Top Dog Independent Schools Poetry – Study Guide Grade 12 Preview

Top Dog

Poetry - Study Guide

Independent Schools

GRADE 12

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834)

English Home Language Paper I (2017 - 2018)

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Contents INTRODUCTION

2

POETIC TRENDS THROUGH THE AGES

4

THE POEMS A poem is a Pain ng

Phoebe Hesketh

7

Kubla Kahn

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

11

If thou must love me

Elizabeth Barre Browning

16

My Secret

Chris na Rose

19

The Song of the Wandering Aengus

W.B. Yeats

23

Poem in October

Dylan Thomas

27

Rain a er Drought

Mary Morison Webster

33

Da Same, da Same

Sipho Sepamla

37

The Herb Garden

Stephen Gray

42

Release, February 1990

Lynne Bryer

45

Hadedah

Adam Schwartzman

49

The Pauper

Richard N ru

53

Stealing

Carol Ann Duffy

57

When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer

Walt Whitman

62

These fought in any case

Ezra Pound

65

How to be old

Swenson

70

1: Progressive Insani es of a Pioneer

Margaret Atwood

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Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ©All rights reserved

1

Introduction Most people find poetry difficult to analyse. A poem must be read several mes in order to understand the message the poet has chosen to convey. In poetry, words are used both literally and figura vely and they enable the reader to understand the poet's inten on, his meaning and his emo ons. You ask what message he is conveying and what his reasons are for expressing this message. His ideas are structured systema cally, so a study of the structure will further increase your understanding of the message. This study aid has been wri en in order to remove your fears and give you the confidence you need to answer the ques ons in both your seen and unseen poems.

When analysing a poem you must be aware of the techniques used by the poet in order to facilitate feeling and meaning.

The tle of the poem is of great importance. It will give you some understanding of its content. Ask yourself, 'What is the theme and what was the poet's inten on when he wrote the poem'? Ask, 'Why did the poet employ figura ve language'? Poetry can open your eyes to ideas and beliefs by presen ng images which can be perceived through your senses. The reader is able to imagine the image and therefore ascertain what it says about the object. Metaphors, similes, allitera on and onomatopoeia convey the feelings of the poet. Always answer figura ve language ques ons with the words: 'the poet is using the simile/ the allitera on/ the metaphor to suggest …' then think of what this visual image suggests to you.

Examine the structure. Each stanza introduces a different idea that connects to the theme. Structure gives the reader an idea about content. For example, an ode praises a person or object, and an elegy or dirge is usually about the death of someone or something. Lyric poetry has its origins in song and is characterised by a pronounced rhythm and definite rhyming pa ern. The structure of free verse is chosen according to the meaning which the poet wishes to convey. The length of the lines and stanzas are regulated according to his inten on.

The choice of emo ve words iden fies the feelings of the poet towards his subject and will iden fy his tone. From this we can deduce his a tude toward his subject. For example, the word 'fling' rather than 'throw' conveys impa ence and irritability. Furthermore, the language could be formal, conversa onal or unusual. Words change over the years. They may become old-fashioned and are no longer in general use, or they may have a new and special meaning. We call the dic onary meaning of a word - denota ve, while figura ve meaning is known as connota ve.

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Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ©All rights reserved

Remember that poetry has rhythm. It represents the mood of the poet. It is used to strengthen and give meaning. The lines have stressed and unstressed syllables which follow a par cular pa ern and rhythm, just like a song. It can be fast, slow, tranquil or even staccato.

Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ŠAll rights reserved

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Poetic trends through the ages Late Renaissance and Elizabethan Poetry (1485 - 1603) The Renaissance in England gave rise to spectacular development in every field - science, poli cs, commerce and art. It was an age of intellectual liberty, an increase in wealth and an improvement in living condi ons. Unlike previous eras, it was characterised by religious tolerance.

Lyrical verse and sonnets predominated. These were strongly emo onal with marked rhythms and musical effects. The vivid language and imagery were contained within strict poe c forms. Much use was made of the metaphor and the theme was o en established by means of repe on. The poems were short and generally dealt with one theme.

Shakespeare's sonnets differed from the generally accepted Petrarchan sonnet. Instead of consis ng of an octave and a sestet, he chose to use the innova ve form of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet.

Puritanism and John Milton 1608 - 1674 The Puritans of the seventeenth century were Protestant reformers who believed that there was only one spiritual authority - the word of God. They believed that the Voice of God spoke in each man's individual conscience, and that images, decora on and ornaments had no place in religion.

John Milton was an ardent Puritan and a deeply religious man, but his love for the classics, nature and beauty characterises his poetry. Although he lived at the me of the Reforma on, his work reflects the influence of both the Renaissance and the Reforma on. He succeeded in producing beau ful poetry using correct classical forms. He respected the dignity of human beings but insisted on their acquiescence to the will of God.

The Age of Roman cism 1798 - 1830 The Roman c revival was embraced by William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. These six poets had certain quali es in common which set them apart from their predecessors.

The classical poetry of the past found truth through reason and emphasised society as a harmonising force. However, the Roman c poets emphasised that the search for truth could be found only within man's imagina on and his emo onal connec on to nature. They felt that the imagina on is the primary faculty for crea ng all art, and that through the use of our imagina on, we would be able to

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Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ©All rights reserved

perceive the truth in nature. They emphasised the beauty of the natural world and were interested in the problems of growth, both in life and art. They expressed the feelings of man in solitude as opposed to those of man in society.

They tended to look inward rather than outward.

The Roman c poets used the structure of the lyric, the literary ballad and the Petrarchan sonnet. They employed symbols of nature to reinforce their themes. The language they used was informal and the forms of poetry, less rigid than those wri en in previous eras.

The Victorian Era (1837 - 1901) This period coincided with the reign of Queen Victoria. The one overriding concern during this period was the change in economic, social and scien ďŹ c spheres. Much of what had been held sacred in previous centuries became ques onable. The Industrial Revolu on gave rise to a new 'middle class' and the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' increased. Most poets felt that it was their duty to speak out against injus ces in this 'new world'. The theory of evolu on led to a loss of faith and people began to turn away from spiritual comfort.

Poets of the me included Hopkins, Bronte and Arnold. Many of the poems were characterised by a tone of pessimism and despair. The poetry was serious and u litarian, designed for use rather than beauty. Hopkins bridged the gap between the Roman c and Victorian poets. Whilst he adhered to the Roman c concepts about nature, his primary focus was the rela onship between God and man.

These poets emphasised metre and rhythm over imagery. The poems were longer and they used common expressions. They focused on the social, economic and religious problems of the na on unlike the Roman cs who were more interested in the individual.

The Modern Age This category includes poets of the twen eth century. There was a wide diversity of ideas, images and forms and the period was marked by experimenta on and the innova ve use of metre, imagery and subject.

One of the central themes of these poets is that the world is a spiritual and emo onal 'wasteland'.

Men's lives are fragmented, social norms have broken down and man faces an uncertain future. In order to survive, man must create his own myth in order to make sense of the world. The overwhelming changes of the twen eth century have led to disillusionment and a loss of security

Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ŠAll rights reserved

5

within the individual.

Much use is made of symbolism in the poetry. The imagery is precise and accurate and the poetry is full of allusions (par cularly Yeats) which relate to myth, the Bible, street life and personal experience.

In order to understand the poetry of this era, the reader must o en search for meaning. Poets used words with precision and economy. Many of the poems reflect the poet's own concerns and their own personal experience.

Trends in South African poetry

South African poetry has always been influenced by the social and poli cal events in the country.

Themes in the poetry of the 1940s to 1990s relate to the indigni es and humilia on suffered by the people under the system of apartheid. The poets ques oned apartheid laws such as state propaganda, mass deten on and media censorship and spoke out against poverty and degrada on.

A er the Soweto riots in 1976, a movement known as “the township poets” arose. Poets such as Sipho Sepamla and Mongane Wally Serote wrote of the anger and frustra on experienced by oppressed South Africans. They used their poetry to inflame the masses and to encourage them to mobilise against the tyrannical apartheid regime.

A er Nelson Mandela's release in 1990, South African poets focused on ideas of na on- building and themes of reconcilia on. They reflected the na on's desire to unite and address collec vely the problems they faced.

In contemporary mes, South African poets cover a broad range of styles and themes. The poems reflect the same concerns of poets in the interna onal community – topics such as the rela onship between the individual and society. The subject ma er of a poem is o en duplicated in its form and structure, and many poems are wri en in free verse.

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A Poem is a Painting Phoebe Hesketh A poem is a pain ng that is not seen; A pain ng is a poem that is not heard.

That's what poetry is a pain ng in the mind.

Without pale e and brush it mixes words into images.

The mind's edge sharpens the knife slashing the canvas with savage rocks twis ng trees and limbs into tortuous shapes as Van Gogh did or bewitched by movement's grace, captures the opalescent skirts of Degas' ballet dancers.

But words on the page as paint on canvas are ďŹ xed.

It's in the spaces between the poem is quickened.

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About the poet Phoebe Hesketh was born in Lancashire, UK, in 1909. She began wri ng poetry in 1939 and in 1948 she published her second volume: "Lean forward, Spring!" This volume earned her widespread acclaim from the literary community. Her poems, which explore familiar themes, resonate with humour and vitality. She is well-known for her vivid images of nature and many of her poems describe the landscape of Lancashire where she lived for most of her life.

At various mes, she was a freelance lecturer, poetry teacher and journalist. She also wrote the biography of Edith Rigby, a suffrage e. She died in 2005 at the age of 96.

Content of the poem Introduc on The poems we read enable us to visualise the images that the poet has painted. His words allow us to pause and reflect on the meaning he wishes to convey. Underlying this is the philosophy that not everyone entertains the same vision.

Since an quity, philosophers have recognised that poetry and pain ng overlap. An ekphras c poem verbally represents a visual image by conver ng the image into language. While a pain ng uses colour, line and form to conjure images, the poet uses metaphor, allusion and sugges on to focus his image.

Thus a rela onship between poem and pain ng is formed, each reinforcing the message of the other.

Ekphrasis provides the means to assess, review and extend one's interpreta ons and percep ons of the message.

Stanza 1 The poem begins with a repe on of the idea expressed in the tle, 'A poem is a pain ng' which is heard, but not seen, and a pain ng is a poem which is seen, but not heard. An ar st uses a paintbrush and paint to transfer the image onto the canvas, whilst the poet uses words to foster the reader's imagina on and understanding.

Stanza 2 Stanza 2 points out that the versa lity of language and versa lity of the poet is infinite. It provides us with examples of two widely differing scenes.

Through his skill, an ar st such as van Gogh paints his drama c images with the savage strokes of a

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Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ©All rights reserved

knife which 'slash the canvas' or create the twisted 'tortuous shapes of the trees'. Likewise, the poet is able to make the same drama c statements with the skilful use of descrip ve words and phrases. The use of language also enables him to illustrate the graceful movements of a ballerina, in one of Degas' pain ngs, resplendent in her 'opalescent skirts'.

Stanza 3 The poem concludes with the idea that although both the words on a page and the brush strokes on a canvas are fixed, meaning is generated by the imagina on of those who read the poem or see the pain ng. The 'spaces' between are an invita on to explore and extend the superficial meaning which allows the poem and the pain ng to take a life of its own.

Inten on The poet's inten on is to demonstrate that both pain ngs and poems appeal to the imagina on and that when they are combined, they strengthen our percep on and understanding of the subject ma er.

Mood The mood is one of contempla on and though ulness. Hesketh believes that art in poetry can be translated into art on canvas and vice versa and that the mood of the pain ng or poem can be achieved by the skilful technique of the poet or painter.

Structure Stanza 1 consists of two short lines which introduce the subject ma er of the poem. This is followed by two stanzas of different lengths. The first of these explains the poet's theories by means of examples, whilst the second introduces the concept that the reader or viewer plays an ac ve part in the transfer of meaning. The run-on lines allow the reader to engage with the thoughts of the ar st and provide a smooth, flowing rhythm.

Dic on and Imagery The dic on is emo ve, eloquent and easily understood. The poet uses metaphor to explain the

Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ©All rights reserved

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rela onship between poetry and pain ng. One is able to visualise an image by the use of emo ve words such as 'slashing the canvas' and 'bewitched by movement's grace'. By comparing poetry to a Van Gogh pain ng, the poet acknowledges that poetry is on a par with great works of art.

The last two lines of the poem are an invita on to explore those 'spaces' in our imagina on, which 'quicken' the paint on the canvas and provide meaning.

The allitera on in 'slashing the canvas with savage rocks' and 'twis ng trees in tortuous shapes' emphasises the intensity with which both the ar st and the poet are able to promote their subject.

The contrast in tone between the pain ngs of Van Gogh and Degas illustrates that the poet can describe a range of subjects with equal exper se and that the tools of his trade (words) need to be carefully chosen to formulate his message.

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Top Dog Poetry Study Guide - Grade 12 - ŠAll rights reserved

Top Dog Poetry - Study Guide is a comprehensive guide based on the IEB Grade 12 Poetry syllabus.

Top Dog’s Grade 12 Poetry Study Guide: Ÿ Is designed to assist students studying the IEB's prescribed

Poetry syllabus Ÿ Has an introduction to poetry analysis, and commentary on poetic trends through the ages Ÿ Contains all 17 prescribed poems, with a comprehensive discussion on each, stanza by stanza Ÿ Includes a discussion on intention, mood, structure, diction and imagery for each poem

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