howdoest her eaderknowt hatt hispoem i smor et hanat ri
butetoVal enciaMaj ombozi?Discusst he
effect
iv enessoft hisaddedmessage/ theme.
(3)
(Therei sadef initemour ningf ort hi
sspeci fi
cindi
vidual,butthespeakerencour agesthereadertot hi
nkbey ond
that.Headdr essest heconceptofdeat hi ngeneralandt hewast eofl i
feifal i
feiscutshort,
beforeaper son
reachedf ul
lpot ential.Heal sousest hesecondst anzaasa“ cal
ltoar ms”ofsor ts.Hestatesthatitisbett
ert o
diethant osubmi tt ot hepower sofoppr essi
on.)

Poem ofRet
urn Jof
reRocha

1. Whydoest hespeakernotwantf lower suponhi sr eturn?

(3)
(Flower sar esuper fi
cial .Hedoesnotwantsuper ficialthings, hewant semot ion.Heal sodoesnotbel i
ev e
himsel ftobeher owhodeser vesf lower soraccol adesuponhi sr eturn.Hef ledandl ef ttheot herst of i
ght .)
2. Whatdoest hespeakerwanti nst eadoff l
ower s?Why ?
(3)
(Hewant st ear s,hunger ,int imacy ,mour ningandsl eeplessness.Fl ower sar egener allycel ebratory,andt hisis
def i
nitelynotat i
mef orcel ebr ation.Hewant s, i
nst ead, anacknowl edgementofsuf fering.Hi sreturni s
i
ndi cative
ofsomet hi ngmuchbi ggert hanj usthi msel f.
)
3. Commentont hedescr iptionoft hespeaker ’
s“ hostcount ry”ast he“ l
andofexi l
eandsi lence”. (2)
(exile–hef l
edt her et oescapef rom oppr ession; silence–per hapshedi dnotspeakt henewcount r y
’s
l
anguage.
Hecoul dal sohav ebeenal onet her e/i solated/unhappy/nocommuni cati
onwi thhomecount r
yorhi speopl e.)
4. Ident i
fyandcommentont heef f
ect i
venessoft hef i
gur eofspeechi n“ t
ear sofdawns” .
(3)
(Per sonificat i
on–ev ent he“ dawn”i scr yi
ng.Ev enNat urei supsetatt heat roci t
iescommi tt
edbypeopl e.)
5. Whyar ethemot her s“ ber ef tofsons”( li
ne8) ?
(2)
(Duet othepol i
ti
calst ri
f eoft het ime, manyy oungmen( thesons)wer ei mpr i
sonedorki l
led.Somey oungmen
alsowenti nt oexile.Somemot her sal socoul dn’ thav esonsbecauset hei rhusbands/ par t
nerswer eki l
ledor
i
mpr isoned.Thusmot her swer edeni edt hepr esenceofsons. )
6. Commentont hef igur ativei nt erpr etationoft he“ day -
break”i nline12.
(2)
(Thebr i
nkofchange–t henewdaysy mboliseshi shopet hatt hingswi llchange/t heywi llgetjustice/f reedom.
Itcoul dref ert othosewhodi edsoshor t
lybef or et heoppr essi onended. )
7. Commentont heef f
ect ivenessoft heanaphor a( “WhenIr eturn…” ). (3)
(Thet i
tl
ei sechoedi nt heanaphor a, “WhenIr etur n” .Thisemphasi sest hecont extofani ndivi
dualwhopr obabl y
hadbeenf orcedt ofleehi shomecount r
yandhadt ol i
vei naf or eigncount ryf orawhi l
e.Thi semphasi sest he
prospectofcomi nghomeandhi sant i
cipationatt hewel comehewoul dget .I tiscleart hatthespeakerf eel s
guiltyabouthav i
nggonei nt oexi lewhi lsthiscompat ri
otsf oughtt heoppr essiv esy stem. )
8. Discusst hechangei nt onef rom st anza2t o3.Quot einsuppor tofy ouranswer .
(3)
(Inst anza2t herei sat oneofl ongi ngandy ear ning–t hegr iefisi mmense.Hecr iesoutf orthehomel andt o
meethi m wi th‘real’emot i
ons, notf l
ower s,not hingsuper ficial.Int he3rdst anzat het oneshi f
tst oangerand
bitterness.Al thoughhei shappyt obehome, her ealisest heenor moussacr ificemadebysomei nthest ruggle
forl i
berat i
on. )
9. Howdoest hel astst anzasuccessf ullyconv eyt hespeaker ’
sint ent ion?
(3)
(Clev erl
ychosendi ction–“ anger ”and“ snaking”–i mpliest hatal thought hespeakeri shappyt obehome, he
stil
lcar ri
esanenor mousamountofangerandr esent mentt owar dst heiroppr essor s.Hei sdef i
nitelynot
forgiv i
ng.
Heseeksanddemandsj ust icef oral lthosewhower escar r
ed/ killedi nthef ightf orf reedom.“ Snaki ng”al ludes
tosomet hingdanger ousandpoi sonous–hewi llexposet heat roci ti
esandgetj ust i
cef orall
.Ther ei sdef i
nitely
an
omi noust one. )
~59~
Tal
ktot
hePeachTr
ee Si
phoSepaml
a

1. Explai
nt heunderl
yi
ngmeani ngoftheactions/inst
ruct
ionsinli
nes1-6.
(2)
(Al
thought heli
ter
alact
ionsarequiteabsurd,theunderlyi
ngmessageisseri
ous:whatdoyouknowaboutus?
Duri
ngApar t
hei
dtherewasl i
tt
leornooppor tunit
ytounderstandorcommunicat
ewi t
hpeopl
efrom ot
herr
aces.
Onegr oupofpeoplewasal wayssuperi
orandhada‘ voice’
,whil
stt
heotherhadtoremai
nsil
ent.
)

~60~
2. Whywoul dswal l
owsbeagoodsour ceofi nf ormat ionabout‘ ot hercount ries’?
(2)
(Swal lowsmi gr atef ort hesummer .Theywoul dbeabl et o‘talk’ aboutt heot hercount ri
es. )
3. Discusswhatt hespeakeri ssay ingi nstanz a4.
(3)
(Hest atest hat‘ wor dshav el ostt hei rmeani ng’ –t hi
smeanst hatt alkinghasbecomeusel ess.
‘
Mi susednot ations’ referst ocommuni cationt ool swhi chhav ebecomesowar pedthatt heiror iginalint enti
ons
hav ebecomel ost .Wor dshav eliter all
ylostt hei rmeani ng.Languagehasbeent wist
edandusedt oconv eyli
es,
propagandaandcannotbet rust ed. )
4. Discusst heconnot at i
onsoft hewor d“whi ning”( li
ne10) .
(2)
(‘
Whi ning’ hasnegat iveconnot at i
onsofhi gh- pitchedcompl aini ng.Thi swoul dbeunpl easant .
)
5. Whydoest hespeakerdescr ibet heheatas“ par al ysing”and“ mer cil
ess”( stanza6) ?
(2)
(paral ysing–i mpl iest hatt heoppr ession( theheat )r ender saper sonunabl et odoany thing.‘mer cil
ess’
i
mpl i
esexact lyt hat–noempat hy /mer cy/compassi onf ort heoppr essedpeopl e.)
6. Althoughsi mi l
ari nst ylet ost anzas1- 3,howdol ines11- 14di ff eri ntoneandi ntentfrom l i
nes1- 6?
(3)
(Stanzas1- 3wer elight -hear tedandhumor ousi nt heirabsur dity .Lines11- 14i sany t
hingbuthumor ous.The
heati s‘ mer ciless’ whi chal ludest ot heoppr essi onf acedbyBl ackpeopl edur ingApar theid.Thet onei shar sh
andunf orgiving.Thewor ds‘ rubbi shheap’ and‘ stench’ impl iest heat t i
tudet owar dsblackpeopl e.Thet onei s
serious
andt hei ntent i
oni st hedescr ibet her eal
ityoft hesi tuationf orbl ackpeopl eunderwhi teoppr ession. )
7. Discusswhyt hespeakerchoosest o“ t
alktot hepeacht ree” .Consi dert heot her‘thi
ngs’ orconcept shet alk
t oint hepoem. (3)
(Thepeacht reei sr oot edi naper manentpl acei nt hegar den, unl i
ket heot heri t
ems/ thingshepr oposedwi th
whi cht ohav eaconv ersat i
on.Thet reewi l
lt ellhi m howi tfeel st ober oot edandf rui
tfulinapl acey oucancal l
y ourown.Theconnot at i
onofr oot edi sper manenceandf r
ui tfuli mpl iespr oduct i
veandsuccessf ul.)
8. Ident i
fyandcommentont het onei nthelastst anza. (3)
(Thet onecoul dbeoneofr elief–f orsol ongt her ehasbeennocommuni cat i
on.Nowt hespeakerl ooks
forwar d
toaconv er sationbet weent het wopar ti
es.Thi sconv ersat i
on, albei twi tht hedev i
lhimsel f,islongov er dueand
needst ohappent of acili
tatechange.Thespeakeri mpl or est her eadert ohav et heneededconv ersation. )
9. Whoi sthe‘ dev il’int hel astst anza? (1)
(Oppr essor s/Apar theidSy stem)
10.Howi sther egist eroft hepoem appr opriateandef fectivei ndel iver i
ngi tsmessage?
(2)
(Thecol loqui alr egist eri sli
ght erandl essdemandi ngt hanf or malr egi ster.I tgivesthepoem at onemuchl i
ke
acasualconv er sat ion.Thepoetaddr essest her eaderdi rect l
yandengagest hem wi tht hepr onouns“ us”i n
“Let’s”.Sepaml a’ sst y l
eofcr iticism i ssubt leandaccessi blet oal lreader s.Themessagei sclear l
yt hatdecent
conv er sationsneedt ohappenbet weenwhi teandbl ackpeopl eandt hatal lshoul dbet reat edf airlyandequal l
y.
Peopl emustseeal lt hingsf rom BOTHper spect i
v es.)

Pr
ayert
oMasks Léopol
dSédarSenghor

1. Briefl
yexplai
nt heconnot ati
onsoft hewor ds“ Pray er”and“ masks”asusedi nthetitl
e.
(3)
(prayers–appealt oahi gherpower/ancest ors–posi t
iveconnot ation.‘masks’–t raditi
onalmasksasworni
n
Africancult
ure/t ohider ealemot i
ons/hi det ruei ntentions.Thet it
leimpl i
esa‘ t
hanky ou’t
othosewhohave
beenwear ingthemasksandt othemaskst hemsel v esforbeingabl et ohidetruefeelings.)
2. Whydoest hespeakergr eett hemasks“ insi l
ence” ? (2)
(Wor dsareunnecessar yi nt hi
sinstance–asl i
ghtgest urewillsuffi
ce. )
3. Whydoest hespeakeruset hef i
rstperson“ I”
?
(2)
(I
taddsaper sonal,i
ntimat eandsi ncereel ementt ot hepoem.I tissubj ect
ive.
)
4. Howcoul danancest orbe“ li
onheaded”( l
ine4) ?
(2)
(Thiscouldrefertoat radi t
ionalAfri
canmaski nt heshapeofal ion’sdead.I tcoul
dal sobesy mboli
cof
strength,
bol dnessandbr avery.TheSenegal esenat ionalant hem isalsoent it
led“ TheRedLi on” .
)
5. Discussthechoi ceindi ctioninmet aphor“ altarofwhi tepaper ”(l
ine8) .
~61~
 (3)
(whit
epapercouldrefert
obur eaucracy–ittakesanimmenseamountofpaper wor
ktocreat
elaws/setup
poli
ti
calal
li
ancesetc.The‘al
tar’suggest
sthatsomet hingisbei
ngworshipped/
prai
sed.
)
6. I
dentif
ythetonein“Inthenameofy ouri
mage, li
stentome! ” (
1)
(Apleadi
ng,desper
atetone.Orar espect
fulcommandf il
l
edwi t
haut
horit
y .
)

~62~
7. Whatdoest hespeakermeanwhenhest atest hatEur opeandAf ricaar e“ connect edt hrought henav el
”?
(3)
(Thi simager emi ndst her eaderoft heconnect ionofAf r
icat oEur ope, muchl i
keababyi sconnect edtoits
mot herv i
at heumbi l
icalcor d–nour i
shment ,bloodf lowet c.Thecol onialpower si nEur opewer ereferr
edt oas
the‘ mot hercount ry’.Howev er,t
hi sconnect i
oni sanegat iveone–Eur opecol oni sedmanycount r
iesinAf r
ica.
Ther ewasmassexpl oitationofpeopl e,resour cesandl and.Gr eedandcor rupt i
onbyt hecol onisersleftAfri
ca
damaged.Thesev eringoft heconnect i
oni snecessar ybutdi ff
icult.Col oni ser swoul dnotwantt osev erthi
s
connect i
on–t hent heyl oset heirweal th/resour ces/land/ l
abourf orceet c.)
8. Ident i
fythef igureofspeechandexpl aint heef fecti
venesst hereofi nt hephr ase“ rebirthoft hewor ld”
(li
ne14) . (
3)
(Per sonifi
cat i
on–nowt hatt hecol onisershav eleft/hav enomor epowerov ert hecount ry,ithast hechance
tober ebor n,tost artaf resh.I tcannowcr eatei tsowngov ernment/f uture. )
9. Howhast hewor l
d“ diedofmachi nesandcannons” ? (
2)
(Ourov er-
relianceont echnol ogyandmachi neryhascausedt hespi r i
tualsoult owi theranddi e.Thewor ldhas
losti tsabi l
itytof eeldeepl yandgi veexpr essiont ojoy .)
10.Ist hereanyopt imi sm i nthi spoem?Quot einsuppor tofy ouranswer .
(2)
(“wor ldthathasdi ed”–showst hatt heol dreal i
tyisgone/ dead.Ther ei sasembl anceofhope( “
tornhope” )
despi tethedamage, destruct ionandv iolence.)
12.Di scusst heef fectivenessoft helastt wol inesoft hepoem asaconcl usi on.
(3)
(Thesel i
nesar eemphat icandst ronglyconnect edt ot heear th.Thepeopl ear ei nv olvedi nat radit
ionaldance
andt heyappearst rongandr esi
lient.Thi sdancesy mbol i
sest heirnew- f
oundf reedom andhowt heywi l
lregain
t heiridentityandt akepr i
dei nthei rculture.Theywi l
lshar et hiscul tureandpr i
dewi thther estoft hewor l
d.)

Thi
sWi
nterComi
ng Kar
enPr
ess

1. Commentont hepoet ’schoi ceoft hewor d“ thick”inl ine1. (2)

(Thiswor dr elatest ot her ain–i tist hick, likeabl anket .Text ur ed.Av eryheav yr ai
n. )
2. Howdoesl ine2cr eat eanomi noust one?Ref ertot heext endedmet aphori ny ouranswer .
(3)
(Thisfigur ativewi nt er–oppr ession–wi llonl ygetwor se–“ onl yj ustent ered”.Thi ngswi l
lgetfarwor sebef ore
theygetbet ter.Ther ei sanal l
usiont opossi blev iol
ence/upr isingagai nstt heoppr ession.)
3. Whoi st hespeakeraddr essi ngi nl ine3?Whati st heef fectoft hisaddr ess?
(2)
(Allr
eader s, i
nf act , allSout hAf ricans.Al lpeopl eshoul dbeaf raidt ooft heResi stance.Ther ewillbev iolence
i
nr esponset ooppr essi on. )
4. Howi sasenseofv iolencepor tray edi nl i
nes4- 5? (2)
(Theseai sdescr ibedas‘ swol l
en, churni ngi nbr okenwav es”–t hisisadest r
uct i
veocean, notapeacef uland
sereneocean.I tisadanger ouspl acet obe. )
5. Commentont hei ncl usionoft hewor d“ shr oud”i nl i
ne7. (2)
(Ashr oudi sacl ot ht raditional l
yusedt ocov erdeadbodi esi npr epar ationf oraf uneral.Thewor di ntensi fi
es
thefeelingsoff ear , angerandhel plessnessi nt hef aceoft heweat hercondi t
ions.Thi sr ainandcol dcanki ll
thoseunpr ot ect edf rom i t
.)
6. Suggestar easonwhypeopl ewoul df earwi nt er?Ref ert ot hel iteral andf i
gur ativemeani ngsoft hewor d.
(3)
(Homel esspeopl eorpeopl el ivi
ngi nshackswoul df earwi nterbecauset heyar eexposedt ot heelement sall
thetime.I ti scol dandwet .Theycanf allillandpossi blydi e.Thi si st hel iteralinterpretation.Thef igur ative
elementcompar eswi ntert oat i
meofpol iticalandsoci alhar dshi pi nSout hAf r
ica.Thosel eftunpr otect ed
(non-whi tes)wi llbeexposedt ohar dshipandpossi blydeat h.)
7. Identi
fyandexpl ai nt hef igur eofspeechi n“ thesewomenar eat ideofsadness” .
(3)
(Metaphor–t heamountofsadnessi fsogr eatt hatifi twer einl iquidf orm, itwoul dmakeupasea.I twoul d
drownany thingi nitspat h. )
8. Explaintheef f
ect i
v enessoft hemet aphor ,“tombst ones/ engr av edwi t
hopeney es”.
(2)
(Thest i
llnessoft hemeni ssucht hatt heyseemedt obecar vedf rom st one.Theyhav ebecomesohar dened
thattheyseem dead, i
fitwer enotf ort heopeney es.Theyl ookdeadbutar eal ive.
)
9. Howdoest her eact ionoft hechi ldr ent ot her ai
ndi fferf rom t headul ts?
(2)
(Theadul tsar ef ear f ul.Thechi ldrenr unwi ldl y,theyar eact iveandal i
v e.Theyuseaf ir
et owar mt hemsel ves,
~63~
 becauset heyaresot hin.Heretherai
ni spositi
ve–i tisnegat i
v ei
nther estofthepoem. )
10.Towhatdoest he“ragingf i
reofdeadchi l
dren”(l
ine27)r efer
?
(3)
(Thisseemst orefertot hechil
drenwhodi edinv i
olentupr i
sings(li
keShar pevi
ll
e, Sowetoetc.
).Theword
‘
raging’suggeststhepassi onofthechildrenandt heuglinessoft hesystem oppr essi
ngthem.Chi l
drendied
whent ryi
ngtobr i
ngaboutchangedur i
ngt heApar thei
der a.)
11.Discusshowt he“sky”haschangedt hroughoutthepoem.Whati st
hei mpl i
cat
ionofi ti
nli
ne28?
(3)
(Raincomesf rom theskyandi snow“ collapsi
ngundercent uriesofrai
n” .Atfi
rsttheskyisjustthat–asky .
I
tt henint
ensif
iestoasky“ tol
li
ngli
keabl ackbell”andi nthef i
nalstanzai ti
sfall
ing.TheApar t
heidsyst
em
hasbecomeunbear able.Thet i
mef orchangehasar ri
ved.BUTt hi
ngsar egoingtogetwor sebef oret
heyget
better
.)

12.Commentont heeffect
ivenessoftheanaphor a( “
whoi snotfr
ightened?”
)inthepoem.
(2)
(I
ncludesallreadersandSout hAfr
icans.Itservesasanemphasi sedwar ni
ngtotheoppr
essors–ar ev
olution
i
scomi ng.Thingshavetochange.Remember–t hispoem waspr i
ntedin1986.)
13.Thelastt woli
nesoft hepoem breaksthe‘ patt
ern’oftherestofthepoem.Whydi dt
hepoetwrit
etheselines
dif
ferentl
ytot heanaphoraintherestofthepoem? (
3)
(Atfi
rsttheanaphor awasonel i
ne.Nowi ti sextendedovertwol i
nes.Thisaddstothei
deathatthe‘
winter’i
s
aboutthear r
ive.I
tisomi nous.I
tactsasawar ningofwhati stocome. )

Sol
i
tude El
l
aWheel
erWi
l
cox

1. Commentont heper sonifi

cat i
oni nst anza1.
(3)
(thewor ld‘ l
aughs’ –wheny ouar ehappyt hewor l
dar oundy oui shappy .Theear thalso“ borrows”mi rt
h–j oy
/
humour–t herear eenoughsadnesses/ problems.Thehi ll
s“ answer ”yourhappi ness–l i
terall
yanechoand
figur ativelyl iket heear th“laughi ng”wi t
hy ou.NOTATYOU!Theechoes“ shr
ink”backf r
om i ssues/ problems/
wor ri
es. )
2. Descr i
bet her eact i
onoft he‘ echoes’ (
line7)t ot hepr ompt sgi ven.
(2)
(Inr eact iont othe‘ joy fulsound’ theechoeswi l
lrepeatt hesoundeager ly.Howev er,therewi l
lbenor eact i
onis
the
soundi snothappy–expr essionof‘ car e’,concernorwor ry .
)
3. Whatdoes“ shrink”meanasusedi nl i
ne8? (2)
(pul lback–t hewor l
dwi l
lnotshar ey ourpr oblems/ issues/ cares.)
4. Suggestapossi bl
eexampl eof“ life’sgal l
”. (2)
(sadness, pov erty,lonel i
ness–al lthingst hatmakeusbi tter.)
5. Whydoest hespeakersuggestt hat“ pai n”istravell
edt hrough“ narrowai sl
es”?
(2)
(Nar rowai slesar econf i
ned–notenoughspacef ormor et hanoneper sonatat ime.Whenwesuf f
er,wedo
soal one.Wemustl ear nt ocr eat eourownhappi ness. )
6. Par aphr aseandexpl ai
nt hel i
ne: “Succeedandgi ve,andi thel psy oulive.”
(3)
(Aper sonwhosucceedsi nlifeandt henshar eshisgoodf ortunewi thot hers,willderivemustj oyf r
om theact
of
giv i
ng.Theywi llhav eamor er ewar dingl i
fe.Theirlif
ewi llbebet t
er .
)
7. Di scusst heef fect i
venessoft het itleoft hepoem i nr el
ationt oi t
scont ents.
(3)
(Al t
houghsol i
tudecanmeanl onel iness, i
tisnotal way sabadt hing.Howev er,asmadecl earint hispoem,
peopl ewi l
lonl ybewi t
hy oui fy ouar ehappy .Wear eal onei noursor rowsandmi sfortunes.Weal sodiealone–
sol i
tar y/insol itude.Anappr opr iat et it
le.Sol it
udei sachoi ce.Unhappi ness/lonelinessisnotachoi ce.)
8. Ist hespeakeri nt hisov erl
ycy nical ?Di scussy ouropi ni
on. (3)
(Ibel iev eso–notal lpeopl ear eas‘ mean’ anduncar ingasshest ates.Thi nkofy ourownbestf r
iend–t here
fory oui ngoodt imesandbad? ?)
9. Woul d“ Lonel iness”hav ebeenabet tert i
tleforthepoem?Di scussy ouranswerandmaker eferencet othe
connot ations/ denot ationsofbot hwor ds( solit
udeandl onel i
ness)i ny ouranswer .
(3)
(Per hapsabet terchoi ce.Lonel inessi snotachoi ce, j
ustliket oper sonwoul dCHOOSEt obel eftaloneint hei
r
wor stt i
mes.Sol it
udei sachosenst ate.Notnecessar il
yabadt hing.)

~64~
TheMor
ningSuni
sShi
ning Ol
i
veSchr
einer

1. Descr i
bet hemoodoft hef ir
stfourli
nesoft hepoem.Payat tenti
ont oi mageryanddi cti
oniny ouranswer .
(3)
(Abr i
ght,sunny ,i
dylli
cmor ninghasaposi ti
veconnot ation.Itcreatesaposi ti
ve/happy /j
oyfulmood.Thei mage
thesunbeam “ dancing”ont hespeaker’skneecr eateshappi nessandj oy.Theword‘ golden’hasaconnot ati
on
ofr i
chesandbeaut y.Ther epeti
ti
onoft hewor d‘green’ i
mpl iesv it
alit
yandy outh.Ther eisanalmostt acti
le
senseofhappi ness.)
2. Identi
fythet oneint hef i
rst12l i
nes.Nowst atet hetonei nthel ast4l i
nes.Whydoesi tchange?
(3)
(Thet oneoft hefir
st12l inesi scheerful/
happy /posit
ive/ j
oyful.Nat ureisbeauti
fulandcel ebrated.Thel ast4
l
ineschangest oatoneofdespai r,negati
vit
y ,
sadness, hopelessness.Shei sdescri
bi nghersor rowandhow
thebeaut ifulmor ningmakeshersadnessev engr eater,mor epoi gnant .)
3. Howdoest hepoetusecol ourtocreatethemoodoft hef ir
stst anza? (
2)
(Themoodi scheerful,happy ,opti
mistic,
celebratory.“green”hasconnot ati
onsofy outhandv i
tali
ty.“Golden”
hasconnot at i
onsofr ichesandweal thandbeaut y.
)
4. Whatf i
gureofspeechi susedi n“Andsendsagol densunbeam /Todanceuponmyknee” ?Expl ai
nt he
effecti
venessoft hisf i
gur eofspeech.
(3)
(Personifi
cat ion–t hesunbeam i smov i
ngfreely,perhapst hrought heleavesandt r
ees.Thi sev okesaj oyful
andpl ayfulmoodandat mospher e.)

5. Discusst heef fecti

v enessoft heper soni f
icat i
oni nli
nes5- 8. (
3)
(Thef ount ainbubbl es“ mer ri
ly”andt hebi rdsar e“happy ”.Thi scr eatesasenseofcheer fulnessandhappi ness.
Thenat ur
alwor l
discel ebratingbeaut yandj oy.Lifeiscel ebr ated.Al lrej
oicei nt hebeaut yoft hemor ning.
)
6. Commentonhowt hepoet ’suseofsoundcont ri
butest othei mpactoft hepoem.
(3)
(‘
Bubbl es’i
sanexampl eofonomat opoei a–ahappy /acti
v e/’alive’connot ation.Theal li
terationin“ green,green”
and“ gol den”–connot ationsofy out handweal th.Assonanceandal lit
erationi n“ l
ifeandl i
ght ”connectt hese
wor ds–l if
ei sgood!Thesi bil
ant‘ s’ i
n“ song” ,“
sweet ”and“ strong”cont ri
but etot hel y
ricalqual i
tyoft hepoem.
Thispoem cel ebratest hebeaut yandsoundsandsmel lsofNat ure.)
7. Lines13- 14br ingfor t
hachangei nt oneandmood.Di scusst hischange.
(3)
(Thet oneandmoodchangef rom j oy fulandcel ebratorytooneofgr i
efandsor row.Al thought hespeaker
states
thatNat ureisbeaut i
fulandt obecel ebr ated, hergriefislar gert hant hat.Shedoesnotf indsol aceint he
beaut y.)
8. Discusst heef fecti
v enessoft hepoem’ sf i
nal quest i
onasaconcl usiont othepoem.
(3)
(Thespeakerpoi nt
soutt hatal lthebeaut yi nnat ureisofnov al
uei nt hissituation.Shef i
ndsnosol acei nher
beaut ifulsurroundings.I nf act,thebeaut yoft hescenei ssoj arring,asi tisatoddswi thherdepr essedst ate.
Ther ei ssomeonewhom shehasl ostandt hislossinducesadepr essiont hatnol ovel
ydaycanl essen.)
9. What , doy out hink,wast hepoet ’si ntent i
oni nt hewr i
tingoft hispoem?
(2)
(Thepoetpr aisesNat ur ebutal soexpr esseshersor rowatherv eryper sonall oss.Shei sunabl etof i
nd
happi ness.
Event hebeaut i
fulmor ningdoesnotcomf or therinhergr ief.Theabundanceofl i
femakesherev ensadder .
She
i
sv erysadandi nconsol able.)

I
tisabeaut
eousev
eni
ng… Wi
l
li
am Wor
dswor
th

1. Descri
bethemoodi ntheopeni ngli
neofthepoem.Usey ourownwor ds.
(2)
(Themoodispeaceful,tr
anquilandutt
erl
yquiet.Thewor d“ cal
m”suggeststhi
s.Thewor d“
free”impl
iesf
ree
ofstr
ess/
worri
es/pain/busyness.Ther
eisaslowpacet ot heli
ne.)
2. Whyisthesimi
le“quietasanun”apar ti
cular
lyeffect
ivefigureofspeech?
(2)
(Thi
ssimi
leaddsar eli
giouselementtothepoem.A“ quiet”nuni sprobabl
yinpr
ayers.Shei
scl oset
oGod.
~65~
 Thespeakerl inkst hebeaut yofNat ur etoGod–t he( Chr i
stian)cr eat orofEar thanditsbeauty
.)
3. Howcant heseahav e“thegent lenessofheav en”oni t?
(2)
(Theseai sreflectingt heski es/Heav en.Itiscal m andgent l
e.I tisbeaut i
fulandGodl y.)
4. Howandwhydoest hebegi nningofl ine6changet heat mospher e? (
3)
(Listeni sacommandandt heexcl amat i
onpoi ntemphasi sesi t.Theot herwisequietandpeacefulatmosphere
i
sbr okenbyt hisi nterjection/ order .Thespeakerwant shi scompani ont obepar tofthismomentwi thhim.)
5. Whati sthepur poseoft hecapi tal l
et terin“ Being”( li
ne6) ? (
3)
(Althought hespeakeri sr eferringt ot hesea, thecapi t
all etterlinkst heseat oGod, t
heal mi
ghtyBeing.Both
theseaandGodar e‘ awake’ and‘ eternal ’andnei therst opmov ing.)
6. Whati sthef unct ionoft hedashi nl ine8? (
2)
(Thedashcr eat esapauseandemphasi sest hewor dwhi chf ollows–‘ ev erl
astingl
y’
.Thisstat
esagai nthatGod,
l
iket heocean, i
sf orev er.)
7. Howdoest het oneof“ Dearchi ld!”di fferfrom “ Li
st en!
” ?
(2)
(“Listen!”isani mper at i
ve, acommand.I tisforcef ulandhasacommandi ngt one.“Dearchi
ld!
”issaidina
l
ov ingt one.Heexpr esseshi slov eandador ati
onf orhisdaught er.)
8. Expl ainthecompar i
sonusedi nt hemet aphor“ Abr aham’ sbosom” . (
3)
(Justasaf atherhol dshi spr eciouschi ldcloset opr otectandcher ishhi m/her ,t
hegirli
sunknowinglyprotect
ed
andcher ishedbyAbr aham asoneofGod’ schi ldren.)
9. Discusshowt hest ruct ure/for m oft hepoem suppor tsi t
scont ents. (
3)
(Theoct aveoft hisPet r
archansonnetdescr i
best hebr eath-takingbeaut yoft hescene.Thesestetactsasa
comment aryoft hespeaker ’
sunder st andingoft hespi rit
ual i
tyofl ifeingener al
.)

Fer
nHi l
l Dy l
anThomas
1. Whatdoest hespeakermeanby“ AsIrodet osleeptheowl swerebearingthefarm away ”(
li
ne24)?
(2)
(Asthespeakerf all
sasleephei maginest hattheentirefarmisbeingcarri
edawayi nt
odr eamlandwithhim.
Thefarm“ i
scar r
ied”byt heowl s.
)
2. Descri
bethet onei nthefir
stfourstanzas. (2)
(Ther
eisat one/feeli
ng/atmospher eofjoyandhappi ness.YouthandNat ur
earecelebrated.Thespeakeris
happyandcar efree.)
3. Whereandhowdoest hetoneal t
er?Explainyouranswer . (3)
(I
nstanza4t hespeakerment ionsthathe“ awakes”–t hi
sistheturni
ngpoint.Heisnol ongeryoungand
caref
ree.Hereflectsonhappi ertimesandt henostal
giai sappar
ent.Heisawar eofhislossofinnocence–like
Adam andEv eint heGar denofEden.)

4. Whati st hesi gnificanceoft herefer

encest ocol ours?
(3)
(Hemakesmanyr ef erencest othecol oursgr eenandgol den.Gr eeni mpli
esy out handvitali
ty.Newgr assin
Spring, newl eav es, rebirt
h.Gol dhasconnot ationsofweal t
handbeaut yandAut umn–l eav esturni
ngand
sunlightandy ellowf lower s.Goldenalsohasconnot ati
onsofgl ory.)
5. DiscusswhatThomassay saboutt i
mei nt hispoem. (2)
(Timei sper soni fi
ed.I tal
lowst hespeakert ohav ethisspeci altimei nhisli
fe.Thepassageoft i
mei sclear
throughoutt hepoem andt hespeakerappr eci at esNat ureatdi fferentti
mesofday .Thechi l
disobli
vioust hat
he
hasl i
mi tedtime.I tist headul twhor eali
sest ime’ swor th.)
6. Whatr eali
sationdoest hespeakerhav einline51whenhesay s,“Andwaket ot hefarmf oreverfl
edfrom
7. thechi ldl
essl and” ? (2)
(Hespeakerr ealisest hat
, asanadul t,
hischi ldhoodi sgone.Hi syouthisgone. )
8. Howdoest hespeakersuggestt hebeautyandi nnocenceoft hebegi nningoft hewor ldinstanza4?
(3)
(Ther eferencet oAdam andhi smaidenr eferst ot heGar denofEdenandcr eationofMan.Hesuggest st hathi
s
ti
meatFer nHi lliscompar abletoAdam andEv e’sti
mei ntheGar denBEFOREt helossofi nnocence.Itisidyl
li
c
andbeaut if
ulandf ree.Hewasv eryhappyt her e.)
9. Whatdoest hispoem suggestaboutThomas’ v iewoft her elationshipbetweenhumanki ndandNat ure?
(2)
(Therei scompl et ehar monybet weenhumanki ndandNat ure.TheboyandNat urear eneverinconfli
ct.They
l
ivehar moniousl yt oget her.Eachdayi sl i
ket hecr eationofEar th–gui lt
less,relaxed,cal
m, i
dyll
i
c.)

TheShi
pwr
eck Emi
l
yDi
ckenson
~66~
1. Whati st heef f
ectoft heexcl amat i
onmar ksi nlines1and5?Howdoest hiscont rasttot heexcl amat i
onmar k
2. usedi nl ine8? (
3)
(Theexcl amat ionmar ksi nl i
nes1and5ar ecel ebr ator y–t herear esur vivors!Theexcl amat ionmar kinl i
ne8
bringsasenseofsor rowandshock.Somanydi edi nt heshi pwr eck.)
3. Whatar et het wor easonsf or“ glee”int heopeni ngl ines?
(2)
(Thest or mi sov erandt her ear esome, ifonl y4, sur v i
vor s.)
4. Expl ainwhat“ r
ecov er edt hel and”means. (
2)
(Theymadei tbackt ol and/ shor e.Theysur viv
edt heshi pwr eck.)
5. Criti
cal lydi scusst heef f
ect ivenessoft hei mager yin“ For t
ygonedownt oget her/I
ntot heboi li
ngsand” .
(3)
(Fort ypeopl edi ed, together , i
nt heshi pwr eck.The“ boi l
ingsand”i mpl iesat umultuoussea–gr eatwav es–
that
sentt hedr ownedpeopl est raightt othebot tom oft heocean.Thi sincreasest heshock. )
6. Whywoul d“ scantsal vati
on”becel ebr ated? (
2)
(Although40peopl eper ishedi nt hest or m, therewer eatl east4sur vivors.Scantr eferstof ew.I tcouldalso
i
mpl yt hatt hecel ebrat i
onoft hosewhosur vi
vedwi llbet aintedbyt hel ossofsomanyot hers.)
7. Expl aint het woway sinwhi cht hebel l
sr i
ngi nt hispoem.Quot ei nsuppor tofy ouranswer .
(4)
(Thef irst‘ring’ inl i
ne5i scel ebr atoryf ort hef ourwhosur vived.Thesecond‘ ri
ng’ (“
tol
l”)islikeaf uneralbell
fort hef ortywhodr owned.
8. Ident i
f yandcommentont heef fecti
venessoft hef igur eofspeechi n“ Whenwi ntershakest hedoor ”.
(3)
(Per soni ficat i
on–i tissocol dandwi ndyt hatitseemst hatWi nterisshaki ngatt hedoor .Emphasi sest he
coldnessandwi nd. )
9. Howdoest hef inal stanzaev okepat hos? (
3)
(Pat hos–pi ty–t hest oryist oldt oot herpeopl eandt heyal lfeelsor rowf orthelossoft hef ortypeople.Ev en
the
childrenar espeechl essatt hest ory.Gr eatpi t
yandpat hos.Noempt ycl i
chesar eof f
ered.Ther ei sjustsil
ence.)
10.Discusst heef fect i
v enessoft heal li
terat i
on/ sibilancei nline13.
(2)
(Theal literation/ sibilancesl owsdownt hepaceoft hel ine.I tevokessadness/ pity/pathos.Ther ei samour nf
ul
toneatt hel ossofsomanyi nnocentpeopl e.
)

~67~