Showing posts with label Poems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poems. Show all posts
Friday, 22 May 2015
Critical appreciation of "Clusterf**katopia"
Clusterf***atopia
by Anonymous
Stucco induced haze,
Tracts of endless maze.
Garage sale monotony,
Cul de sac cacophony.
Lakeside concerts ‘n chairs,
Land of the rightside squares.
Sans culture,
Tastes for the vulture.
Glucosamine in the air,
Like an AARP fair.
How they roar,
Full of nighttime bores.
Open community skies,
Look what belies.
Planned master disjointment,
Fly in the ointment.
SUV parade,
Lifestyle charade.
Manicured lawns,
Society’s pawns.
Suburban sprawl,
Of a mindset crawl.
Eleven pm last call,
My golly what a ball.
Critical appreciation of Clusterf***atopia
The poem is a six-stanza poem, with rhyming scheme of aabb, ccdd, ccee, ffgg, hhii, jjjj. It is infused with visual imagery normally found in (or almost unique to) the suburban areas, such as Garage sale, Cul de sac, Lakeside concerts ‘n chairs, AARP fair, Manicured lawns, Planned master and Open community skies.
In each stanza, the first three lines describe almost impartially the persona’s observation and he hits is with the forth line in each stanza with ridicule, mockery and scorn. Obviously, he doesn’t like what he sees and observes in the suburbs. And so, we can say that the tone of the poem is disdain or contempt. The theme: the seemingly ideal lifestyle in the suburban is void of life.
The title is important. Linguistically, “Clusterf***katopia” possibly is a blend of three words: “cluster”, “fuck” and “utopia”. “Cluster” is referring to the suburban cluster. The word also means that people or things in the suburb are the same or similar in so many ways. “Fuck” is a vulgar slang in this case used to express anger, annoyance and/or contempt. “Utopia” refers to “a community or society possessing highly desirable or near perfect qualities” (from wikipedia.com). However, it could also be a blend of “clusterf**k” and “utopia”. “Clusterf**k” is a vulgar slang which refers to “a chaotic situation where everything seems to go wrong. It is often caused by incompetence, communication failure, or a complex environment” (wordnik.com). In this sense, it is a completely different meaning from the blending of 3 words – that the suburban is actually chaotic beneath all the perfection that our eyes could see. Therefore, we can say that the persona, as much as he admits that the suburban cluster is ideal and near perfect, finds it disdainful and loathsome.
The structure and pattern are not organized in any specific manner, which indicates that the observation made by the persona is also very random. It’s like he just turns to his left and right and jots down what he sees. He drives around in his car, and notes all the things he sees from his car. There is s sense of frustration in his voice. Nothing is right in his eyes.
Stucco induced haze,
Tracts of endless maze.
Garage sale monotony,
Cul de sac cacophony.
The consonance in the words “haze” and “maze” suggests that he head is buzzing, like a headache. “stucco” is causing the haze, in his opinion, and the roads seem endless. The “garage sale” is boring and the community in cul-de-sac is in discord. All these perhaps cause his headache, which could be induced by frustration.
Lakeside concerts ‘n chairs,
Land of the rightside squares.
Sans culture,
Tastes for the vulture.
For an American persona to be calling another American’s lifestyle “sans culture” is interesting. The US as a country doesn’t really have any specific traditional culture or custom, unlike, for instance, Asian, African or European countries. The word “vulture” invokes the image of scavengers, rotting-meat eaters which would eat almost anything. The persona equates the people who attend these concerts with vultures – tasteless creatures, who would like consume whatever presented to them.
Glucosamine in the air,
Like an AARP fair.
How they roar,
Full of nighttime bores.
“Glucosamine” could refer to the aging group of the population in the suburb, and that they are everywhere. The word “roar” creates auditory imagery; that the presence of the elderly is “loud”, which indicates inescapable and pervasive – again, they are everywhere. And because they are old, the nighttime is boring. The word “full” is used to contrast “bores”, as if making fun of the elderly – full of activities, but boring ones.
Open community skies,
Look what belies.
Planned master disjointment,
Fly in the ointment.
The suburbs are carefully planned in the USA. In some places in California, the suburbs are planned so that the houses are on the hills and the roads are in the valleys. One of the results is we have open skies. The persona makes fun of this, and calls it “disjointment”. “Fly” it being filthy and dirty, could symbolize something offensive to the persona. “Ointment” is supposed to help relieve pain, but having a fly in the ointment spoils it. Therefore, we can say that the planned community is offensive to the persona.
SUV parade,
Lifestyle charade.
Manicured lawns,
Society’s pawns.
SUV are common in the suburbs. The lawns are well-manicured as well. But to the persona, all these are just fake and pretense. Perhaps shallow. We could imply that the persona accuses the people who drives SUV and have manicured lawns are leading a shallow lifestyle; simply pleasing the society at large, so that they feel they belong there.
Suburban sprawl,
Of a mindset crawl.
Eleven pm last call,
My golly what a ball.
When the persona says “mindset crawl”, he scoffs at the mindset of the community. To him, they are stuck in their thinking in every way possible. That also implies that they are not interesting. “Eleven pm last call” could mean that they go to bed at 11 at night. The persona uses sarcasm when he says “My golly what a ball”. The phrase usually refers to something fun and exciting, but here, he uses it to sarcastically say that the people in the suburbs are having a blast going to bed at 11 pm.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Meaning and Idea: "Barter" vs. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
1. "Barter"
Sara Teasdale
Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.
Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
2. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Meaning and Ideas
Both of these poems present ideas, the first poem (“Barter”)more or less explicitly, the second (“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”) symbolically. Perhaps the best way to get at the idea of the second poem is to ask two questions. First, why does the speaker stop? Second, why does he go on? He stops to watch the woods fill up with snow – to observe a scene of natural beauty. He goes on because he has “promises to keep” – that is, he has obligations to fulfill. He is momentarily torn between his love of beauty and these other various claims that life has upon him. The small conflict in the poem is symbolic of a larger conflict in life. One part of the sensitive, thinking person would like to give up his life to the enjoyment of beauty and art. But another part is aware of larger duties and responsibilities – responsibilities owed, at least in part, to other human beings. The speaker in the poem would like to satisfy both impulses. But when the two conflict, he seems to suggest, the “promises” must take precedence.
The first poem also presents a philosophy but an opposing one. For this poet, beauty is of such supreme value that any conflicting demand should be sacrificed to it: “Spend all you have for loveliness, / buy it and never count the cost ... And for a breath of ecstasy / Give all you have been, or could be.” Thoughtful readers will have to choose between these two philosophies – to commit themselves to one or the other – but this commitment should not destroy for them enjoyment of either poem. If it does, they are reading for plums and not for pies.
From (please credit the following when quoting/citing):
Perrine, L. and Arp, T.R. (1993). Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense (6th Edition). Orlando: Harcourt Brace.
Sara Teasdale
Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.
Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
2. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Meaning and Ideas
Both of these poems present ideas, the first poem (“Barter”)more or less explicitly, the second (“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”) symbolically. Perhaps the best way to get at the idea of the second poem is to ask two questions. First, why does the speaker stop? Second, why does he go on? He stops to watch the woods fill up with snow – to observe a scene of natural beauty. He goes on because he has “promises to keep” – that is, he has obligations to fulfill. He is momentarily torn between his love of beauty and these other various claims that life has upon him. The small conflict in the poem is symbolic of a larger conflict in life. One part of the sensitive, thinking person would like to give up his life to the enjoyment of beauty and art. But another part is aware of larger duties and responsibilities – responsibilities owed, at least in part, to other human beings. The speaker in the poem would like to satisfy both impulses. But when the two conflict, he seems to suggest, the “promises” must take precedence.
The first poem also presents a philosophy but an opposing one. For this poet, beauty is of such supreme value that any conflicting demand should be sacrificed to it: “Spend all you have for loveliness, / buy it and never count the cost ... And for a breath of ecstasy / Give all you have been, or could be.” Thoughtful readers will have to choose between these two philosophies – to commit themselves to one or the other – but this commitment should not destroy for them enjoyment of either poem. If it does, they are reading for plums and not for pies.
From (please credit the following when quoting/citing):
Perrine, L. and Arp, T.R. (1993). Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense (6th Edition). Orlando: Harcourt Brace.
Monday, 16 June 2014
The complexity of the mother’s emotions in the poem “Mother of The Groom”
Discuss the complexity of the mother’s emotions in Seamus Heaney’s poem, “Mother of The Groom”.
By: Zuraini Mokhtar (1997)
Faculty of Language Studies, UKM
The speaker of the poem Mother of The Groom by Seamus Heaney is the Persona while the setting is on the wedding day of a mother’s son. The poem is mainly about the complex feelings or emotions of the mother towards her son’s marriage. It seems like she does not give a warm welcome to the marriage but rather cold and sad, remembering that her son will be apart from her.
In the first stanza, the Persona describes how the mother flashbacks the moment when her son was still a very little child. She remembers how she bathed her small son and the memory really touches her feelings especially when she recalls it during the wedding day. She was very happy at the past, bathing her son who relied on her and seeing how the son shining in the bath. However, that was just a sweet memory to her. Presently, she is very sad. In contrast to the mother’s feelings, the word ‘glistening’ is used by the Persona in line 2. ‘Glistening’ is usually connected with shine, flash, sparkle and twinkle which resemble beautiful, enjoyable and glorious. For the mother, the beautiful, enjoyable and glorious time is only in the past, not during the wedding day of her son.
In the second stanza, the Persona describes the mother’s feelings when she realizes that her son has grown up and a daughter-in-law of hers is coming. The first two lines of the second stanza shows that the son has grown up and about to get a daughter. Another interpretation of the first two lines is now the mother has lost her son to another woman called a daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law is welcomed that day. The line “She hears a daughter welcomed” could mean that the mother’s son is about to get a daughter after he got married and the second interpretation is the mother herself is getting a daughter-in-law. The word ‘voided’ in line 5 refers to empty, bare or blank which means that the mother’s feeling is also empty and worthless because she is losing her son. The Persona compares the situation with the last two lines of the second stanza. The mother’s feeling is described as shocked and scared just like whenever one loses hold of her child from her soapy hands. The mother is shocked and scared to get a daughter-in-law because before, her son was always with her and now suddenly, she loses him and a daughter-in-law is coming into her life. For the mother, the arrival of the bride means losing her son.
The last stanza is the Persona’s description of the mother’s prediction on her son’s marriage in the future. She thinks of the possibility of the couple to get divorce one day because what the Persona means from the lines “Once soap would ease off, The wedding ring” is it is possible that the bride will sooner or later lose the wedding ring as well as her husband. It is described as easy as when a soap can ease off a ring from one’s finger. However, a paradox arises in the stanza because of the word “ease off” which is contrast to the word “forever”. A marriage is always hoped to last forever, to be endless and to be eternal and yet, the soap can ease off the ‘everlasting’ marriage. The last line of the stanza shows that the bride is happy on her wedding day yet the mother is not because she keeps thinking whether the bride could be like the mother who is caring towards the son or not. Somehow she fears that the bride could not treat the son as good as the mother had done throughout her son’s life before. Perhaps, the mother has another thought towards what is happening. Maybe the mother hopes that the marriage would not last that the bride will lose the wedding ring because she somehow disapproves the marriage. Thus, she wishes that what happens to her that is losing her son, will happen to the bride as well. The words ‘forever’ and ‘clapping hand’ which are used by the Persona are contrast to the mother’s feelings. Her feelings are not as ‘bright’ as the words.
As a conclusion, the mother’s feelings are complex as described in the poem. She is confused, sad, shocked and scared because she cannot accept the fact that her son is now a man and a husband. Although some words used by the Persona resemble happiness, joyous and bright, the mother is actually out of it.
Monday, 21 November 2011
“The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost: General overview
Language and Style
- Frost’s language is natural, effortless and simple; able to be enjoyed by people of all ages.
- It is so easy to remember.
for example:
“And sorry I could not travel both”
“And I – I took the one less traveled by”
- Frost’s poems are lucid in the readers could picture them in their minds’ eye.
for example: morning, diverged road, nature, grassy, yellow wood
- Rhyme scheme:- a-b-a-a-b
for example: ..wood, ..both, ..stood, ..could, ..undergrowth
quite consistent throughout
gives a feeling of leisure, a stroll.
- Run on lines – shows how long it takes the poet to decide on which road to take –> INDECISIVENESS
Tone and Mood
• Contemplative
For example – “and be one traveler, long I stood..” , “…as just fair..”
• Reflective
For example – “..Somewhere ages and ages hence..”
• Pensive
For example – “..and sorry I could not travel both..” , “I doubted if…”
• Serious
For example – “…and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Point of View
- The persona is “I”. Therefore the poem is from the writer’s point of view.
- However, “I” is universal – “one traveler”, so it could be from the point of view of the reader.
For example :
“I could not travel both..”
“..looked down as far as I could..”
“..Oh, I kept for another day!”
“I doubted if I should…”
“I shall be telling this…”
“..and I – I took the one less…”
Literal Meaning
A traveller was out walking in the woods one morning in autumn and he came to a diverged road. He wanted to explore both but he was unable to do so. He was undecided about which road he should take and said “long I stood”.
Finally, he decided to take one and “keep the first for another day”. Yet he knew that it was quite impossible – “I doubted if I should ever come back”.
“Somewhere ages and ages hence”, he felt a little sad (“sigh”), even regret maybe, for not being able to travel both roads. However, he knew that his choice has “made the difference”.
- Frost’s language is natural, effortless and simple; able to be enjoyed by people of all ages.
- It is so easy to remember.
for example:
“And sorry I could not travel both”
“And I – I took the one less traveled by”
- Frost’s poems are lucid in the readers could picture them in their minds’ eye.
for example: morning, diverged road, nature, grassy, yellow wood
- Rhyme scheme:- a-b-a-a-b
for example: ..wood, ..both, ..stood, ..could, ..undergrowth
quite consistent throughout
gives a feeling of leisure, a stroll.
- Run on lines – shows how long it takes the poet to decide on which road to take –> INDECISIVENESS
Tone and Mood
• Contemplative
For example – “and be one traveler, long I stood..” , “…as just fair..”
• Reflective
For example – “..Somewhere ages and ages hence..”
• Pensive
For example – “..and sorry I could not travel both..” , “I doubted if…”
• Serious
For example – “…and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Point of View
- The persona is “I”. Therefore the poem is from the writer’s point of view.
- However, “I” is universal – “one traveler”, so it could be from the point of view of the reader.
For example :
“I could not travel both..”
“..looked down as far as I could..”
“..Oh, I kept for another day!”
“I doubted if I should…”
“I shall be telling this…”
“..and I – I took the one less…”
Literal Meaning
A traveller was out walking in the woods one morning in autumn and he came to a diverged road. He wanted to explore both but he was unable to do so. He was undecided about which road he should take and said “long I stood”.
Finally, he decided to take one and “keep the first for another day”. Yet he knew that it was quite impossible – “I doubted if I should ever come back”.
“Somewhere ages and ages hence”, he felt a little sad (“sigh”), even regret maybe, for not being able to travel both roads. However, he knew that his choice has “made the difference”.
Friday, 21 October 2011
Analysis of “Sonnet 18″ (William Shakespeare)
About the poem
• A love poem (perfect love)
• In praise of the loved one
• Verse of 14 lines
• Has rhyming scheme – abab cdcd efef gg,
• The poem is divided into sections of four lines called quatrains and two lines at the end a couplet,
• Each line has 10 syllables called decasyllables,
• Each set of two syllables has an unstressed and a stressed sound,
• These five sets of two syllables are called iambic pentameter. For example:
/shall I / compare / thee to / a sum/mer’s day? /
Summary of poem
Quatrain 1
Praising highly his beloved (Earl of Hembrooks). He compares the beloved to a summer’s day. Even the summer’s day is considered less lovely and less constant as the beloved.
Quatrain 2
The sun is sometimes too hot in summer, or occasionally clouded over. Every beautiful thing becomes less beautiful through accident or the passing of time.
Quatrain 3
This is a transition from the first two Quatrains leading to the conclusion in the couplet. He claims that the beloved’s beauty will not fade or die because of the poem.
Quatrain 4
The poem will be read as long as man lives and therefore the beloved will live on.
The different levels of meaning in Sonnet 18
Level 1
Praising the beauty of his beloved
Comparing the beloved to beauty found in Nature
Discussing how his beloved’s beauty can remain everlasting
Level 2
The shortcoming of a summer’s day
The impermanence of beauty / Beauty is fleeting
Level 3
Only poetry can last
Boasting of the power of his verse
Preserving beauty through the generations
The core of the message in the poem
• Natural beauty can never surpass his beloved’s beauty captured in the poem.
• Your immortality depends on my poem. My poem in turn depends on man’s existence.
• So long as mankind exists, you will continue to exist.
• You can live beyond death in my poem.
• My poem preserves you forever.
• Even though physically you die, your beauty is immortalised in my poem.
• Instead of dying, you will grow famous through time as my poem becomes more and more real.
Tone of the poem
1. Romantic - A very personal address to his beloved and telling his beloved his love.
2. Light and carefree – The choice of a summer’s day. Why? Season of holidays and rejoicing of things coming alive.
3. Happy – Celebrating his love.
4. Search for perfection – Attempting to find a way to overcome the shortcomings of Nature’s beauty.
5. Spiritual quest – To go beyond death, to reach a state of immortality. To preserve his love’s beauty.
6. Confident – He is confident that his poem will be read and enjoyed through time.
Point of view
The poem is written in the first person pronoun.
He appreciates his beloved.
He talks of the immortality of his poem.
Poetic devices used:
1. Personification
It is to describe something by giving it human qualities. For example, “…his gold complexion dimm’d” — the sun is like a man with golden skin
2. Metaphor
It is to describe something as if it is something else. For example, “…eye of heaven shines” – the sun has become an eye of heaven
• A love poem (perfect love)
• In praise of the loved one
• Verse of 14 lines
• Has rhyming scheme – abab cdcd efef gg,
• The poem is divided into sections of four lines called quatrains and two lines at the end a couplet,
• Each line has 10 syllables called decasyllables,
• Each set of two syllables has an unstressed and a stressed sound,
• These five sets of two syllables are called iambic pentameter. For example:
/shall I / compare / thee to / a sum/mer’s day? /
Summary of poem
Quatrain 1
Praising highly his beloved (Earl of Hembrooks). He compares the beloved to a summer’s day. Even the summer’s day is considered less lovely and less constant as the beloved.
Quatrain 2
The sun is sometimes too hot in summer, or occasionally clouded over. Every beautiful thing becomes less beautiful through accident or the passing of time.
Quatrain 3
This is a transition from the first two Quatrains leading to the conclusion in the couplet. He claims that the beloved’s beauty will not fade or die because of the poem.
Quatrain 4
The poem will be read as long as man lives and therefore the beloved will live on.
The different levels of meaning in Sonnet 18
Level 1
Praising the beauty of his beloved
Comparing the beloved to beauty found in Nature
Discussing how his beloved’s beauty can remain everlasting
Level 2
The shortcoming of a summer’s day
The impermanence of beauty / Beauty is fleeting
Level 3
Only poetry can last
Boasting of the power of his verse
Preserving beauty through the generations
The core of the message in the poem
• Natural beauty can never surpass his beloved’s beauty captured in the poem.
• Your immortality depends on my poem. My poem in turn depends on man’s existence.
• So long as mankind exists, you will continue to exist.
• You can live beyond death in my poem.
• My poem preserves you forever.
• Even though physically you die, your beauty is immortalised in my poem.
• Instead of dying, you will grow famous through time as my poem becomes more and more real.
Tone of the poem
1. Romantic - A very personal address to his beloved and telling his beloved his love.
2. Light and carefree – The choice of a summer’s day. Why? Season of holidays and rejoicing of things coming alive.
3. Happy – Celebrating his love.
4. Search for perfection – Attempting to find a way to overcome the shortcomings of Nature’s beauty.
5. Spiritual quest – To go beyond death, to reach a state of immortality. To preserve his love’s beauty.
6. Confident – He is confident that his poem will be read and enjoyed through time.
Point of view
The poem is written in the first person pronoun.
He appreciates his beloved.
He talks of the immortality of his poem.
Poetic devices used:
1. Personification
It is to describe something by giving it human qualities. For example, “…his gold complexion dimm’d” — the sun is like a man with golden skin
2. Metaphor
It is to describe something as if it is something else. For example, “…eye of heaven shines” – the sun has become an eye of heaven
Thursday, 21 July 2011
The poem “Monsoon History” by Shirley Lim
by Shirley Lim
Literal Meaning
Symbolic Meaning
Life can be peaceful and secure if we have good family relationships, follow tradition and customs even if there are problems and hardships.
The poem takes the readers through the pre-monsoon period, the downpour, and finally the post-monsoon rain periods. With the rain as an effective backdrop, life in Malacca is described. The time depicted is about forty years ago when the Baba-Nyonya family traditions were closely observed.
The traditional family atmosphere spells warmth and security. The mother is at home. The family waits for the father, who appears to be the breadwinner of the family to return home. He is out there making sure that all is well with his fishermen. The poem ends on a note of peace and tranquility. There is a suggestion of a happy union.
Language
“Monsoon History” is modern free verse. It reflects the free movement in time as the picture slips from the present to the past.
There is a use of similes as the air is compared to:
“fat white slugs”
“silver fish tunnelling”
“the damp linen covers”
“walking quietly like centipedes”
The air is finally “still, silent / like sleepers rocked in the pantun”
The heavy use of animal imagery such as ‘slugs’, ‘silver fish’, ‘centipedes’, ‘snails’, ‘gnats’, ‘spiders’, ‘moths’, ‘termites’ and ‘snake hair’ emphasise the dampness of the season. All the animals reflect the weather conditions rather than impose any kind of real danger or even discomfort. There is no violence in the poem. Even harsh words like ‘tunnelling’ and ‘clashing’ are toned down by ‘damp’ and ‘timid’.
The setting is modern, that is 20th century. The present tense form is used in the first stanza, and in the forth stanza.
Tone and Mood
It is a reflective poem. The poet is very nostalgic about her past, which are her traditions and customs. There is a sense of regret when the poet says: “This was forty years ago.”
There is a change of atmosphere from one stanza to the other. There is a sense of regret concerning the diminishing children, tradition and custom.
Point of View
The poem is in the first person point of view. There is a strong personal point of view shifting nostalgic to the past.
Theme and Message
Where your are in the world, you just cannot forget your roots, childhood memories and your tradition.
.
Literal Meaning
| Stanza 1 : | The wetness of the air, shows that it sustains all forms of life. Even destructive pests thrive. For example “fat white slugs”
A lot of reference to the air being filled with moisture shows that it is going to rain. . |
| Stanza 2 : | This stanza is divided into two parts. This
is to show the shift from the garden to the place inside the home.
That is, from outside to inside, as the poet mentions what it was like
forty years ago. There is also a shift from the present to the past.
Part 1 : The poet is referring to the change in the weather from the first stanza. The clouds are rolling in and darkness is setting in – “clouds and rolling darkness”. Part 2 : The scene is now inside the home. Forty years ago nyonya and baba are sitting at home drinking milo. The poet is in a safe, secure environment sitting at home. The human element is now apparent in the poem as the poet refers fondly to her Baba Nyonya tradition and describes her ancestral home. For example: “sarong wrapped they counted silver paper for the dead” and “Portraits of grandfather hung always in the parlour” depicts her strong leanings on her customs and tradition. . |
| Stanza 3 : | The poet talks about “reading Tennyson”
which shows her western education. This is in direct contrast to her
eastern tradition and upbringing as depicted in Stanza 2. There is the
presence of insects in this stanza but these are in harmony with the
environment. The human presence does not threaten their existence.
In this stanza, it has started raining “at six p.m.” The author “…in pajamas [is] Listening to down-pouring rain.” The element of tradition and custom comes into the scene again: “wash our feet for bed” the poet also refers to the close-knit family scene where she sees her mother undressing: “uncoil her snake hair”, “unbuckle the silver mesh around her waist”. The closeness is also depicted in “waiting for father”. The poet and her family members wait for their father to come home who is outside at the beach waiting for his fishermen to return from the turbulent sea. . |
| Stanza 4 : | The monsoon is over and everything is calm again. There is peace and tranquillity once again. |
Symbolic Meaning
Life can be peaceful and secure if we have good family relationships, follow tradition and customs even if there are problems and hardships.
The poem takes the readers through the pre-monsoon period, the downpour, and finally the post-monsoon rain periods. With the rain as an effective backdrop, life in Malacca is described. The time depicted is about forty years ago when the Baba-Nyonya family traditions were closely observed.
The traditional family atmosphere spells warmth and security. The mother is at home. The family waits for the father, who appears to be the breadwinner of the family to return home. He is out there making sure that all is well with his fishermen. The poem ends on a note of peace and tranquility. There is a suggestion of a happy union.
Language
“Monsoon History” is modern free verse. It reflects the free movement in time as the picture slips from the present to the past.
There is a use of similes as the air is compared to:
“fat white slugs”
“silver fish tunnelling”
“the damp linen covers”
“walking quietly like centipedes”
The air is finally “still, silent / like sleepers rocked in the pantun”
The heavy use of animal imagery such as ‘slugs’, ‘silver fish’, ‘centipedes’, ‘snails’, ‘gnats’, ‘spiders’, ‘moths’, ‘termites’ and ‘snake hair’ emphasise the dampness of the season. All the animals reflect the weather conditions rather than impose any kind of real danger or even discomfort. There is no violence in the poem. Even harsh words like ‘tunnelling’ and ‘clashing’ are toned down by ‘damp’ and ‘timid’.
The setting is modern, that is 20th century. The present tense form is used in the first stanza, and in the forth stanza.
Tone and Mood
It is a reflective poem. The poet is very nostalgic about her past, which are her traditions and customs. There is a sense of regret when the poet says: “This was forty years ago.”
There is a change of atmosphere from one stanza to the other. There is a sense of regret concerning the diminishing children, tradition and custom.
Point of View
The poem is in the first person point of view. There is a strong personal point of view shifting nostalgic to the past.
Theme and Message
Where your are in the world, you just cannot forget your roots, childhood memories and your tradition.
.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
“If” by Joseph Rudyard Kipling: Extracting information
Understanding the poem : Stanza by stanza
25 years later, recalling the father’s advice…
Stanza 1
1. Continue to be sensible if others are not. (L1-2)
2. - Trust yourself when others doubt you. (L3)
- Give others the benefit of the doubt. (L4)
3. – Wait patiently. (L5)
- Don’t repay and deal in lies. (L6)
4. – Don’t repay in hatred. (L7)
- Be moderate in your speech and appearance. (L8)
Stanza 2
5. – Don’t be a dreamer, materialise your dream. (L9)
- Don’t think to impress. (L10)
6. Accept success and failure equally. (L11-12)
7. Be patient when the truth you’ve spoken is distorted by evil men. (L13-14)
8. Be strong in rebuilding what you’ve lost. (L15-16)
Stanza 3
9. Dare to risk and don’t get attached to material possessions. (L17-18)
10. Persevere to start again after every lost. (L19-20)
11. Don’t give up mentally and in your will even if there is physical limitation. (L21-22)
12. The willpower not to quit against all odds. (L23-24)
Stanza 4
13. Maintain your virtue and humility when socializing. (L25-26)
14. Live in harmony with others, yet not allowing others to hurt you. (L27-28)
15. Not to waste time but only for beneficial activities. (L29-30)
16. [The result]
- Will enjoy blessings while you’re alive.* (L31)
- Become a wholesome man. (L32)
* similar to the Beatitudes’ promise found in Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”
Figurative Meaning
1. Advice/exhortation
- the son
- man in general
2. Balanced life – moderation and humility
Theme
A request/exhortation to uphold certain principles in life.
Tone and Mood
- Written in didactic tone (intended to teach a moral lesson)
- Presented to inspire, encourage, and motivate
Point of View
1. First person (the father is an unseen persona)
2. Second person (the son)
Language and Style
1. Poetic devices
a) metaphors – triumph and disaster (as imposters)
b) will
c) unforgiving minute
2. Rhyme scheme
- 4 stanzas, 8 lines per stanza
- alternate rhyme scheme – a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d
(except Stanza 1 – a-a-a-b-c-d-c-d)
.
25 years later, recalling the father’s advice…
Stanza 1
1. Continue to be sensible if others are not. (L1-2)
2. - Trust yourself when others doubt you. (L3)
- Give others the benefit of the doubt. (L4)
3. – Wait patiently. (L5)
- Don’t repay and deal in lies. (L6)
4. – Don’t repay in hatred. (L7)
- Be moderate in your speech and appearance. (L8)
Stanza 2
5. – Don’t be a dreamer, materialise your dream. (L9)
- Don’t think to impress. (L10)
6. Accept success and failure equally. (L11-12)
7. Be patient when the truth you’ve spoken is distorted by evil men. (L13-14)
8. Be strong in rebuilding what you’ve lost. (L15-16)
Stanza 3
9. Dare to risk and don’t get attached to material possessions. (L17-18)
10. Persevere to start again after every lost. (L19-20)
11. Don’t give up mentally and in your will even if there is physical limitation. (L21-22)
12. The willpower not to quit against all odds. (L23-24)
Stanza 4
13. Maintain your virtue and humility when socializing. (L25-26)
14. Live in harmony with others, yet not allowing others to hurt you. (L27-28)
15. Not to waste time but only for beneficial activities. (L29-30)
16. [The result]
- Will enjoy blessings while you’re alive.* (L31)
- Become a wholesome man. (L32)
* similar to the Beatitudes’ promise found in Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”
Figurative Meaning
1. Advice/exhortation
- the son
- man in general
2. Balanced life – moderation and humility
Theme
A request/exhortation to uphold certain principles in life.
Tone and Mood
- Written in didactic tone (intended to teach a moral lesson)
- Presented to inspire, encourage, and motivate
Point of View
1. First person (the father is an unseen persona)
2. Second person (the son)
Language and Style
1. Poetic devices
a) metaphors – triumph and disaster (as imposters)
b) will
c) unforgiving minute
2. Rhyme scheme
- 4 stanzas, 8 lines per stanza
- alternate rhyme scheme – a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d
(except Stanza 1 – a-a-a-b-c-d-c-d)
.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Critical appreciation of the poem “The Album”
The title of the poem is The Album, by C. Day Lewis. The poem suggests the speaker is haunted by her past, that she misses the beauty of it, and presently, she feels empty, low-spirited, unhappy and disappointed with her life. The Album is about the speaker who is looking through her album, and looks at herself in photos taken years ago; in her childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. In my point of view, she is now old and lonely, and wishes to be in her heyday again.
The structure of the poem is that it has five stanzas and each stanza has eight lines. In stanzas 1, 2 and 3, in the first four lines, rhyming ABAB, the tone is pleasant, where speaker gives complements to the photos she sees, but in the rest of the lines in the stanzas, rhyming CDDC, the tone changes to be unpleasant, which suggests the speaker then turns lugubrious – that she misses her past and wants to go back to it. This can be seen, for example, in stanza 1, line 7 “…my voice distantly calling / ‘Wait! Wait for me!’ ”, stanza 2, line 15 “Yet I wish I was there ….” and stanza 3, line 23 “ I cry: ‘Give not to those charming desperadoes.”
The tone and mood of this poem is influenced by the speaker’s choice of words (diction) and imagery of the poem. The speaker has a careful choice of words because she wants the reader to feel and experience what she is feeling and experiencing. Generally, the tone of The Album indicates that the speaker feels joyless, unhappy, low-spirited, and lugubrious. This is perhaps because she misses her life in the past and it is haunting her presently, her life now is empty and lonely, and she has nothing here for her, and furthermore, the speaker wants to go back because life then was beautiful and wonderful. We can see this from stanza 1, line 2, which says “in a garden sheltered for buds and playtime.” This line suggests that the speaker is looking at her photograph when she was a young girl in her childhood, when there was no worry about anything because she was young and all that matters was to have fun. “Sheltered for buds and playtime,” also provides the image the “buds” (symbolizes young) and “playtime” in the garden is secured (as they are “sheltered”) and that childhood is a time when she was preserved and protected. The tone of the first four lines is pleasant, and the speaker is complementing the photograph she sees. In lines 7 and 8, “… echo of my voice distantly calling / ‘Wait! Wait for me!’ ” The lines show that the speaker do not want the image of that happy childhood to go away from her because she still wants to look at it and to “be there” again. “Distantly calling” gives the imagery that the print is “ignoring” her calls and the speaker cannot do anything to stop the print from fading. The tone now has changed from pleasant to unhappiness and lugubrious.
In stanza 2, we can still see that the speaker misses her past and wants to go back to it. Lines 11 and 12 tells us that the speaker then was a adolescent – “…at an age / That asks every mirror to tell what the heart’s desire is.” The imagery of adolescence is present here where at this age, adolescences are seeking for their own identity, experiencing confusions, and are curious about a lot of things. “Oracle stream” symbolizes the flow life (as she experience life) where only “time could affirm or disprove,” (L14). The first four lines carries a pleasing tone. That she misses her teenage life and wants to go back to it is indicated in lines 15 and 16, “Yet I wish I was there to venture a warning, ‘Love / Is not what you dream.’ ” These lines suggest that the speaker wishes that she was there to warn her young self about the risks of venturing love. Perhaps, she had bad experience in love and wished that she had been warned about it before. Different from the tone of the first four lines, the t one here is regretful, depress and low-spirited because something had happened.
The speaker continues to tell us of how she misses the past and how it is haunting her. In stanza 3, she first complements the beautiful adulthood she had had. Perhaps the picture was taken when she was in her early adulthood. Again, the tone is pleasing and almost full of spirit. We can see this in lines 18, 19 and 20, “As if garlands of wild felicity crowned you – / Courted, caressed, you wear / Like immortelles the lovers and friends around you.” The lines could suggest that the speaker’s life was beautiful, wonderful, and full of happiness. “Garlands of wild felicity” gives us the imagery that the speaker was experiencing untamed happiness, and it could symbolize the state of restlessness she was in. The happiness seemed to be part of her because of the image given in line 19 – “wear” – as if she “wears the happiness.” In line 20, “immortelles” provides the image of the immortal, but not applied to gods, but to higher things like young girls or fairies. This tells us of how she felt she was superior to her lovers and friends at that time. Line 22, “They are but straws and shadows,” creates the image of unimportance and not significant. It indicates that to the speaker, others were unimportant and insignificant then, because she felt as if she was on top of the world – the climax of her life. However, her tone changes later in the stanza to sounding rather depress and regretful. In lines 23 and 24, “I cry: ‘Give not to those charming desperadoes / What was made to be mine.’ ” Perhaps she was angry to herself rather than to the “charming desperadoes” because at that time, she had given them everything of her life and the excitement that she has nothing left for herself now. She had been providing for the desperadoes, which could be hypocrites who had been taking advantage of her, perhaps in terms money, assets, energy or even her dignity, that now she regrets for giving them so much that she has nothing left for herself in her old age.
Stanza 4 tells us that the last picture the speaker had is missing. The tone of the stanza is unhappy, lugubrious and regretful. The last picture, “…a tree stripped bare / By intemperate gales,” could symbolizes her fall and anti-climax of life, as the “tree” symbolizes her life; the “leaves”, her happiness; and the “intemperate gales”, an incident that took place – the storm of life. “Intemperate gales” gives us an image of sudden burst of strong wind which left a tree bare without leaves. This could suggest an incident that had happened to the speaker which had taken all her glory and happiness from her so quickly, which has left her feeling empty. The missing of the photo also could tell us that her life presently is empty. In lines 30, 31 and 32, “In tremble, as one who must view / In the crystal a doom he could never deflect – yes I too – / Am fruitlessly shaken,” the speaker looks at her pictures of her heyday, and knew she was going to fall into her “doom” as she puts it. “Crystal” gives us the image of destruction beyond repair or cannot be mended again, that is she feels that when she fell, she could not rise again. She knew that she is going to fall and is afraid of it, but there is nothing that she can do about it (as she says, “fruitlessly shaken”).
Line 33 and 34 in stanza 5 tells us that the speaker is haunted by her past that she “closed the book ; / But the past slides out of its leaves…” (L33, 34) to haunt her. She seems to be unable to escape the past, as she says “…it seems, wherever I look, / Phantoms of irreclaimable happiness taunt me” (L35, 36). “Phantoms” gives the imagery of ghosts which follows her wherever she goes, she is unable to touch it but knows that it exists, and perhaps it scares her to know that she cannot experience the happiness that she once had in the past. However, line 37 to 40 in the stanza, “Then I see her, petalled in new-blown hours, / Beside me – ‘All you love most there / Has blossomed again’, she murmurs, ‘all that you missed there / Has grown to be yours,” suggests that the speaker sees another character of herself who are optimistic and as if she is a “new” her, telling the speaker that her love for the past has blossomed again, as if assuring herself not to feel down, depress, low-spirited and regretful of what had happened. These lines moves from regret, depression and sadness to happiness because the joys and happiness of the past are part of the present (it has blossomed again), as we can see in lines 38, 39 and 40, “… ‘All you love most there / Has blossomed again’, she murmurs, ‘all that you missed there / Has grown to be yours.”
Sounds are used in the poem to give some effect to the meaning. In line 4, the sound /j/ is used; “By a fancy beyond your years and the following may time.” The sound is a glide or semi-vowel, and it creates the image as in fatigue state – the speaker is unhappy and lugubrious. Throughout the poem, there are quite a number of fricative /s/ and /z/ sounds, for example, as in “years” (L4), “heart’s desires is” (L12), “caressed” (L19), and “those scene” (L29). The flow of air by these fricatives has created an image as if the speaker is sighing.
As a conclusion, in my point of view, the speaker in The Album is presently old, lonely and is haunted by her past. She looks through her album and pictures of her when she was younger, and wishes to be there again. However, the tone of the poem moves from regret, depression and sadness to happiness in the last four lines.
The structure of the poem is that it has five stanzas and each stanza has eight lines. In stanzas 1, 2 and 3, in the first four lines, rhyming ABAB, the tone is pleasant, where speaker gives complements to the photos she sees, but in the rest of the lines in the stanzas, rhyming CDDC, the tone changes to be unpleasant, which suggests the speaker then turns lugubrious – that she misses her past and wants to go back to it. This can be seen, for example, in stanza 1, line 7 “…my voice distantly calling / ‘Wait! Wait for me!’ ”, stanza 2, line 15 “Yet I wish I was there ….” and stanza 3, line 23 “ I cry: ‘Give not to those charming desperadoes.”
The tone and mood of this poem is influenced by the speaker’s choice of words (diction) and imagery of the poem. The speaker has a careful choice of words because she wants the reader to feel and experience what she is feeling and experiencing. Generally, the tone of The Album indicates that the speaker feels joyless, unhappy, low-spirited, and lugubrious. This is perhaps because she misses her life in the past and it is haunting her presently, her life now is empty and lonely, and she has nothing here for her, and furthermore, the speaker wants to go back because life then was beautiful and wonderful. We can see this from stanza 1, line 2, which says “in a garden sheltered for buds and playtime.” This line suggests that the speaker is looking at her photograph when she was a young girl in her childhood, when there was no worry about anything because she was young and all that matters was to have fun. “Sheltered for buds and playtime,” also provides the image the “buds” (symbolizes young) and “playtime” in the garden is secured (as they are “sheltered”) and that childhood is a time when she was preserved and protected. The tone of the first four lines is pleasant, and the speaker is complementing the photograph she sees. In lines 7 and 8, “… echo of my voice distantly calling / ‘Wait! Wait for me!’ ” The lines show that the speaker do not want the image of that happy childhood to go away from her because she still wants to look at it and to “be there” again. “Distantly calling” gives the imagery that the print is “ignoring” her calls and the speaker cannot do anything to stop the print from fading. The tone now has changed from pleasant to unhappiness and lugubrious.
In stanza 2, we can still see that the speaker misses her past and wants to go back to it. Lines 11 and 12 tells us that the speaker then was a adolescent – “…at an age / That asks every mirror to tell what the heart’s desire is.” The imagery of adolescence is present here where at this age, adolescences are seeking for their own identity, experiencing confusions, and are curious about a lot of things. “Oracle stream” symbolizes the flow life (as she experience life) where only “time could affirm or disprove,” (L14). The first four lines carries a pleasing tone. That she misses her teenage life and wants to go back to it is indicated in lines 15 and 16, “Yet I wish I was there to venture a warning, ‘Love / Is not what you dream.’ ” These lines suggest that the speaker wishes that she was there to warn her young self about the risks of venturing love. Perhaps, she had bad experience in love and wished that she had been warned about it before. Different from the tone of the first four lines, the t one here is regretful, depress and low-spirited because something had happened.
The speaker continues to tell us of how she misses the past and how it is haunting her. In stanza 3, she first complements the beautiful adulthood she had had. Perhaps the picture was taken when she was in her early adulthood. Again, the tone is pleasing and almost full of spirit. We can see this in lines 18, 19 and 20, “As if garlands of wild felicity crowned you – / Courted, caressed, you wear / Like immortelles the lovers and friends around you.” The lines could suggest that the speaker’s life was beautiful, wonderful, and full of happiness. “Garlands of wild felicity” gives us the imagery that the speaker was experiencing untamed happiness, and it could symbolize the state of restlessness she was in. The happiness seemed to be part of her because of the image given in line 19 – “wear” – as if she “wears the happiness.” In line 20, “immortelles” provides the image of the immortal, but not applied to gods, but to higher things like young girls or fairies. This tells us of how she felt she was superior to her lovers and friends at that time. Line 22, “They are but straws and shadows,” creates the image of unimportance and not significant. It indicates that to the speaker, others were unimportant and insignificant then, because she felt as if she was on top of the world – the climax of her life. However, her tone changes later in the stanza to sounding rather depress and regretful. In lines 23 and 24, “I cry: ‘Give not to those charming desperadoes / What was made to be mine.’ ” Perhaps she was angry to herself rather than to the “charming desperadoes” because at that time, she had given them everything of her life and the excitement that she has nothing left for herself now. She had been providing for the desperadoes, which could be hypocrites who had been taking advantage of her, perhaps in terms money, assets, energy or even her dignity, that now she regrets for giving them so much that she has nothing left for herself in her old age.
Stanza 4 tells us that the last picture the speaker had is missing. The tone of the stanza is unhappy, lugubrious and regretful. The last picture, “…a tree stripped bare / By intemperate gales,” could symbolizes her fall and anti-climax of life, as the “tree” symbolizes her life; the “leaves”, her happiness; and the “intemperate gales”, an incident that took place – the storm of life. “Intemperate gales” gives us an image of sudden burst of strong wind which left a tree bare without leaves. This could suggest an incident that had happened to the speaker which had taken all her glory and happiness from her so quickly, which has left her feeling empty. The missing of the photo also could tell us that her life presently is empty. In lines 30, 31 and 32, “In tremble, as one who must view / In the crystal a doom he could never deflect – yes I too – / Am fruitlessly shaken,” the speaker looks at her pictures of her heyday, and knew she was going to fall into her “doom” as she puts it. “Crystal” gives us the image of destruction beyond repair or cannot be mended again, that is she feels that when she fell, she could not rise again. She knew that she is going to fall and is afraid of it, but there is nothing that she can do about it (as she says, “fruitlessly shaken”).
Line 33 and 34 in stanza 5 tells us that the speaker is haunted by her past that she “closed the book ; / But the past slides out of its leaves…” (L33, 34) to haunt her. She seems to be unable to escape the past, as she says “…it seems, wherever I look, / Phantoms of irreclaimable happiness taunt me” (L35, 36). “Phantoms” gives the imagery of ghosts which follows her wherever she goes, she is unable to touch it but knows that it exists, and perhaps it scares her to know that she cannot experience the happiness that she once had in the past. However, line 37 to 40 in the stanza, “Then I see her, petalled in new-blown hours, / Beside me – ‘All you love most there / Has blossomed again’, she murmurs, ‘all that you missed there / Has grown to be yours,” suggests that the speaker sees another character of herself who are optimistic and as if she is a “new” her, telling the speaker that her love for the past has blossomed again, as if assuring herself not to feel down, depress, low-spirited and regretful of what had happened. These lines moves from regret, depression and sadness to happiness because the joys and happiness of the past are part of the present (it has blossomed again), as we can see in lines 38, 39 and 40, “… ‘All you love most there / Has blossomed again’, she murmurs, ‘all that you missed there / Has grown to be yours.”
Sounds are used in the poem to give some effect to the meaning. In line 4, the sound /j/ is used; “By a fancy beyond your years and the following may time.” The sound is a glide or semi-vowel, and it creates the image as in fatigue state – the speaker is unhappy and lugubrious. Throughout the poem, there are quite a number of fricative /s/ and /z/ sounds, for example, as in “years” (L4), “heart’s desires is” (L12), “caressed” (L19), and “those scene” (L29). The flow of air by these fricatives has created an image as if the speaker is sighing.
As a conclusion, in my point of view, the speaker in The Album is presently old, lonely and is haunted by her past. She looks through her album and pictures of her when she was younger, and wishes to be there again. However, the tone of the poem moves from regret, depression and sadness to happiness in the last four lines.
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