English Literature
Poetry
1. An African Thunderstorm - David Rubadiri
L1 From the west
L2 Clouds come hurrying with the wind
L3 Turning
L4 sharply
L5 Here and there
L6 Like a plague of locusts
L7 Whirling,
L8 Tossing up things on its tail
L9 Like a madman chasing nothing.
L10 Pregnant clouds
L11 Ride stately on its back,
L12 Gathering to perch on hills
L13 Like sinister dark wings;
L14 The wind whistles by
L15 And trees bend to let it pass.
L16 In the village
L17 Screams of delighted children,
L18 Toss and turn
L19 In the din of the whirling wind,
L20 Women,
L21 Babies clinging on their backs
L22 Dart about
L23 In and out
L24 Madly;
L25 The wind whistles by
L26 Whilst trees bend to let it pass.
L27 Clothes wave like tattered flags
L28 Flying off
L29 To expose dangling breasts
L30 As jagged blinding flashes
L31 Rumble, tremble and crack
L32 Amidst the smell of fired smoke
L33 And the pelting march of the storm.
Themes: Nature
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L3-L4 - Everything being in different lines shows the short and quick movement of the storm
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L6 (simile and biblical allusion) - Compares the destructive nature of the storm to insects that have damaged and devastated societies. It also alludes to the Ten Plagues of Egypt. (Exodus)
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L8 (personification) - Description of the power and chaos of the storm
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L9 (simile) - Compare the unpredictive nature of the storm to usually erratic madmen
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L10 (metaphor) - Large clouds, ready to burst
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L13 (simile) - Compares dark clouds to birds waiting to attack prey
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L14-15 (personification) - The trees put up no fight; no resistance. The wind is so powerful that it easily moves the trees
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L17 and L20 - L24 - Contrast between naive/oblivious children who see the storm as a plaything and the urgency of mothers as they desperately try to keep their families safe.
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L27 (simile) - Compare the rapid movement of the clothes caused by the wind to flags that also wave in the wind.
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L31 (onomatopoeia) - sounds of the storm and its destruction
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L32-33 (imagery) - olfactory, auditory
2. Once Upon A Time - Gabriel Okara
L1 Once upon a time, son,
L2 they used to laugh with their hearts
L3 and laugh with their eyes:
L4 but now they only laugh with their teeth,
L5 while their ice-block-cold eyes
L6 search behind my shadow.
L7 There was a time indeed
L8 they used to shake hands with their hearts:
L9 but that’s gone, son.
L10 Now they shake hands without hearts
L11 while their left hands search
L12 my empty pockets.
L13 ‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:
L14 they say, and when I come
L15 again and feel
L16 at home, once, twice,
L17 there will be no thrice-
L18 for then I find doors shut on me.
L19 So I have learned many things, son.
L20 I have learned to wear many faces
L21 like dresses – homeface,
L22 officeface, streetface, hostface,
L23 cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
L24 like a fixed portrait smile.
L25 And I have learned too
L26 to laugh with only my teeth
L27 and shake hands without my heart.
L28 I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’,
L29 when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
L30 to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
L31 without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
L32 nice talking to you’, after being bored.
L33 But believe me, son.
L34 I want to be what I used to be
L35 when I was like you. I want
L36 to unlearn all these muting things.
L37 Most of all, I want to relearn
L38 how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
L39 shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!
L40 So show me, son,
L41 how to laugh; show me how
L42 I used to laugh and smile
L43 once upon a time when I was like you.
Themes: Death, Childhood experiences, Hypocrisy, Loss of innocence, Desire/Dreams
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L1 - The writer uses a common phrase that starts many fairytales because the way the world was seems imaginary/unrealistic. Also to highlight that it was long ago.
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L2 -L3 -people used to be genuine
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L4-L6 (metaphor) - to show that people no longer express genuine emotion but instead do it for show, they are callous and are angling for you flaws as they fake their smiles
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L8-L10 (metaphor) - to show that people now shake hands without love and genuine care
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L11-L12 - instead people greet you with only the aim of gaining something in return.
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L13-L18 - "they" welcome the persona at first then become irritated after a while. They no longer want anything to do with you
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L20-L21 (simile) - to show that father now changes faces the way someone can easily change clothes. He has learned to try and please those around him and conform to others.
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L23-L24 - all the different faces the persona wears all have the same fake smile. Showing that all the persona now aims to do is please those around him.
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L26-L27 (repetition) - emphasizes that the persona has adapted into society and is just like everyone else and is what he despises. He does things for show and not out of genuine emotion.
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L34-35 - The persona sees his son as still genuine and not yet tainted by the world and he wants to go back to when he was genuine.
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L39 - comparing persona to a snake in how they are deceptive
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L40-L42 (irony) - the son should be learning from his father who has more experience in life but in reality, the father wants to unlearn many things that he has learned in life. This is why he asks the son to show him how to laugh/ how to be genuine again.
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L43 (repetition) - Father is nostalgic about the times when he was young and innocent and wasn't scarred by the world. He wants to unlearn his hypocrisy.
3. Little Boy Crying - Mervyn Morris
L1 Your mouth contorting in brief spite and hurt, your laughter L2 metamorphosed into howls,
L3 your frame so recently relaxed now tight
L4 three year old frustration, your bright eyes swimming tears, L5 splashing your bare feet,
L6 you stand there angling for a moment’s hint
L7 of guilt or sorrow for the quick slap struck.
L8 The ogre towers above you, that grim giant, empty of feeling, a L9 colossal cruel,
L10 soon victim of the tale’s conclusion, dead
L11 at last. You hate him, you imagine
L12 chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down or plotting
L13 deeper pits to trap him in.
L14 You cannot understand, not yet,
L15 the hurt your easy tears can scald him with,
L16 nor guess the wavering hidden behind that mask. This fierce L17 man longs to lift you, curb your sadness with piggy-back or L18 bull fight, anything,
L19 but dare not ruin the lessons you should learn.
L20 You must not make a plaything of the rain.
Theme: Themes: Fatherhood, Parents, Dsicipline, Childhood experiences
L2-L3 (contrast) - happiness to despair
L4 (irony) - a 3 year old has nothing to be frustrated over
L5-L7 (imagery) - boy is searching for an expression of guilt on the father's face
L7 (alliteration) - swiftness of the slap
Stanza 2 (fairytale allusion) - Jack and the Beanstalk
L8 (metaphor) - comparing father to an ugly beast
L8 and L9 ( alliteration)
L15 (irony) - the father feels sad despite him being the one who inflicted pain on the child
L16 - father hides his emotions to ensure the child learns the lesson.
L17-L18 (imagery) (contrast) - to show that the father tries to be fierce but internally wants to comfort his child
Stanza 1 - Narrator's POV Stanza 2 - Boy's POV
Stanza 3 - Father's POV
4. West Indies, U.S.A - Stewart Brown
L1 Cruising at thirty thousand feet above the endless green
L2 the islands seem like dice tossed on a casino’s baize,
L3 some come up lucky, others not. Puerto Rico takes the pot,
L4 the Dallas of the West Indies, silver linings on the clouds
L5 as we descend are hall-marked, San Juan glitters
L6 like a maverick’s gold ring.
L7 All across the Caribbean
L8 we’d collected terminals – airports are like calling cards, cultural
L9 fingermarks; the hand-written signs at Port-
L10 au-Prince, Piarco’s sleazy tourist art, the lethargic
L11 contempt of the baggage boys at ‘Vere Bird’ in St. Johns...
L12 And now for plush San Juan.
L13 But the pilot’s bland,
L14 you’re safe in my hands drawl crackles as we land,
L15 “US regulations demand all passengers not disembarking
L16 at San Juan stay on the plane, I repeat, stay on the plane.”
L17 Subtle Uncle Sam, afraid too many desperate blacks
L18 might re-enslave this Island of the free,
L19 might jump the barbed
L20 electric fence around ‘America’s
L21 back yard’ and claim that vaunted sanctuary... ‘Give me your poor...’ L22 Through toughened, tinted glass the contrasts tantalise;
L23 US patrol cars glide across the shimmering tarmac,
L24 containered baggage trucks unload with fierce efficiency.
L25 So soon we’re climbing,
L26 low above the pulsing city streets;
L27 galvanised shanties overseen by condominiums
L28 polished Cadillacs shimmying past Rastas with pushcarts
L29 and as we climb, San Juan’s fool’s glitter calls to mind
L30 the shattered innards of a TV set that’s fallen
L31 off the back of a lorry, all painted valves and circuits
L32 the roads like twisted wires,
L33 the bright cars, micro-chips.
L34 It’s sharp and jagged and dangerous, and belonged to someone else.
Themes: Appearance vs Reality, National identity, Classism, Racism
Title theories:
- USA sees West Indies as a group disregarding the individual countries but they see themselves as important enough to not be grouped
- Showing the difference in their economy
- West Indies is owned by the USA/ they do not have an identity of our own due to strong American influence
L2 (imagery/ simile) - islands are scattered randomly. The words "dice" and "casino" represent chance/fate/luck
L3 (metaphor) - they are seen as lucky because they are a colony of the United States.
L4 (metaphor) - Puerto Rico, which is considered as the American state of the West Indies, has the opportunity to be wealthy because they are a U.S colony
L5 -L6 (simile) - seemingly rich because of their relationship but the wealth may have been acquired unfairly
*maverick refers to a gangster*
*the whole second stanza is imagery and contrast*
L8 (simile) - airports are used to identify them just as calling cards do
L9 - people take their culture with them. Haiti's use of hand-written signs shows their poverty
L10 - Trinidad's airport is not classy; it is tasteless
L12 - Puerto Rico is sophisticated
L17(sarcasm/ metaphor) - sarcasm because he is not subtle.
(Uncle Sam can also be a metonym). The U.S doesn't want black people running around and causing problems in San Juan
L18 (irony/ sarcasm/allusion) - ironic because it was the blacks who were enslaved. Sarcasm because P.R is owned by U.S so and people are not free to go there. Alludes to U.S.A's anthem
L22 (alliteration) - glass is used as a barrier and P.R starts to look more appealing
L23 - makes sure black people don't get off the plane and cause trouble
L26 - city is full of life and busy streets
L27 (contrast) - the people who are rich and have power overlook the lower-class people. galvanized - zinc roof , shanties - cheap houses, condominiums - large buildings
L28 (contrast) - the rich are cautious. They don't want to be near the carts. They are scornful and disgusted.
L29 (metaphor) - looks rich but isn't actually good. People are fooled by its looks
L30 - like a TV that is broken on the inside and looks good on the outside. San Juan is really a broken city with people who are struggling
L32 (simile) - confusion and malfunction
L34 - there is a divide and inequality in Puerto Rico and they belong to the USA who stole it.
5. Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge - William Wordsworth
L1 Earth has not anything to show more fair:
L2 Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
L3 A sight so touching in its majesty:
L4 This City now doth, like a garment, wear
L5 The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
L6 Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
L7 Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
L8 All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
L9 Never did sun more beautifully steep
L10 In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
L11 Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
L12 The river glideth at his own sweet will:
L13 Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
L14 And all that mighty heart is lying still!
Themes: Nature, Places, Man vs Nature
L1 (hyperbole) - emphasizes the beauty of the city at this time
L2-L3 - persona is genuinely touched and says anyone who can walk past this sight without admiring it, is boring.
L4 (simile) - just like a dress that covers someone's body, the city is now covered by the beauty of the morning
L8 - "smokeless air" air refers to the time before factories and machines start polluting the air
L9 (hyperbole) - the sun is being compared to a tea bag in the way it seeps into the horizon. It is also an exaggeration of the beauty of the sun.
L11 (hyperbole) - to exaggerate how quiet and peaceful the city was which had a deeply calming effect on the persona
L12 (personification) - the river was undisturbed by any people or vehicles and was free to move however it wanted to
L13 (personification) - to further show that the city is at rest
L14 (metaphor/ personification) - lack of activity in the most central part of the city
* "smokeless air" could be an allusion to the Industrial Revolution
6. Birdshooting Season - Olive Senior
L1 Birdshooting season the men
L2 make marriages with their guns
L3 My father’s house turns macho
L4 as from far the hunters gather
L5 All night long contentless women
L6 stir their brews: hot coffee
L7 chocolata, cerassie
L8 wrap pone and tie-leaf
L9 for tomorrow’s sport. Tonight
L10 the men drink white rum neat.
L11 In darkness shouldering
L12 their packs, their guns, they leave
L13 We stand quietly on the
L14 doorstep shivering. Little boys
L15 longing to grow up birdhunters too
L16 Little girls whispering:
L17 Fly Birds Fly.
Themes: Nature, Childhood experiences, Women in Society
L1-L2 (alliteration/metaphor) - during this season, men prioritize their guns over their marriages, so it seems as if they are in love with their guns.
L3 (personification) - to show masculinity as men from all over gather
L5 - "contentless women" shows that women are unhappy but they do not dare to voice their opinions
L9 - the killing of the birds, a cruel act in the eyes of the women, is seen as a sport
L10 - while women are hard at work, men are gallivanting and enjoying themselves
Last stanza (contrast) -Little boys dream of being mature enough to kill birds with their fathers while the girls whisper (showing how women are silenced) that they hope the birds can escape. This is symbolism because women and girls also wish to break free from men one day.
7. The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed Her Son- Lorna Goodison
L1 Her son was first made known to her
L2 as a sense of unease, a need to cry
L3 for little reasons and a metallic tide
L4 rising in her mouth each morning.
L5 Such signs made her know
L6 that she was not alone in her body.
L7 She carried him full term
L8 tight up under her heart.
L9 She carried him like the poor
L10 carry hope, hope you get a break
L11 or a visa, hope one child go through
L12 and remember you. He had no father.
L13 The man she made him with had more
L14 like him, he was fair-minded
L15 he treated all his children
L16 with equal and unbiased indifference.
L17 She raise him twice, once as mother
L18 Then as father, set no ceiling
L19 On what he could be doctor,
L20 earth healer, pilot take wings.
L21 But now he tells her he is working
L22 for you, that you value him so much
L23 you give him one whole submachine gun
L24 for him alone.
L25 He says you are like a father to him
L26 she is wondering what kind of father
L27 would give a son hot and exploding
L28 death, when he asks him for bread.
L29 She went downtown and bought three
L30 and one-third yards of black cloth
L31 and a deep crowned and veiled hat
L32 for the day he draw his bloody salary.
L33 She has no power over you and this
L34 at the level of earth, what she has
L35 are prayers and a mother’s tears
L36 and at knee city she uses them.
L37 She says psalms for him
L38 she reads psalms for you
L39 she weeps for his soul
L40 her eyewater covers you.
L41 She is throwing a partner
L42 with Judas Iscariot’s mother
L43 the thief on the left-hand side
L44 of the cross, his mother
L45 is the banker, her draw though
L46 is first and last for she still
L47 throwing two hands as mother and father.
L48 She is prepared, she is done. Absalom.
Themes: Death, Love, Desires/Dreams, Childhood Experiences
L1-L6 - a description of her pregnancy and symptoms such as mood swings and morning sickness.
L7- carried him for 9 months
L8 (metaphor) - could be literal because of how much space the baby takes up or metaphorically which represents the amount of love for her unborn baby
L9-10 (simile) - hopeful for him to be successful and carry them out of poverty
L10-L11 (repetition) - for emphasis that the hope that she places in her son is all she has
L12 (irony) - everyone has a father but he was just absent
L14-L16 ( sarcasm) - she appears to be praising him but is chastising him for being absent throughout all his children's lives.
L17-L18 - a mother cannot properly fulfill the role of a father
L19-L20 - she had so many aspirations for her son. She believed he could do anything
L22-L24 (irony) - if you can't claim to care for someone so much but put them in such a harmful situation. He will likely die by the gun.
L26-L28 (biblical allusion) - she is questioning his intentions and comparing it with the one of a good father (Luke 11vs11)
L30-L31 - preparing for her son's death, he will die due to violence. She has come to terms with this.
L32 (metaphor) - a salary is a reward at the end of a work period. Her son's payment would be death.
L33-L35 - she cannot control what her son does but she has prayers and God to get her through.
L37- says Psalms for her son to shield and protect her son
L38 - reads Psalms against the employer; to wish bad things upon him
L39-L40 - He was not following God's path and she was afraid that he would go to hell. Her son was very worldly (not spiritual)
*partner - money scheme
L42-L43 (biblical allusion) - Judas betrayed Jesus and so does the persona feel betrayed by her son
L48 - she is prepared for her son's death; his death is inevitable.
8. It is the Constant Image of your Face- Dennis Brutus
L1 It is the constant image of your face
L2 framed in my hands as you knelt before my chair
L3 the grave attention of your eyes
L4 surveying me amid my world of knives
L5 that stays with me, perennially accuses
L6 and convicts me of heart’s-treachery;
L7 and neither you nor I can plead excuses
L8 for you, you know, can claim no loyalty –
L9 my land takes precedence of all my loves.
L10 Yet I beg mitigation, pleading guilty
L11 for you, my dear, accomplice of my heart
L12 made, without words, such blackmail with your
L13 beauty and proffered me such dear protectiveness
L14 that I confess without remorse or shame,
L15 my still-fresh treason to my country
L16 and I hope that she, my other, dearest love
L17 will pardon freely, not attaching blame
L18 being your mistress (or your match) in tenderness.
Themes: Love, Guilt, Patriotism, Places, Desires/Dreams
L3-L6 (personification) - saying the lover's eyes could "accuse" and "convict" him
L4 (symbolism) - "world of knives" = world of cutthroat politics
L6 (oxymoron) - the heart is supposed to be loving, but treachery contrasts that love with the idea of committing a terrible crime. "Heart's Treachery" = infidelity
L9 - his patriotism trumps his love
L10 - he begs pardon/a lesser sentence
L11"accomplice of my heart" - love for the woman
L12-L13 "blackmail with your beauty" - woman controls him with her beauty
L13 "proffered me such protection" - her beauty brought him security and safety to know he could confess his remorse or shame
L16 -L17 (personification) - the country as he asks for forgiveness for choosing his love over his country
L17-L18 - says he is to blame and not the woman or her beauty
*Persona is ultimately swayed by the constant image of the woman's beauty
9. A Lesson for this Sunday - Derek Walcott
L1 The growing idleness of summer grass
L2 With its frail kites of furious butterflies
L3 Requests the lemonade of simple praise
L4 In scansion gentler than my hammock swings
L5 And rituals no more upsetting than a
L6 Black maid shaking linen as she sings
L7 The plain notes of some Protestant hosanna—
L8 Since I lie idling from the thought in things—
L9 Or so they should, until I hear the cries
L10 Of two small children hunting yellow wings,
L11 Who break my Sabbath with the thought of sin. L12 Brother and sister, with a common pin,
L13 Frowning like serious lepidopterists.
L14 The little surgeon pierces the thin eyes.
L15 Crouched on plump haunches, as a mantis prays
L16 She shrieks to eviscerate its abdomen.
L17 The lesson is the same. The maid removes
L18 Both prodigies from their interest in science.
L19 The girl, in lemon frock, begins to scream
L20 As the maimed, teetering thing attempts its
L21 flight. She is herself a thing of summery light,
L22 Frail as a flower in this blue August air,
L23 Not marked for some late grief that cannot speak.
L24 The mind swings inward on itself in fear
L25 Swayed towards nausea from each normal sign. L26 Heredity of cruelty everywhere,
L27 And everywhere the frocks of summer torn,
L28 The long look back to see where choice is born,
L29 As summer grass sways to the scythe's design.
Themes: Nature, Childhood experiences, Innocence, Human nature
L1(personification) - the grass is useless and may need to be cut down
L2 (metaphor) - comparing kites to butterflies. Suggests not only the butterfly's flight and fragility but also that they are being used as playthings/toys.
L3 (personification) - the growing idleness requests simple praise. (metaphor) - comparing praise to a cool refreshing drink
L5-L7 (allusion) - to slavery. Slaves often sang songs to remain happy or distracted when working
L10-L11 (ironic) - normally, compared to adults children are innocent and more kind but it is the children that are breaking the persona’s Sabbath with the thought of sin
L13 (simile) - a lepidopterist studies butterflies and moths. These children are serious and do not see this as merely a game
L14 (metaphor) - the girl pierces the butterfly’s eyes like a surgeon wo operates on the body
L15 ( pun) - plays with the words prey and pray to show that the scientific research makes it seem as if the girl regards life with deep respect but is actually preying on that life and not respecting it.
L16 (irony) - the girl is screaming but she is the one who is causing the butterfly harm
L18 (metaphor) - seems to be extremely talented in the field of science
*Maid removes them because she empathizes with the butterflies for she too is oppressed by the cruelty of man
L22 (simile) - frail because she is a child and her mind is easily influenced by her surroundings
L24 (metaphor) - the man is reflecting on what he has just seen
L26 and L28 - the lesson is that cruelty is not something that man is born with but is something learned or passed down. The children, after seeing their parents who are probably cruel to the black maid, have also learned cruelty and are exercising it.
L27 - "lemon frock" = yellow wings of a butterfly and symbolizes innocence. He gives symbolic value to the frock and it now represents the beauty and innocence that could be broken and maimed by the cruelty and destructiveness of the world.
L29 - shows that each of us is born into a life of pain, suffering, and death. This is as inevitable as the scythe cuts down each blade of grass. Simile's word design is important as it suggests that pain and cruelty are a part of the master plan.
10. A Stone's Throw - Elma Mitchell
L1 We shouted out
L2 'We've got her! Here she is!
L3 It's her all right '.
L4 We caught her.
L5 There she was -
L6 A decent-looking woman, you'd have said,
L7 (They often are)
L8 Beautiful, but dead scared,
L9 Tousled - we roughed her up
L10 A little, nothing much
L11 And not the first time
L12 By any means
L13 She'd felt men's hands
L14 Greedy over her body -
L15 But ours were virtuous,
L16 Of course.
L17 And if our fingers bruised
L18 Her shuddering skin,
L19 These were love-bites, compared
L20 To the hail of kisses of stone,
L21 The last assault
L22 And battery, frigid rape,
L23 To come
L24 Of right.
L25 For justice must be done
L26 Specially when
L27 It tastes so good.
L28 And then - this guru,
L29 Preacher, God-merchant, God-knows-what -
L30 Spoilt the whole thing,
L31 Speaking to her
L32 (Should never speak to them)
L33 Squatting on the ground - her level,
L34 Writing in the dust
L35 Something we couldn't read.
L36 And saw in her
L37 Something we couldn't see
L38 At least until
L39 He turned his eyes on us,
L40 Her eyes on us,
L41 Our eyes upon ourselves.
L42 We walked away
L43 Still holding stones
L44 That we may throw
L45 Another day
L46 Given the urge.
Themes: Discrimination, Religion, Survival, Hypocrisy, Oppression, Alienation
stanza 1 - There is an emphasis on her gender in this stanza and there is a clear double standard as adultery is a two-way street but only the woman is being punished.
L6 (sarcasm) - the woman is beautiful so she is seemingly decent but she commits sexual sin so she is not actually decent.
L7 - alienating the women
L10 - downplaying their violence
L11-L16 (irony) - the men that are abusing the woman say they are virtuous while other men's hands have bad intentions
stanza 3 - This stanza shows hypocrisy and lust from the men
L18 (imagery) - to show that the woman is frightened.
L19 and L20 (oxymoron) - "love - bites" and "hail of kisses of stone" "love" and "kisses" are words that bring loving and positive emotions. "Stone" and "bites" bring negative emotions.
L21-L22 (imagery) - "last assault", "battery" and "frigid rape" use of violent words to help readers to picture the aggression and abuse towards the woman.
L30 - men enjoyed the act of cruelty but were supposed to be men of God doing his work (hypocrisy).
L33 - the man whom the speaker views as above them stoops down to the level of the woman whom the speaker views as below him.
L36-L37 - men's eyes were finally opening
L39-L41 - men see themselves and their terrible ways
L42-L46 - Jesus instructions may have stopped them at the moment but it doesn't change their views. They have not truly learned their lesson and if given another opportunity they might do these things again.
L1 Proudly wearing the rosette of my skin
L2 I strut into Sabina
L3 England boycotting excitement bravely
L4 something badly amiss.
L5 Cricket. Not the game they play at Lords,
L6 The crowd- whoever saw a crowd
L7 At a cricket match? – are caged
L8 vociferous partisans, quick to take offence.
L9 England sixty eight for none at lunch.
L10 ‘What sort o battin dat man?
L11 Dem kaaan play cricket again,
L12 praps dem should-a-borrow Lawrence Rowe!’
L13 And on it goes, the wicket slow
L14 as the batting and the crowd restless.
L15 ‘Eh white bwoy, how you brudders dem
L16 does sen we sleep so? Me pay me monies
L17 fe watch dis foolishness? Cho!’
L18 So I try to explain in my Hampshire drawl
L19 about conditions in Kent,
L20 about sticky wickets and muggy days
L21 and the monsoon season in Manchester
L22 but fail to convince even myself.
L23 The crowd’s loud ‘busin drives me out
L24 skulking behind a tarnished rosette
L25 somewhat frayed now but unable, quite,
L26 to conceal a blushing nationality.
Themes: Discrimination, Places, Sports , Culture
L1 (metaphor) - his skin colour was seen as a badge of honor . His white skin shows the team that he is supporting
L2 - feeling of superiority
L3 (sarcasm) - not playing an exciting game, they are not brave enough to play a risky/ thrilling match. They are laying it safe which is not fun to watch.
L5 - This is real cricket ( the Jamaicans play exciting). The way they play is nothing like how they play cricket in England.
L6 - He has never seen a crowd so big at a cricket match. He is surprised that this is such a big deal.
L7 ( rhetorical question and metaphor) - caged because the spectators are behind a fence and are probably behaving like wild animals.
L8 (metaphor) - "vociferous" - loud/ boisterous "partisans" - supporter of a political party. Fans are very serious about their team; fierce supporters.
L10-L12 (contrast) - from big words and formalities to Jamaican patois
L10 (rhetorical question) - frustration and disappointment for the poor performance
L11 - England use to be a good team
L12 (sarcasm and allusion) - would do better if they borrowed a Jamaican batsman
L13 - very careful so no wickets are lost but this is boring
L15 -17 (rhetorical question and sarcasm) - it is a waste of money to watch the game due to how boring it is. The spectators are very upset
L18- “Hampshire drawl” - his accent which is a dull and boring dialect
L20- “muggy”- hot. England was playing badly because the weather is different in England. They are not use to the tropical weather, they are use to rain
L21- He is lying. There is nothing called a monsoon season in England. He assumes the Jamaican do not know about the world and won't pick up on this lie.
L23 (irony) - first he describes us as animals but now he is being driven out like an animal. “ ‘busin ” - abusing
-
he starts to speak informal. His language, like his pride is broken and the crowd is jeering him, he represents his team.
L24(irony) “skulking” - trying to hide . his whiteness is ruined, he no longer wears it with pride. He is embarrassed . ironic for a white man to be ashamed of his skin colour.
L26- blushing from embarrassment and he can not hide it because of his white skin. He stands out in the crowd and he wishes he could take off his skin colour and blend in
12. Landscape Painter, Jamaica (for Albert Huie) - Vivian Virtue
Themes: Nature, Places, Art
"for Albert Huie" - a great Jamaican painter ( the father of Jamaican painting)
L2 (metaphor and personification) -the painter is dominating the landscape. “precariously”- dangerously or unstable. comparing the mountain track to a horse. personifies the easel as his partner
L3 (personification and imagery ) - personifies the track
L5 (metaphor) - the paintbrush is skillful and quick
L6 (imagery) - speed and agile movement of the brush
L7-L8 (imagery, alliteration, hyperbole, metaphor) - paint blooms meaning it is transforming and becoming beautiful
L8 - “wild” - the paint is mixed-matched
L9-L10 (personification) - nature wants to be painted, it is looking its best. The mountains appear unified and compliment each other
L11 (personification and imagery) - the mountains are not ordinary but they are THE blue mountains. “wide blue screen” meaning good weather
L13 - L14 (simile) - “sprawl” meaning scattered .foot hills are like fidgeting children so they are harder to paint
L14 - “aloof”. eaning coolness/ composure
L15 (metaphor and personification) - “shouldering the sky” because they have great responsibility.
L16 (personification) - “bulks” meaning strong and dominant
stanza 3 (contrast) - between the mountains and the foot hills
L18 - foot hills require more meticulous observation
L20- still trying to tame the hills and mountains in order to paint them.
L17-L21 (alliteration) - the “p” sound to give a sense of perfection
L21-L22 ( personification) - of mountains and hills
L22 (metaphor) - painter has a collection of paintings of the hills and mountains
L24 ( contrast) - in stanza two the hills were wild and jumping around but now they are calm and specific
L26 (oxymoron) - painter is still but the hills are not. The hills are constantly changing.
L27 - hills are poorly made in real life but when they are painted they will become perfect
L27-L28 (personification) - making it hard to paint because of the movement. The art itself is frustrated.
L1 I watch him set up easel,
L2 Both straddling precariously
L3 A corner of the twisted, climbing
L4 Mountain track
L5 A tireless humming-bird, his brush
L6 Dips, darts, hovers now here, now there,
L7 Where puddles of pigment
L8 Bloom in the palette’s wild small garden.
L9 The mountains pose for him
L10 In a family group
L11 Dignified, self-conscious, against the wide
L12 blue screen
L13 Of morning; low green foot-hills
L14 Sprawl like grandchildren about the knees
L15 seated elders. And behind them, aloof,
L16 Shouldering the sky, patriarchal in
L17 serenity,
L18 Blue Mountain Peak bulks.
L19 And the professional gaze
L20 Studies positions, impatiently waiting
L21 For the perfect moment to fix
L22 Their preparedness, to confine them
L23 For the pleasant formality
L24 Of the family album.
L25 His brush a humming-bird
L26 Meticulously poised…
L27 The little hills fidgeting,
L28 Changelessly changing,
L29 Artlessly frustrating
L30 The painter’s art.
13. Dreaming Black Boy - James Berry
L1 I wish my teacher’s eyes wouldn’t
L2 go past me today. Wish he’d know
L3 it’s okay to hug me when I kick
L4 a goal. Wish I myself wouldn’t hold back when
L5 answer comes.
L6 I’m no woodchopper now
L7 like all ancestors.
L8 I wish I could be educated
L9 to the best of tune up, and earn
L10 good money and not sink to lick
L11 boots. I wish I could go on every
L12 crisscross way of the globe
L13 and no persons or powers or
L14 hotel keepers would make it a waste.
L15 I wish life wouldn’t spend me out
L16 opposing. Wish same way creation
L17 would have me stand it would have
L18 me stretch, and hold high, my voice
L19 Paul Robeson’s, my inside eye
L20 a sun. Nobody wants to say
L21 hello to nasty answers.
L22 I wish torch throwers of night
L23 would burn lights for decent times.
L24 Wish plotters in pyjamas would pray
L25 for themselves. Wish people wouldn’t
L26 talk as if I dropped from Mars.
L27 I wish only boys were scared
L28 behind bravados, for I could suffer.
L29 I could suffer a big big lot.
L30 I wish nobody would want to earn
L31 the terrible burden I can suffer.
Themes: Racism, Survival, Desire, Oppression, Childhood Experiences
*Entire poem (repetition) - "I wish" is a repetition to show yearning and desperation for basic rights that life has to offer. Repetition sheds light on the fact that the boy might feel his wishes are just dreams.
L1-L2 - "wish teacher's eyes wouldn't go past me today." The persona has a need for acknowledgement and praise.
L5-L7 (allusion and simile) - "Im no woodchopper now like all ancestors." - Boy does not want to be compared to his ancestors; he feels he can have a better job and offer more to the world. He is alluding to slavery.
L7-L8 (metaphor) - "educated to the best of tune up" - comparing persona to an instrument. He yearns for education. He wants to have the best quality education and at the highest level, an opportunity most blacks were not given.
L9-L10 (metaphor) "earn good money and not sink to lick boots" - persona wishes he didn't have to do menial tasks. He wants a good education in order to get an excellent job so that he does not have to be subservient to the whites like his ancestors have been forced to.
L10-L13 - He wishes to be allowed to travel the world without being discriminated against by the people, the government or business owners.
L14-L15 - "life wouldn't spend me out opposing" persona feels life itself is against him.
L15-L17 - "same way creation would have me stand, it would have me stretch" life is exhausting him but giving nothing in return. He doesn't want to constantly have his guard up.
L18 (allusion) - "my voice Paul Robertson's" allusion to civil right's activist
L22-L25 (metaphor) "I wish torch throwers of night would burn lights for decent times... plotters in pyjamas would pray for themselves." - persona wishes hate groups, specifically the KKK, would stop hunting him and go pray for their sins/ focus on themselves .
L25-L26 - "wish people wouldn't talk as if I dropped from Mars"
He wants to be seen as if he is the same as everyone else.
L27-L28 "I wish only boys were scared behind bravados" he wishes he wouldn't have to go through this discrimination and sadness in adulthood.
L28-L29 - He knows that it is possible that if he has to go through this in his adulthood he can suffer a lot more than he is right now. This suffering may even cost him his life.
L30-L31 “I wish nobody would want to earn this terrible burden I can suffer" - wishes no one would have to suffer the burden of being black. He does not wish this suffering on anybody , not even on the whites who have caused him this pain for he knows how damaging those experiences are.
14. My Parents - Stephen Spender
L1 My parents kept me from children who were rough
L2 Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes
L3 Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street
L4 And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.
L5 I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron
L6 Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms
L7 I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys
L8 Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.
L9 They were lithe they sprang out behind hedges
L10 Like dogs to bark at my world. They threw mud
L11 While I looked the other way, pretending to smile.
L12 I longed to forgive them but they never smiled.
Themes: Children, Parents, Childhood Experiences, Social Stratification (separation based on class/ social status)
St1:
"children who were rough" - contrast between persona and children
"Who threw words like stone" - simile for words causing harm as if they were stones...wore torn clothes. ....thighs showed through rags." - shows that boys were of a lower class than persona.
"climbed cliffs and stripped by country streams" - more visual imagery emphasize contrast between children and persona.
Stanza full of imagery to show how persona differed from boys. Stanza also shows how parents kept a persona from children who were not only rough but also of lower class.
St2:
"I feared more than tigers, their muscles like iron" - hyperbole and simile to show how rough boys were.
"their jerking hands, their knees tight on my arms" - boys are bullying persona.
"salt coarse pointing" - metaphor
"copied my lisp behind me on the road" - lisp made him an easy target for bullying
St3:
"like dogs to bark at my world" - simile
"looked the other way, pretending" - boy accepts bullying
"longed to forgive them, but they looked the other way" - wants to forgive boys and somewhat envies the normal/ free life the boys live compared to him.
St3 demonstrates how the difference in social classes causes children to envy a person's fortune while the persona envies their freedom.
15. Dulce et Decorum Est - Wilfred Owen
L1 Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
L2 Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
L3 Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
L4 And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
L5 Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
L6 But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
L7 Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
L8 Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
L9 Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
L10 Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
L11 But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
L12 And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
L13 Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
L14 As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
L15 In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
L16 He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
L17 If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
L18 Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
L19 And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
L20 His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
L21 If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
L22 Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
L23 Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
L24 Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
L25 My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
L26 To children ardent for some desperate glory,
L27 The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
L28 Pro patria mori.
Themes: War, Death, Survival, Oppression, Patriotism
"It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country."
St1:
L1 (simile) - "bent double, like old beggars under sacks" comparing soldiers’ posture to beggars unable to stand due to the weight of heavy sacks.
L2 (simile) - "knock kneed, coughing like hags" to show that soldiers are exhausted and ill. They are probably coughing due to dust and smoke from the guns.
L3 -"on the haunting flares we turned our backs" leaving the battlefield of explosions and gunshots to go back to the trenches.
L5 (metaphor) - "men marched asleep" soldiers are sleep deprived. They are waking while half asleep.
L6 (euphemism) - "lost their boot" referring to losing a foot.
L6-L7 (hyperbole and metaphor) - "all went lame, all blind, all drunk with fatigue" to show that the soldiers were so exhausted they began to lose touch with their senses.
L7- L8 "deaf even to the hoots of tired, outstripped Five-nines that fell behind them" - dulled senses lead to them not hearing the gas shells thrown behind them. They've gotten so accustomed to the sound that it almost becomes silent.
L9 (imagery) - "GAS! GAS! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling." The auditory imagery shows how inexperienced the soldiers were and shows the switch from calm to urgent and shock in st2.
L12 (simile and imagery) "Flound'ring like a man in fire or lime" to compare his pain to being burned alive or covered in lime. They are flopping around like a fish out of water.
L14 (imagery and metaphor) -"As under a green sea, I saw him drowing." the area was completely covered by green gas and the soldier was being swallowed and killed.
L15-L16 (imagery) - "before my helpless sight, he plunged at e guttering, choking, drawing" to convey true view of what war is like as the persona feels horrified and helpless. He is watching another soldier die
L19 (imagery) - "watch his white eyes writhing in his face" he is visibly in pain
L20 (simile/irony) - "his hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin" - comparing the face of the man while dying to the face of the devil if even he who is the king of sin actually got sick of sin that humans commit. Devil being sick of sin is ironic
L21-L23 (imagery) - "if you could hear, at every jolt, the blood ... Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer" to show the blood coming from the man's lungs every time the cart jolts. Compares it to cancer.
L24 "incurable sores on innocent tongues" - soldier is an innocent person but being put through torture
L25-L28 (irony) - "dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori" ironic as this is the horrific truth of war and going to war for your country. He thinks the saying is a complete lie and should not be taught to children.
St4 has a lot of horific imagery to drive home the poet's view and paint a clear picture in the reader's head.
16. This Is the Dark Time My Love - Martin Carter
Themes: Love, War, Desire, Hope, Dreams
Poem covers the effect of war on Guyana and this is portrayed through the eyes of the persona talking to his love who could be made out to be his wife but could also be him speaking directly to his country.
whole poem - pathetic fallacy (the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature)
L1 - "my love" - double entendre(country/person)
L2 ( metaphor) - “brown beatles” brown refers to the uniform colour. soldiers who are methodical about how they move
L3 (personification and pathetic fallacy) - to show that even nature is reacting badly to the effects of war.
L6 (metaphor) - dark metal represents guns and tankers
L7 (oxymoron) - to show that joyful festivals are consumed by guns, misery, and anxiety due to war
L8 - Guyana was about to be independent and suddenly the country is filled with soldiers and plagued by war. This creates anxiety as you don't know what will be the future of your nation
L9 (rhetorical)
L10 (metaphor ) - slender grass is symbolic of people of helpless nation
L11 (metaphor) - contrast between love and death. The thought of "love" interrupted by the " man of death", "strange invader". the man of death is colonialism
L12 (metaphor) - invader not only wants to kill the people but also their dreams and hope for a future of freedom
L1 This is the dark time, my love,
L2 All round the land brown beetles crawl about.
L3 The shining sun is hidden in the sky
L4 Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow.
L5 This is the dark time, my love,
L6 It is the season of oppression, dark metal, and tears.
L7 It is the festival of guns, the carnival of misery.
L8 Everywhere the faces of men are strained and anxious.
L9 Who comes walking in the dark night time?
L10 Whose boot of steel tramps down the slender grass?
L11 It is the man of death, my love, the strange invader
L12 Watching you sleep and aiming at your dream.
17. Ol’ Higue - Mark McWatt
L1 You think I like all this stupidness
L2 gallivanting all night without skin
L3 burning myself out like cane –fire
L4 To frighten the foolish?
L5 And for what? A few drops of baby blood?
L6 You think I wouldn’t rather
L7 take my blood seasoned in fat
L8 black-pudding, like everyone else?
L9 And don’t even talk ‘bout the pain of salt
L10 And having to bend these old bones down
L11 To count a thousand grains of rice!
L12 If only babies didn’t smell so nice!
L13 And if I could only stop
L14 Hearing the soft, soft call
L15 Of that pure blood running in new veins,
L16 Singing the sweet song of life
L17 Tempting an old, dry-up woman who been
L18 Holding her final note for years,
L19 Afraid of the dying hum…
L20 Then again, if I didn’t fly and come
L21 to that fresh pulse in the middle of the night,
L22 how would you, mother,
L23 name your ancient dread,
L24 And who to blame
fL25 or the murder inside your head…?
L26 Believe me –
L27 As long as it have women giving birth
L28 A poor ol’ higue like me can never dead.
Themes: Supernatural, Psychology
St1 is argumentative and the Higue complains about the problems with being an ol' higue as if she doesn't enjoy it
St1:
L1- "You think I like this stupidness" - diction shows that she is an old irritable Caribbean woman. This also shows that she finds dissatisfaction in what she does.
L2 - Ol’higue has no skin
L3 (simile) - cane is very flammable and burns very quickly. Before she goes to hunt she becomes a ball of fire
L4 (rhetorical) - asks whether we think going through all this is worth it just to frighten people who she considers foolish for believing that she is real
L5 (rhetorical question) "And for what? A few drops of baby blood?" - suggests that baby's blood isn't worth the haste
L6-L8 "black-pudding, like everyone else?" (rhetorical) - showing that she would prefer to get her blood in “normal” ways which take less effort such as in meat or black pudding. She doesn't want to do this but is forced to do it nonetheless.
L9 - "don't even talk 'bout the pain of salt" - salt is her weakness and it is used by the humans to burn her because she has no skin
L10 - L11 "bend down to count a thousand grains of rice" - allusion to folktale of the ol' higue. Before entering the house she is forced to count all the grains of rice that the humans put down as a means of protecting themselves
St2:
L12 - "If only babies didn't smell so nice" - her defense for killing babies. The smell of the blood tempts her.
L14-L15 "pure blood running in new veins" - imagery to show that the higue craves pure, innocent life to keep her alive. “pure” and “ new” are used to refer to the babies.
L16 "singing the sweet song of life" - alliteration for sound of longing as the higue longs for the baby blood
L17 - L19 (L18 is a metaphor) - "tempting an old, dry-up woman who been holding her final note for years and years, afraid of the dying hum...." - the blood attracts her as she is at the end of her life and they are at the start. It keeps her young.Due to her fear of death she has to take the blood from the innocent babies.
St3:
L22- L23 "how would you, mother, name your ancient dread" - tale as old as time when it concerns motherhood. She is saying mothers use her as a mechanism to cast the blame of wanting their children to die or wanting to kill their child.
L24 -L25 "the ,murder inside your head?" - the death inside your head speaks to infanticide that mothers may commit due to post-partum depression. (rhetorical)
L27-L28 "As long as it have women giving birth a poor ol' higue like me can never dead" - this double entendre is the higue saying not only that as a long as women give birth there will be babies to prey on but also that as a long as a women give birth the myth of the ol' higue will live on in their heads as she is their scapegoat to blame for child's death or wanting child to die. Ol’higue can only be real to the people (mothers) who believe that she is real. Therefore, along with the blood, their belief also gives her power
18. Mirror - Sylvia Plath
L1 I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
L2 Whatever I see I swallow immediately
L3 Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
L4 I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
L5 The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
L6 Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
L7 It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
L8 I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
L9 Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
L10 Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
L11 Searching my reaches for what she really is.
L12 Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
L13 I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
L14 She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
L15 I am important to her. She comes and goes.
L16 Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
L17 In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
L18 Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
Themes: Aging, Reality
By personifying the mirror, Plath wins our sympathy for the woman and our intense dislike for the proud mirror (who represents a culture that emphasizes physical beauty to the exclusion of everything else).
The speaking mirror is an allusion to the story of Snow White. The queen of the land looked daily into the mirror, hoping to hear that she was 'the fairest' of them all, but was half-crazed when the mirror told her that Snow White was the most
St1:
L1 (imagery) - "I am silver and exact." - to say the mirror reflects what it sees with no bias. Also paints a clear image of the mirror in the reader's head.
L2 (personification) "Whatever I see, I swallow immediately" - takes what is sees immediately and spits that out back at you. It neither adds nor subtracts anything. It has no filter
L3 "unmisted by love or dislike" - mirror is not bias.
L4 "I am not cruel, only truthful -" - the mirror itself doesn't cause displeasure but displeasure is caused by the truth that it shows.
L5 “The eye of a little God" (metaphor) - mirror compares itself to the eye of a god as it sees without judgement. God is the reflection itself and the mirror is only one way to see reflections
L6 - not used most of the time
L7 (contrast n imagery ) - pink n speckles contrast the previous seriousness. It is on a child’s bedroom
L7- L8 "I have looked at it so long I think it is a part of my heart" - see the wall as a part of itself as it faces it for so long. There is a oneness with the wall
L8 “flickers” - sometimes someone blocks its view of the wall
L9 "faces and darkness separate us over and over" - mirror and wall are constantly separated by people, shadows, and night. Someone keep coming to look at their reflection
St2:
L10 "Now I am a lake" - mirror is now another reflective surface.
L11 "searching for what she really is." - diction is used here showing that woman tries to find her identity even though all the mirror shows is what it sees on the surface. She has an obsession with beauty a d thinks that her beauty defines who she is
"then she turns to those liars" - mirror references other light surfaces and says they are not as good as it. Mirror here is being prideful.
"She rewards with tears" (oxymoron) - shows that the woman is displeased with her appearance. She is unhappy with what she sees
L15 - She is insecure
L17-L18 (simile) "In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman rises towards her day after day like a terrible fish.' The woman continues coming back everyday and everyday that her youth and beauty disappears as she grows older. Her growing old is compared to a terrible fish through the use of a simile which tells us she associates growing old, a completely normal and natural process, with something bad and ugly.
19. South - Kamau Brathwaite
L1 But today I recapture the islands'
L2 bright beaches: blue mist from the ocean
L3 rolling into the fishermen's houses.
L4 By these shores I was born: sound of the sea
L5 came in at my window, life heaved and breathed in me
L6 then with the strength of that turbulent soil.
L7 Since then I have travelled: moved far from the beaches: sojourned in stoniest
L8 cities, walking the lands of the
L9 north in sharp slanting sleet and the hail,
L10 crossed countless saltless savannas and come
L13 to this house in the forest where the shadows oppress me and the only water is
L14 rain and the tepid taste of the river.
L15 We who are born of the ocean can never seek solace
L16 in rivers: their flowing runs on like our longing,
L17 reproves us our lack of endeavour and purpose,
L18 proves that our striving will founder on that.
L19 We resent them this wisdom, this freedom: passing us toiling, waiting and
L20 watching their cunning declension down to the sea.
L21 But today I would join you, travelling river,
L22 borne down the years of your patientest flowing,
L23 past pains that would wreck us, sorrows arrest us,
L24 hatred that washes us up on the flats;
L25 and moving on through the plains that receive us, processioned in tumult, come to the sea.
L26 Bright waves splash up from the rocks to refresh us,
L27 blue sea-shells shift in their wake
L28 and there is the thatch of the fishermen's houses, the path
L29 made of pebbles, and look!
L30 Small urchins combing the beaches
L31 look up from their traps to salute us:
L32 They remember us just as we left them.
L33The fisherman, hawking the surf on this side
L34 of the reef, stands up in his boat
L35 and halloos us: a starfish lies in its pool.
L36 And gulls, white sails slanted seaward,
L37 fly into the limitless morning before us.
Themes: Migration, Patriotism, Desires, Dreams, Places
St1:
L1-L2 (imagery) "recapture the Island's bright beaches, blue mist from the ocean" - for life in Caribbean
L4-L5 "By these shores I was born: sound of the sea same in at my window" - how much he relied on the typical Caribbean setting
L5 "Life heaved and breathed in me" - was happy back then
L6 (imagery) "Turbulent soil" - for unjust life in country
St2:
L7-L8 (imagery n metaphor) "Sojourned in stoniest cities" - for more urban, developed areas(concrete jungle) could also be referring to unpleasant people
L9 "in sharp slanting sleet and the hail" - unfamiliar cold weather
L10 "crossed countless saltless savannas" - alliteration for discomfort
L13 (personification) "shadows oppress me" - for people
St3:
L15 "We who are born of the ocean can never seek solace in rivers“ - people of south can't find comfort in the north
L16 (simile) "their flowing runs on like our longing" - longing of people for success
L17 "reproves us our lack of endeavour" - northers view southers as lazy and leads to discomfort of southers in north
L19 (contrast) "We resent them this wisdom, this freedom: passing us" - between north and south and north has it easier
St4:
Flowing of river represents the past the northers put southers through.
L23 (allusion) "pains that wreck us, sorrows arrest us" - alludes for slavery
L24 "hatred that washes us up on the flats" - hatred due to past relations between north and south
St5
Imagery showing picture of what he missed of Caribbean now that he has returned
L30 -L31"...Look! Small urchins.... they salute us" (personification) - to show how people of Caribbean are so full of lie and friendly.
The stanza contrasts north where he was alone and shadows oppressed him.
St6: (imagery) - Shows friendliness of Caribbean and warmth persona feels here.
L37 "Fly into limitless morning before us" - there is scope for development and beauty in Caribbean life. Shows us how much we migrate for better chances ("us") but we will always come back to admire our home, the Caribbean.
20. Death, Be Not Proud - John Donne
L1 Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
L2 Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
L3 For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
L4 Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
L5 From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
L6 Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
L7 And soonest our best men with thee do go,
L8 Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
L9 Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
L10 And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
L11 And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
L12 And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
L13 One short sleep past, we wake eternally
L14 And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Themes: Death, Death vs Reality
The poem is a sonnet.
Death is anthropomorphized in the poem as it is not only given human traits but is also made out to be a person.
The speaker spends the poem depowering death by redefining it.
The speaker gets his point across and depowers death by using logos.
St1
L1(personification) - of death as write brings death down to the level of a person and its not viewed as an all powerful concept(depowering death). Capital D gives death a name and further depowers it and takes it from a pedestal by not viewing it as an untouchable concept.
L1-L2 "some have called thee mighty and dreadful" - persona acknowledges that some fear death as a way to convince those who do not to. The write also makes it known that not all people fear death.
L2 "for thou art not so" - depowers death whilst also convincing death itself that its not so dreadful and mighty.
L3 (paradox) "for those whom though think'st thou dost overthrow Die not" -as speaker says those who die aren't actually dead.
L4 "poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me" - speaker patronizes death and shows that he is not scared of it.
L5 (metaphor) "From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, much pleasure then from thee more must flow" - compares Death to sleep and rest saying if they bring pleasure then Death must bring even more than that.
L7 "And soon with our best men with thee do go " frames death as a reward and because of this it is given to the best people
L8 "soul's delivery" ( pun) - as death is the end of life and is also a delivery to the after life. This further depowers death by saying it is not the end of your life but merely a delivery to the afterlife.
L9 "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" - speaker is saying death has masters and this can range from powerful concepts such as fate to things as weak and simple as desperate men.
L10 - friends with the masters of death
L11 "And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well and better than thy stroke" - saying other things can make you sleep just as death does and some of them make you sleep even better so Death isn't even the best at that.
L12 (rhetorical question) - since you are so powerless and insignificant why are you so proud
L13 "one short sleep past, we wake eternally" - death is insignificant. The speaker further depowers it. He compares it to sleep which is something that normally brings peace. Something as simple as closing ypur eyes and opening after time has past
L14 "Death, thou shalt die!" - paradox saying death can somehow die. Persona is trying to say the idea of death will be non-existent because we will be in heaven living forever. therefore "die" and have no power over anyone.